In Sunday’s (10/21) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Andrew Druckenbrod writes, “There’s a special word used when a classical music group gives three or more converts in a short period at one hall: a residency. For American orchestras, residencies at the prestigious Musikverein hall in Vienna happen about as often as Mozart got writer’s block or Beethoven smiled. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will be one of the few when it settles down for four concerts in Vienna that will be the centerpiece of its three-week European tour. From Thursday to Nov. 10, the orchestra will perform in Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna, Paris, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Luxembourg. … The Musikverein is considered by many as the center of classical music-making because of its superb acoustics and because it opened in 1870 when many major composers were still alive and active. The PSO performed there three times in 2000 with Mariss Jansons, and had two concerts in 2010 with current music director Manfred Honeck. Mr. Honeck wants the affair to garner pride back in Pittsburgh when the orchestra returns. … The cherry, so to speak, on top of the Sachertorte is that the PSO will make a recording at the hall, something that is not common for orchestras other than the Vienna Philharmonic. The piece? Why Mahler of course, his Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection.’ The choir will be the renowned Singverein.”
Posted October 24, 2012
