Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Carnegie Mellon Chorus Gerard Schwarz, conductor Thomas W. Douglas, chorus director
Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA April 8, 2026
Hanson: Lament for Beowulf, Op. 25 Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major
In what must have been a remarkable opportunity for students at the Carnegie Mellon School of Music, distinguished conductor Gerard Schwarz led the university Philharmonic and Chorus in a compelling program. To reach those outside the Pittsburgh area, the performance was live-streamed (linked below). Schwarz currently serves as music director of the Palm Beach Symphony, but was most notable for a more than quarter-century tenure at the helm of the Seattle Symphony, doing much raise that ensemble’s prominence. He has also produced a vast discography, impressive not just for its scope, but for its inclusion of neglected and contemporary repertoire.
Marc-André Hamelin, piano Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA January 12, 2026
Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840–60 Schumann: Waldszenen, Op. 82 Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
Encores: Ravel: Jeux d’eau Rachmaninoff: Étude-tableau in E-flat minor, Op. 39 No. 5 Hamelin: Music Box, no. 5 from Con intimissimo sentimento
Opening 2026 at Chamber Music Pittsburgh – and the first major event of the local classical music calendar this year – was a much-anticipated solo recital from pianist Marc-André Hamelin. A piano on loan from Carnegie Mellon University had an imposing presence on the Carnegie Music Hall stage. Hamelin is among today’s most intrepid explorers of the instrument, never shying away from a work no matter how little known or technically demanding. This was amply apparent in the first half, which opened in uncompromising form by of Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata.
Members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Mellon School of Music Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA November 24, 2025
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049
Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos have nothing to do with the holidays, yet their cheery, celebratory spirit makes them a favorite this time year. A survey of the complete series made for a satisfying evening at Chamber Music Pittsburgh during the week of Thanksgiving. No two of these concertos are scored for the same instrumentation, and a wide panoply of performers were culled from the ranks of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Carnegie Mellon School of Music.
Pablo Ferrández, cello*† David McCarroll, violin† Justine Campagna, violin* Dylan Naroff, violin† Zhenwei Shi, viola*† Anne Martindale Williams, cello*†
Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, PA November 15, 2025
Arensky: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35* Schubert: String Quintet in C major, D956†
Following his lyrical and refined performance of Saint-Saëns with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the next evening cellist Pablo Ferrández was featured in a PSO360 program alongside string players drawn from the orchestra’s ranks — the first three of the violins, principal viola, and principal cello. Both the works programmed were strikingly scored for two cellos: the first a remarkable discovery, the latter, a pillar of the chamber repertoire.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Juraj Valčuha, conductor Pablo Ferrández, cello Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, PA November 14, 2025
Wolfe: Liberty Bell Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 Encore: Bach: Sarabande from Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009 Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Featuring a return to the Heinz Hall podium of Juraj Valčuha, this weekend’s PSO program opened with another entry in this season’s survey of American orchestral works. Receiving just its second performance was Julia Wolfe’s Liberty Bell, premiered in September at the Houston Symphony where Valčuha serves as music director. Based in the titular bell’s home of Philadelphia, Wolfe was on hand to introduce the piece in person (I liked how she described Philly and Pittsburgh as “the two pillars of Pennsylvania”).
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra Daniel Meyer, conductor Timothy Chooi, violin Palace Theatre Greensburg, PA October 18, 2025
Khachaturian: Suite from Masquerade Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Encore: Corigliano: Red Violin Caprices Borodin: Symphony No. 2 in B minor
Last weekend, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra opened its 57th season at Greensburg’s Palace Theatre. The repertoire selected for the occasion was not only alluring, but somewhat off-kilter for an evening that skirted any overly-familiar warhorses. Opening the program was the five-movement suite from Aram Khachaturian’s incidental music to the Lermontov play Masquerade.
Timothy Chooi performs with Daniel Meyer and the Westmoreland Symphony, photo credit WSO
One of the Armenian composer’s most recognizable melodies came in the opening Waltz, given with panache. A languid Nocturne contrasted, with a fine solo from concertmaster Jason Neukom. Conductor Daniel Meyer gave the flamboyant Mazurka character by way of a flexible rubato. A lyrical trumpet solo (Adam Gillespie) highlighted the Romance ahead of the tongue-in-cheek Galop which closed.
The sumptuous Violin Concerto of Erich Wolfgang Korngold introduced Timothy Chooi as soloist. Lush, honeyed sounds of this late-Romantic idiom were searingly beautiful, and Chooi’s attention to detail conveyed its intricacies with artful phrasing. The central Romance was of quiet repose before energetic finale of coruscating virtuosity. As an encore, Chooi further impressed in a technically brilliantsegment of the Red Violin Caprices by John Corigliano.
The real rarity came in Alexander Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 in B minor which occupied the second half. Though seldom-performed, it’s Borodin’s most important large-scale instrumental work, and one of few symphonic examples from the so-called Russian Five. A big-boned theme — this was not an evening for subtlety — that drew on Russian folk tradition made for an attention-getting opening. The writing is perhaps a bit heavy-handed, but Meyer’s careful balance ensured matters weren’t overdone.
A fleet scherzo danced by, almost in the manner of Mendelssohn, and a downtempo section was especially lovely — and included some striking scoring for flute and triangle. The Andante was noted for a gleaming horn solo (Mark Addleman), setting up the grandiose and jubilant finale.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Robin Ticciati, conductor Francesco Piemontesi, piano Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, PA October 10, 2025
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 Encore: Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K332 – 2. Adagio Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
The second week of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s 2025-26 subscription season saw the first of several debuts on tap in British conductor Robin Ticciati. The program was comprised of two major and deeply rewarding works, one at the precipice of Romanticism, the other, the epitome of Romanticism. Beethoven’s genial Piano Concerto No. 4 brought back pianist Francesco Piemontesi, last appearing on this stage just a few months ago.
Offstage bells used in the Symphonie fantastique
The solo piano opened the work with a gentle resonance, followed by a long-breathed orchestral exposition. The most intimate and personal of Beethoven’s five piano concertos, Piemontesi drew deep reserves of expression. His thoughtful, probing playing perhaps recalled that of his mentor, Alfred Brendel, and he found great drama in the cadenza. In the Andante con moto, coarse strings introduced the plaintive piano, arriving at a spiritual stasis amidst moments of agitation. As if unsure what direction to go after, the closing rondo started in hesitation before robustly bursting forth with vigor and abandon. For an encore, the pianist selected a lovely slow movement from a Mozart sonata.
Revolutionary a work as it may be, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique was written only three years after Beethoven’s death. Tentative beginnings introduced a dreamlike trance, and Ticciati teased out the richness of the strings, favoring minimal vibrato. I was struck by his energetic conducting, nearly using his entire body as his baton danced along to the music. Still, at times the orchestral balance left something to be desired. The first presentation of the idée fixe that binds the work was graceful and filled with longing.
In Un bal, the harps introduced an elegant waltz theme; a striking dialogue between English horn and offstage oboe opened the central Scène aux champs. A widely contrasting portrait of nature, matters went from the calm to the passionate to the stormy, ending with the forlorn English horn all alone. Matters came alive in the iconic Marche au supplice, given an energetic workout in all its brassy splendor. The closing Songe d’une nuit du sabbat opened in an eerie soundscape, filled with the striking timbres of the shrill E-flat clarinet, tolling bells (performed offstage from the lobby), and a chilling invocation of the Dies irae chant in the low brass.
In a post-concert performance, Piemontesi teamed up with PSO wind players for the latter two movements of Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds. A lovely pendant to the evening, and given the pianist’s chemistry with these players, I’d love to see him perform as part of the orchestra’s PSO360 series.
Two personal notes. One of my fondest concert memories consists of this same Beethoven/Berlioz pairing. The first of many performances I attended at Vienna’s Musikverein during a formative college year in the Austrian capital, conductor and piano were respectively Claudio Abbado and Maurizio Pollini — two of my musical heroes who are sadly no longer with us.
I am eagerly anticipating Marc-André Hamelin’s next album Found Objects/Sound Objects, due for release at the end of the month. In quintessential MAH fashion, it’s an enterprising blend of little-known works mostly dating from the last half-century. The disc concludes with his own Hexensabbat (Witches’ Sabbath). With obvious allusions to the Berlioz (including use of the Dies irae), how fitting it was for the track to be released as a single the same day as the PSO performance — and it’s a thrilling listen.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, conductor Yuja Wang, piano David McCarroll, violin Justine Campagna, violin Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, PA September 20, 2025
López: “Techno” from Fiesta! Strauss Jr: Éljen a Magyár!, Op. 332 (arr. Nischkauer) Shostakovich: “Waltz II” from Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 Sarasate: Navarra Mascagni: “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria rusticana Mancini: Strings on Fire Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
A celebratory gala concert marked the start of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s 2025-26 concert season, featuring a potpourri of appealing orchestral works guided by music director Manfred Honeck before star pianist Yuja Wang took the Heinz Hall stage. A major fundraising event for the organization as well, and a successful one — reportedly raising nearly $1 million.
Yuja Wang with Manfred Honeck and the PSO, photos credit JMilteer Photography
Techno from the Fiesta! suite by Jimmy López certainly made for exciting first notes of the season with its driving kinetic energy, enhanced by an expanded percussion section. Strauss’ Éljen a Magyár! charmed in its infectiously lilting rhythms, and served as an acknowledgment of the composer’s 200th birthday.
Another anniversary was marked with Shostakovich, who we note died 50 years ago. A waltz from his Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 was nearly Chopinesque in its blending of elegance and melancholy. Sarasate’s Navarra featured dueling PSO violinists David McCaroll and Justine Campagna, playing the material with inimitable Spanish charm and coruscating virtuosity.
Mascagni’s indelible intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana (which local audiences got to hear complete at Pittsburgh Opera last season) saw delicate strings blossom into the sumptuous. Finally, Henry Mancini’s (best remembered as composer of The Pink Panther and other films) Strings on Fire was just that — a sizzling, energetic workout.
I heard Yuja Wang play Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto at The Cleveland Orchestra this past March, and was dazzled by her consummate virtuosity, command of the keyboard, and refined playing that revealed details I hadn’t heard before even in this overly familiar warhorse. There’s little else to say about it, but what a thrill it was to see her deliver such impassioned and assured playing with the Pittsburgh musicians, her first local appearance since 2013. Despite a thunderous ovation and numerous curtain calls, she didn’t indulge the capacity crowd with an encore, but perhaps it would have been all but gratuitous after such a satisfying take on Tchaikovsky.
Brooklyn Rider Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA September 16, 2025
Haydn: String Quartet in F minor, Op. 20 No. 5, Hob. III:35 Byron: String Quartet No. 3 Hearne: We Are Working Tirelessly for a Ceasefire Negrón: Our Children Speak English and Spanish Dylan: The Times they are a-changin’ (arr. Colin Jacobsen) Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3
Returning to its former home at the Carnegie Music Hall for the first after the extensive renovation, Chamber Music Pittsburgh began its 65th season with the enterprising string quartet Brooklyn Rider. A banner year for the quartet as well, with this being its 20th anniversary. BR has a gift for thought-provoking recital programs that often become the basis for recordings (see my review of a program which touched on their Healing Modes and Four Elements projects). Tuesday’s offering introduced their Citizenship Notes initiative, celebrating democratic ideals through the string quartet, itself a microcosm of a functioning democracy with its four generally equal voices.
Brooklyn Rider at Chamber Music Pittsburgh
The evening opened with Haydn, whose works bear the ideals of the Enlightenment. The String Quartet in F minor is marked by unusually rich writing from the generally economic classicist, given by BR with ample heft and a refined clarity and balance between the four parts. The slow movement featured some graceful playing in triple meter before the fugal writing of the finale, whisked off with crisp precision. The fugue is perhaps the greatest musical expression of democracy with its lively discourse and equality amongst parts, and the present performance made one wish it was a form Haydn explored more.
A quartet of new commissions followed, all centered around the democratic theme — and the composers engaged were given much latitude on how they wished to express that. Don Byron’s String Quartet No. 3 makes only veiled reference to the theme. Rapid runs in endless succession made for chaotic beginnings, and a colorful employ of pizzicato yielded shifting, contrasting textures. The only overt acknowledgment of the politically charged theme was in the central second movement — denoted “Russian March,” with obvious implications against of the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. An ostinato was used to ominous effect, and the strife was unabated in the finale.
Ted Hearne’s We Are Working Tirelessly for a Ceasefire refers the oft-repeated line from politicians in reference to the Gaza war that amounts to all talk and no action. Incessant repetitions in the music seemed to evoke this deluge of platitudes, and with rhythms out of sync, one perhaps felt the cacophony of a session of Congress. Our Children Speak English and Spanish by Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón looked to the children as the surest hope for a democratic future, with pre-recorded bits of children’s voices interwoven with the strings.
Brooklyn Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen offered his own transcription of Bob Dylan’s anthem The Times they are a-changin’, and it was a remarkable way to hear a classic afresh. Much more ambitious than a straightforward transcription, it took the Dylan tune in a multitude of directions as members of the quartet sang the familiar lyrics.
The third and final of Beethoven’s so-called Razumovsky quartets closed the program, neatly bookending the contemporary works with masters of the form. A prolonged and rather static introductory passage was quite striking before a gently cascading main theme took shape, resonating with the brightness of C major. The first two of the Razumovsky quartets explicitly contain a Russian theme — although no such designation is made in the third, the captivating theme of the slow movement is likely of Russian origin (perhaps a connection to the Byron work heard earlier). Winding and wistful, the melodic line was underpinned by pizzicato cello. Like the selected Haydn quartet, Beethoven too closed with a fugue — indeed, the most appropriate way to conclude this program. Blazing by in a whirlwind, it made for one of Beethoven’s most thrilling finales.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, conductor Beatrice Rana, piano Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, PA June 13, 2025
Auerbach: Frozen Dreams Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Encore: Tchaikovsky/Pletnev: Intermezzo from The Nutcracker Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
In the final subscription program of the season, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony selected a program which has become a familiar format this season: a new work, a concerto with an impressive soloist, and a major symphony to cap things off. Friday’s new work was the world premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Frozen Dreams (which Honeck is due to conduct in Vienna the following weekend).
Lera Auerbach with Honeck and the PSO
Frozen Dreams had its roots in a 2020 work for string quartet. The expanded version for full orchestra gave the composer the opportunity to include some unique bits of instrumentation — for example, scraping the edge of the gong — to create an otherworldly, spiritual dimension, and a dreamy, phantasmagoric atmosphere. A folk-inspired theme took shape in a solo line from concertmaster David McCarroll. Pointillist-styled textures circulated around the orchestra in this captivating music that though required acute listening drew one in. The distinctive tones of the gong returned before matters faded to silence.
Mendelssohn’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 1 saw the return of Italian pianist Beatrice Rana. A sizzling orchestral opening introduced her fleet fingers in playing that sparkled like the sequins of her dress. More lyrical passages were delicately shaped. Some lovely playing in the low strings and brass surfaced in the central Andante in service of Rana’s graceful pianism. The fiery finale saw the pianist in crisp command of the keyboard. As an encore, Rana had much to say in the lyrical and passionate Intermezzo from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker (part of an ingenious set of transcriptions by Mikhail Pletnev).
Shostakovich’s massive and shattering Tenth Symphony made for an imposing close to the season. A deep gravitas was felt from the very beginning, with the richness of the strings sounding world-weary, further answered by a lonesome clarinet. Gradually, the movement built to powerful and often ferocious climaxes, only to close on a forlorn flute. The Allegro served as an uncompromising portrait of Stalin’s brutality, a breathless aural assault. The following Allegretto began quietly unsettled, and morphed into a grotesque dance. Ponderous introductory material in the finale took flight into what seemed at first glance a jubilant fanfare, but a much grimmer reality was revealed in due course. The work ended, however, in what potentially could be felt as a glimmer of hope — but not without ambiguity and uncertainty.
quasi-faust 