“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday announced the lineup for its 2017-18 classical and pops seasons,” writes Elizabeth Bloom in Wednesday’s (3/15) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The upcoming year marks music director Manfred Honeck’s 10th season with the PSO. Mr. Honeck will conduct half of the 20 classical subscription weekends. Three of those concerts will feature a new piece commissioned in his honor, by 2016-17 composer of the year James MacMillan, Israeli composer Boris Pigovat and Carnegie Mellon University faculty member Reza Vali. Rather than offering a traditional composer of the year, the PSO will perform works by artists who formerly held that title, including John Adams, Jennifer Higdon and Steven Stucky. The orchestra will give the world premiere of Ms. Higdon’s Tuba Concerto, performed by PSO tubist Craig Knox and conducted by … Robert Spano. The season opens on Sept. 16 with the PSO’s annual gala, starring pianist Lang Lang.” Works for the season include Brahms’ Violin Concerto (with Christian Tetzlaff), Saint-Saens’ “Organ” Symphony, Haydn’s The Creation, Handel’s Messiah, Verdi’s Requiem, and Berlioz’ Te Deum. The pops season includes seven programs.
Posted March 17, 2017
