SPECIAL NOTE: The Pittsburgh Symphony’s 9/11 commemorative performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony at the Berlin Philharmonie is now available for viewing on demand, thanks to American Public Media. Podcast: Tour Finale and 9/11 ceremony in Berlin On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the Pittsburgh Symphony completed its European Festival Tour 2011 in reunified Berlin, Germany […]

Podcast: Beethovenfest 2 The city where Beethoven was born has been putting together a festival in his honor since 1876, when Franz Liszt organized the first one. Liszt also organized the fundraising for the Beethoven memorial statue or Denkmal in the Münsterplatz in the heart of the city. Thousands gathered in the square throughout Saturday […]

After a magnifique concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on Tuesday evening, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians enjoyed their last day off before the home stretch. Cynthia Koledo de Almeida and Jim Gorton purchased new oboes at the Lorée factory store. Bass Betsy Heston toured the Louvre and loved the Fragonard. Lots of folks […]

Podcast: Pittsburghers in Paris From St. Pancras Station in London, we departed right on time aboard the Eurostar train that runs underneath the English Channel. I must be honest; I slept right through it. I had been up until 4:00 am, and we left the hotel at 8:45.  The waiting area for the Eurostar is […]

Podcast: Cheers from the Royal Albert Hall Hundreds of promenaders stood in complete silence throughout the seventy-minute Mahler Symphony No. 5. Last night, a crowd of nearly 6,000 at the Royal Albert Hall heard the second of the two concerts at the BBC Proms with the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Manfred Honeck. There were two […]

Podcast: Co-hosting the BBC Proms The tour’s first BBC Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall brought the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck to a worldwide audience. I was invited to co-host the broadcast with Suzy Klein in the tiny box on the audience left side. The hall was full with the Prommers standing right […]

Podcast: Interview with Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Joel Fried Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Manfred Honeck sat down for a few minutes just before the concert in Lucerne, Switzerland to say how happy he is with the orchestra’s tour so far. He loved having family and friends around in Grafenegg, Austria. The reviews have been good, although one […]

Podcast: Rudolf Buchbinder in Grafenegg With Mahler’s Fifth Symphony featured on this tour, it seemed like now would be the right time to visit his grave in the Friedhoff Cemetery about twenty minutes from the heart of Vienna. Trombonist Jim Nova drove with a little help from a GPS, which announced the turns in English. […]

One of Europe’s newest and most amazing festivals has been put together on the grounds of a 13th-century castle built in the Tudor style. The Pittsburgh Symphony made its debut at the five-year-old Grafenegg Festival with the first of two concerts in the modern auditorium. Friday, they play outdoors in the Wolkenturm if the weather […]

At noon Thursday, the Pittsburgh Symphony heads to the first of its two concerts at the five-year-old Grafenegg Festival about 45 minutes from Vienna. Yesterday, I joined PSO Principal Oboist Cynthia Koledo de Almeida, Principal Flutist Lorna McGhee, freelance cellist Aaron Zelkowicz, and Vienna Symphony Orchestra oboist Peter Schreiber on a train ride to Franz […]