In Sunday’s (2/17) Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mark Kanny writes, “The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will celebrate contemporary Pittsburgh composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss during the 2013-14 season of BNY Mellon Grand Classics at Heinz Hall, Downtown. Music director Manfred Honeck will conduct 10 of the 21 weeks of programming, plus the season-opening gala concert on Sept. 27 called ‘Once Upon a Time’ and featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma. … The programming of Pittsburgh composers replaces the symphony’s traditional ‘Composer of the Year’ residency, which has focused on a single contemporary American composer in recent years. … [Honeck] will conduct the first two weeks of subscription concerts, starting with the world premiere of David Stock’s Symphony No. 6, Oct. 4 to 6. Stock is a prolific and widely performed composer who also founded the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. … Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos will lead Leonardo Balada’s Symphony No. 6 at concerts also featuring Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Scheherazade,’ Nov. 8 to 10. Balada, who will be 80 at the time of the concert, is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. … Five Pittsburgh composers—Patrick Burke, Bomi Jang, Matthew Rosenbum, Reza Vali and Amy Williams—will collaborate in another symphony commission that Honeck will conduct, Feb. 7 to 9, 2014, on a program also featuring Gustav Holst’s ‘The Planets.’ ”
Posted February 19, 2013
