“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will perform two concerts near Montreal in July 2015 as part of the Lanaudiere Festival. The trip marks the PSO’s third appearance at the festival, most recently in 2012,” writes Elizabeth Bloom in Friday’s (5/23) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The orchestra has said that it would not travel internationally until 2016 to focus on balancing its budget at home. A concert tour within North America, however, ‘falls into a different category’ in the musicians’ contract since it doesn’t require overseas travel, said Robert Moir, senior vice president of artistic planning and audience engagement. In addition, the orchestra will perform two concerts in September on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That concert series’ presenter is interested in American orchestras in post-industrial cities, Mr. Moir said, and the repertoire will reflect music in that vein, including ‘Silent Spring’ by Steven Stucky (inspired by Rachel Carson’s book) and ‘The Elements’ by five Pittsburgh composers. Pianist Valentina Lisitsa will join the PSO for Rachmaninoff’s ‘Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.’ Music director Manfred Honeck will lead the orchestra on both tours.”
Posted May 30, 2014
