@ the Symphony

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra heads home from their 2026 European Tour after playing their final concert at the Vienna Konzerthaus last night. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham managed to interview several people about the last concert and the tour in particular. He spoke with Francisco Joubert Bernard – Second Bassoonist of the Louisville Orchestra and will be with the PSO in the 2026-2027 Season; guest pianist Alexandre Kantorow; Mary Persin – Vice President of Artistic Planning of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Gus Faucher – Chief Economist for PNC Bank; Alexis Trbovich – Student at the Central European University in Vienna and former WQED-FM Intern; and Manfred Honeck’s wife Christiane.

That’s a wrap! The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra played their final concert of the 2026 European Tour tonight at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria. Manfred Honeck conducted the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 and Alexandre Kantorow played the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham called in with a live report after the concert where he said the audience reaction was tremendous. He also spoke with PSO Concertmaster David McCarroll in Essen, Germany to get his thoughts on the tour and how he was looking forward to performing in the Konzerthaus, where he played many times when he was a member of the Vienna Piano Trio before coming to Pittsburgh.

Jim Cunningham checked in to the QED Morning Show after taking a tour of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. He was joined by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra trombone Jim Nova who spoke about the tour so far, the concert last night at the Konzerthaus, and playing the Shostakovich 5th on the final concert of the tour tonight. Jim Nova is joined on this tour by his girlfriend Megan Boutin – a former teacher at East Texas A&M, who will be an adjunct professor of Trombone at Duquesne University. She gave her thoughts on the tour and the concerts.

David Sogg, Co-Assistant Bassoon with the PSO chatted with Jim Cunningham about the tour and playing in Vienna. We also hear Augustine Hadelich and David McCarroll play the College Hornpipe from the orchestra’s post concert chamber music performances.

The end is near for the 2026 European Tour as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra plays their final two concerts at the Konzerhaus in Vienna, Austria – Music Director Manfred Honeck’s home country. It was a busy day as the orchestra travelled from Essen to Dortmund to Vienna this morning and then gave their first concert tonight, which was then followed by some special chamber music performances afterwards.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham called in live with a report on the day, including the rousing response to the orchestra’s concert of John Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” Barber’s Violin Concerto with Augustin Hadelich and the Dvorak Symphony No. 9. He also talked about the post concert events, and we hear from Assistant Principal Horn Zachary Smith and his wife about the tour.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal Cello Anne Martindale Williams has been with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for 50 years. This current European Tour is her last as she is retiring at the conclusion of the tour. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham spoke with Anne in Essen, Germany about her tremendous career; her thoughts on the current tour; how she won’t be putting the cello away as she will still be teaching; and memories of previous tours, including a memorable interaction with a child when the orchestra played in Russia back in the late 80’s.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham checks in live from Essen, Germany after the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra played at the Philharmonie. Jim talks about the enthusiastic response from the sold out audience for their program of John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine; Dvorak Symphony No. 9, and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with Alexandre Kantorow. Manfred Honeck conducted two encores.

You also hear Jim’s interview with Anne-Sophie Mutter in Lucerne, who played the Penderecki — Metamorphosen, Violin Concerto No. 2 twice on this tour – in Lucerne and in Cologne, Germany. She talks about the difficulty of the piece, her early beginnings on the concert stage and how the Pittsburgh Symphony is her favorite American orchestra.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham spoke to some concertgoers who saw the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on September 7, 2026. He spoke with PSO Board Member Bill Rackoff and his wife Nancy; Stefanie Pashman, CEO of Allegheny Conference on Community Development; Paul Severns, who was a former employee of PPG and now lives in Amsterdam; and Christopher Wu, retired PSO Violinist who is playing with the orchestra on this tour.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra had just concluded it’s concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam when WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham called in for a post-concert report. He was joined by PSO Principal Contrabassoon Jim Rodgers who talked about the acoustics of the hall, and the reaction of the audience to a mostly American concert program; seeing Carlos Simon, the composer of Four Black American Dances, being at the concert to take a bow after the orchestra played his piece.

We also heard Jim’s conversation with Tatjana Mead, Associate Principal Viola, who talked about the Penderecki concerto the orchestra played in Lucerne; her tour experience so far; visiting Poland for the first time on this tour; and how she never tires of playing with her colleagues in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra arrives in Amsterdam to play a concert at the famous Concertgebouw. Manfred Honeck will conduct Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 and Four Black American Dances by Carlos Simon. Augustin Hadelich will play the Barber Violin Concerto. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham called in to the QED morning show from Amsterdam with former Pittsburgher and now Amsterdam resident Albert Manders who will be attending the concert. We also hear Jim’s interview with Neil Berntsen who is retiring and playing on his final tour with the orchestra. He’s still teaching at CMU so he won’t be closing the trumpet case entirely! And we hear from former WQED-FM colleague Stephen Baum, now at WGUC in Cincinnati who is looking forward to hearing the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in one of the best sounding halls in the world.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra plays at the famed Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on Monday September 7th. Pittsburgher Albert Manders has lived in Amsterdam for many years. He spoke with Jim Cunningham about the hall, the acoustics, the unique way for the conductor to get on stage, and much more.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra had a well deserved off day in Lucerne after performing 2 concerts at the Kultur & Kongresszentrum. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham called in with a live report to talk about the 2nd concert featuring Anne-Sophie Mutter. He managed to get an interview with her which will be heard on a later tour report. He also mentioned seeing many concert goers in formal dress for the concert. The report also features an interview with former Assistant Concertmaster Mark Huggins, who now lives in Portugal, but made the trip specially to hear his old orchestra play. He recalls the PSO’s previous tour to Poland in 1989 and how that tour was 5 weeks long! He also confirms seeing James Galway at the Lucerne concert the previous night.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham checks in live from Lucerne after the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed their first of two concerts at the Kultur and Kongresszentrum last night. Jim tells Bryan Sejvar that the stars were out to see the PSO, including James Galway! Jim spoke with PSO President and CEO Melia Tourangeau about the tour so far and what she wants Pittsburghers to know about this tour. There is another concert in Lucerne tonight and then a much needed day off before traveling to Cologne.