The beauty of two cellos with Pablo Ferrández and the Pittsburgh Symphony

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.

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Valčuha leads Pittsburgh Symphony in lush Strauss, Saint-Saëns

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”).

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