For Immediate Release
July 17, 2012
MANFRED HONECK TO CONDUCT PSO IN CONCERTS IN CANADA, PHILADELPHIA
Cellist Johannes Moser joins PSO for concerts at Lanaudière Festival in Québec, Mann Center; PSO brings popular video game ‘Legend of Zelda’ to life at Mann Center
PITTSBURGH – Music Director Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) embark this week on a summer tour of Québec, Canada, and Philadelphia.
The orchestra will perform at the Lanaudière Festival in Québec on July 21 & 22, and at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on July 24 & 25. Honeck will conduct both concerts at the Lanaudière Amphitheatre, and the first concert at the Mann Center.
German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser, often praised for his rich, gorgeous tone and playing that can range from lovely and elegant, to vigorous with head-banging, rock star energy, will be the guest soloist on July 21 in Québec, and July 24 in Philadelphia.
The tour begins at 8 p.m., Saturday, July 21, at the Lanaudière Amphitheatre, where the PSO will perform the overture to Mikhail Glinka’s Russlan and Ludmilla, Dvořák’s Concerto in B minor for Cello and Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. The next day, at 2 p.m., Sunday, July 22, the PSO’s concert will feature a suite from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, as well as several works by the Strauss Family.
In Philadelphia, Honeck will lead the PSO at 8 p.m., on Tuesday, July 24 in a concert featuring the works of Glinka, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, performed three days earlier in Québec.
The following evening, at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 25, the PSO takes a different direction under Irish conductor/composer Eímear Noone in The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. Large game screens and video accompany the musicians during the performance. The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses is the first-ever video game themed concert to feature a four-movement symphony, showcasing the work of Nintendo composer and sound director Koji Kondo.
Tickets for the Mann Center concerts range from $12.50 to $49.50 for the July 24 performance, and $19.50 to $95 for the July 25 performance. They can be purchased by calling the Mann Center box office at 215.893.1999, or by visiting the Mann Center at www.themanncenter.org.
The PSO last performed at the Lanaudière Festival in July 2010, and at the Mann Center in July 2011. International touring is made possible by the Hillman Endowment for International Performances.
A native of Austria, Manfred Honeck was appointed its ninth music director and began his tenure at the start of the 2008/2009 season. He recently extended his contract through the 2019-2020 season. After performances at Carnegie Hall and a much-celebrated tour of European musical capitals in 2010, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra returned to Europe again in August and September 2011 for appearances at major music festivals, such as the Rheingau Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Grafenegg Festival, Musikfest Berlin, Beethovenfest Bonn, Lucerne Festival, BBC Proms, and concerts in Paris and Vilnius, Lithuania. In October-November 2012, he will lead the PSO in another tour of Europe, including a four-concert residency at the prestigious Musikverein in Vienna. Honeck's successful work in Pittsburgh is captured on CD by the audiophile Japanese label Exton. So far, Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben have been released to critical acclaim.
Hailed by Gramophone magazine as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” Johannes Moser has performed with the world’s leading orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony and Israel Philharmonic. He works regularly with conductors of the highest level, including Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Jurowski, Franz Welser-Möst, Manfred Honeck, Christian Thielemann, Pierre Boulez and Paavo Jarvi. Moser has gained a reputation for his exquisite performances of lesser-known repertoire, much of it recorded on his extensive award-winning discography on Hänssler Classics. His affinity for new music has brought him much attention from leading conductors, such as Pierre Boulez, who invited him to make his U.S. debut with the Chicago Symphony on the Rands Concerto. Moser is an enthusiastic advocate for the electric cello, which he uses to explore new possibilities in sound as well as for improvisation.
Tour details:
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
LANAUDIÈRE AMPHITHEATRE, QUÉBEC, CANADA
8 p.m., Saturday, July 21
MANFRED HONECK, conductor
JOHANNES MOSER, cello
2 p.m., Sunday, July 22
MANFRED HONECK, conductor
MANN CENTER, PHILADELPHIA
8 p.m., Tuesday, July 24
MANFRED HONECK, conductor
JOHANNES MOSER, cello
8:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 25
EÍMEAR NOONE, conductor
-30-
Contact: James Barthen, Vice President of Public Affairs
Phone: 412.392.4835 | email: jbarthen@pittsburghsymphony.org
Contact: Ramesh Santanam, Director of Media Relations
Phone: 412.392.4827 | email: rsantanam@pittsburghsymphony.org
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