PSO Announce European Festivals Tour

For Immediate Release
Jan. 16, 2013

PSO ANNOUNCES 2013 EUROPEAN FESTIVALS TOUR – MUSIC DIRECTOR MANFRED HONECK LEADS ORCHESTRA IN 12-CONCERT, 6-NATION TOUR THIS SUMMER

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, pianist Yuja Wang, percussionist Martin Grubinger to join tour; PSO to perform in Romania for the first time

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) today announced that Music Director Manfred Honeck will lead the PSO on a 12-concert European Festivals Tour from Aug. 26 to Sept. 15, 2013.

The tour will take the orchestra to Austria, Germany, Romania, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The tour opens at the Grafenegg Festival in Austria, where Honeck will lead the PSO in two concerts on Aug. 29 & 30. The PSO performed in Grafenegg for the first time in September 2011. The PSO will next perform at the popular Berlin Festival on Aug. 31, before traveling to Bucharest, Romania, to debut at the George Enescu International Festival on Sept. 3.

The orchestra will perform in Paris (Sept. 6), and Dusseldorf (Sept. 7) and Frankfurt, Germany (Sept. 8) before traveling to Switzerland for two concerts at the Lucerne Festival on Sept. 10 & 11. The tour concludes with concerts at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, Germany, on Sept. 12 & 14. An additional concert in the United Kingdom will be announced at a later date. The PSO performed in Lucerne, Bonn, Berlin and London in 2011.

Famed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will appear with the PSO in Grafenegg, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Lucerne, while piano virtuoso Yuja Wang will be in Grafenegg, Bucharest, Paris, Dusseldorf and Bonn. Percussionist Martin Grubinger will be the guest soloist at the PSO performances in Lucerne on Sept. 11, and Bonn on Sept. 14.
The tour program will feature Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, a suite from Leo¹Janáèek’s Jenùfa, Ravel’s Bolero and Rapsodie Espagnole, and Witold Lutoslawski’s Chain 2 for Violin and Orchestra. Mutter will perform Dvoøák’s Violin Concerto; Wang will play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Grubinger is scheduled to be the guest soloist when the PSO performs John Corigliano’s “Conjurer” concerto.

“Going on tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is always a fantastic experience. I am looking forward to returning to these wonderful cities, as well as visiting Bucharest with the PSO for the first time,” Honeck said. “We are honored that we all get to make magnificent music in some of the great concert halls in the world.”

“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck were greeted with great applause and acclaim during our recent European Residency Tour earlier this year,” PSO President and CEO James A. Wilkinson said. “Our previous European Festivals Tour in 2011 was a huge success and it is a tremendous honor to be invited back to these renowned festivals and venues in Europe.”

International touring is made possible, in part, by the Hillman Endowment for International Performances.
Information about the PSO tour can be found at www.pittsburghsymphony.org/2013tour. The website will be updated as more information becomes available.

2013 EUROPEAN FESTIVALS TOUR CONCERT SCHEDULE

Aug. 29: at Auditorium Grafenegg, Grafenegg Festival, Austria
Aug. 30: at Grafenegg Wolkenturm (outdoor stage), Grafenegg Festival
Presented by Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich

Aug. 31: at Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin Festival, Germany
Presented by Musikfest Berlin

Sept. 3: at Salla Palatului, George Enescu International Festival, Bucharest, Romania
Presented by Artexim "George Enescu"

Sept. 6: at Salle Pleyel, Paris
Presented by Salle Pleyel

Sept. 7: at Tonhalle, Dusseldorf, Germany
Presented by Konzert Theater Kontor Heinersdorff GmbH

Sept. 8: at Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany
Presented by Alte Oper Frankfurt

Sept. 10: at Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern, Switzerland
Sept. 11: at Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern
Presented by Lucerne Festival

Sept. 12: at Beethovenhalle, Beethoven Festival, Bonn, Germany
Sept. 14: at Beethovenhalle, Beethoven Festival, Bonn
Presented by Internationale Beethovenfeste Bonn GmbH

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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: Louise Sciannameo, Associate Vice President of Public Affairs
Phone: 412.392.4866 | email: lsciannameo@pittsburghsymphony.org

In Europe
Contact: PR2 classic
Gabriele Schiller & Anna Frankenberg
Phone: +49 221 38 10 63 | email: office@pr2classic.de

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

PSO Embarks on European Tour

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

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh