For Immediate Release
Feb. 26, 2012
MUSIC DIRECTOR MANFRED HONECK LEADS PSO ON 2012 EUROPEAN TOUR – 12 CONCERTS, 8 CITIES
Tour includes week-long residency at Vienna’s famed Musikverein
Pianist Rudolph Buchbinder, violinist Nikolaj Znaider join tour
PITTSBURGH – Music Director Manfred Honeck will once again lead the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) on a 12-concert tour of Europe, which includes a week-long residency at the prestigious Musikverein in Vienna.
The tour, from Oct. 25 to Nov. 10, will take Honeck and the PSO to Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna, Paris, Luxembourg, and Cologne, Frankfurt and Stuttgart in Germany.
During the tour, the PSO will have the rare honor of a four-concert residency at the Musikverein, which will feature Honeck’s stunning interpretation of Mozart’s Requiem.
Viennese favorite, pianist Rudolph Buchbinder, will perform with the PSO in Vienna. Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider, described by Gramophone magazine as “one of the greatest artists of his generation,” also will join the PSO on this tour. Znaider was the guest soloist at PSO concerts Feb. 17-19 at Heinz Hall, and returns to conduct the PSO March 2-4.
The tour opens in Spain, with a performance Oct. 25 at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, followed by concerts on Oct. 26 and 27 at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid.
After a week in Vienna (Oct. 29-Nov. 3), the PSO will perform at the Salle Pleyel in Paris (Nov. 5), before heading to Germany for concerts at the Philharmonie in Cologne (Nov. 7), Alte Oper in Frankfurt (Nov. 8), and Liederhalle in Stuttgart (Nov. 9). The final concert of the tour will be Nov. 10 at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg.
In addition to Mozart’s Requiem, the tour repertoire features Steven Stucky’s Dreamwaltzes, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”), Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, the world premiere of Herbert Willi’s Violin Concerto, commissioned by the Musikverein for the PSO, and Willi’s Abba-Ma.
“Touring with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is always a fantastic experience,” Honeck said. “It is very special that we are returning to cities where the PSO has performed before to great success. It is also wonderful to return to Vienna and my musical roots, to the city where I grew up and played professionally for so many years.”
“On the previous tour to Europe, Manfred Honeck and the Orchestra played to sold-out houses and received great acclaim,” PSO President and CEO James A. Wilkinson said. “It is a tremendous honor for an orchestra to be invited for a residency at the Musikverein, and it speaks volumes about how highly our music director and musicians are thought of throughout the world.”
International touring is made possible, in part, by the Hillman Endowment for International Performance.
The PSO also continues its partnership, now entering in its seventh year, with the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA) to promote the Pittsburgh region in Europe.
“Pittsburgh is internationally recognized for collaboration. We work together like no place else,” PRA President Dewitt Peart said. “Here, organizations, such as a symphony orchestra and an economic development agency, partner to promote our region, which National Geographic Traveler has called a ‘must-see, best-of-the-world destination’ in 2012. The region has a world of opportunity to offer, and its people make Pittsburgh experiences – from visits to significant business ventures – authentic and successful. The ‘Power of Pittsburgh’ is its people, and we’re delighted to personally showcase the region through its musicians, business leaders and other partners who are passionate about Pittsburgh – when the PRA tours Europe alongside the PSO.”
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In Pittsburgh:
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
Contact: Philip Cynar, Senior Communications Specialist, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance
Phone: 412.281.4783, ext. 4573
email: pcynar@pittsburghregion.org
In New York:
Contact: Mary Lou Falcone
Phone: 212-580-4302
email: mlfpr@mlfpr.com
In Europe:
Contact: Gabriele Schiller
Phone: +49 221 38 10 63
email: office@pr2classic.de
