by Charlie Powers and Rhian Kenny
Please join us for the third annual Musicians of Steel 5K Run/Walk, a charity race organized by the Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony! The race begins at the Millvale Riverfront Pavilion and follows a flat out-and-back course along Pittsburgh’s beautiful North Shore on Three Rivers Heritage Trail.
by Jack Howell
If the question is what Jon and Carol Walton have done for the Pittsburgh Symphony, the concise answer would be, anything they could. They have been BNY Mellon Grand Classics suscribers for decades, our companions on the past five international tours, and leading supporters of the annual fund drive.
by Rhian Kenny
On Tuesday, September 17, 2019, more than 55 PSO musicians will present 19 different performances in locations throughout Pittsburgh. The Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra started the Day of Music four years ago to say thank you to our Pittsburgh community by bringing music to people where they are.
By Susanne Park
It can be a fine line between giving our readers a look backstage and whining. We musicians get asked lots of questions, and non-musicians frequently are surprised to learn various facts of life for professional musicians — how much work it takes, how much our instruments cost — but because the answer can seem insane to a non-musician (Any idea how much a bassoon costs? Think Tesla Model S.) it sometimes sounds like a complaint. It’s usually not a complaint, it just is what it is. With that in mind, since we often get asked about touring, and since we’re going to Europe in October, it seems appropriate to write about it.
by Lorien Benet Hart
Most of you know about our 3-year partnership with 412 Food Rescue. Our year-round Body & Soul runs and summer Hidden Harvest “residency” at Sheridan Orchard in East Liberty are pillars of our community involvement. We are excited to announce the newest arm of our partnership as the Pittsburgh chapter of IfMusic Be The Food, a national chamber music organization with a focus on food insecurity.
The music world lost one of its most prolific and versatile talents with the passing of André Previn on February 28 at age 89. The musicians that played in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra during Previn’s tenure as Music Director from 1976-1984 are key parts of his living legacy. History is preserved among orchestral musicians through memories and stories like these.
If there is such a thing as a Counting God of Symphonic Composition, then no one had a more ardent faith in that deity than Gustav Mahler. When he composed Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), the Viennese master thought he had outwitted the Counting God.
A great concert experience begins before the first note is played. It begins with the first person who welcomes you into our hall. This is why we chose Dennis Walker as the recipient for this month’s Bouquet. Dennis has been a doorman at Heinz Hall since 2010, and his warm greeting brings a smile to concertgoers and passersby alike.
By Jack Howell The most basic spectrum when discussing color in music is from dark to bright. A musical tone that is heavy in the fundamental pitch and lower harmonics and lacking in higher harmonics will usually be called “dark,” while a tone that is abundant (or perhaps overabundant) in higher harmonics and less balanced with lower…
By Ron Samuels Late in his life, Russian composer Alexander Scriabin hoped to create a vast, multimedia work fusing music, dance, theater, painting, poetry and perfume. He intended for the performance to last seven days and nights in the foothills of the Himalayas. The work, to be called Mysterium, would be a “celebration of collective joy,”…