@ the Symphony

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham spoke with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director and composer Michael Daugherty backstage immediately after the world premiere of Daugherty’s “Songs of the Open Road,” during our live broadcast on Friday June 7, 2024.

Pittsburgh Symphony Principal Oboe Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida and Principal Horn William Caballero have joined pianist Rodrigo Ojeda to record Three Rivers Trios on the Crystal label released May 27. The disc features two pieces written for them: Chris Massa’s Scenes From Chautauqua Lake and Eric Ewazen’s Three Rivers Trio along with several other first recordings of the Mozart trio for oboe horn and piano arranged by Eric Naumann from the Quintet k. 407, Robert Kahn’s Serenade, and Heinrich Molbe’s Air Arabe. Cyndy and Bill will give the world premiere of Michael Daugherty’s Songs of the Open Road on Friday June 7th with Manfred Honeck conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony. They give a road map for the piece and talk about how the commission came together complete with a visit to the Lucille Ball Museum in Jamestown New York, the Big Sur, Continental Divide, Sleeping Bear, Desilu, Blue Ridge and Key West.

Jim Cunningham spoke with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor who plays the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra this weekend. Benjamin talks about the piece, his latest recording projects, and more.

Vasily Petrenko returns to Heinz Hall to conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra this weekend. He’ll conduct Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Benjamin Grosvenor. Jim Cunningham talks to him about the program, his latest projects and more.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham spoke with this weekend’s Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra guest conductor, Stephane Deneve. He’s conducting music of Ravel, Poulenc and the Gershwin “An American in Paris.” He talks about program, working in St. Louis, if he ever sees Leonard Slatkin in town, and if he is a classical radio fan.

Pianist Cedric Tiberghien plays the Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand this weekend with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It’s his Heinz Hall debut. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham got his thoughts on the Ravel concerto, his interests outside of music and more.

Montreal Canada born composer Samy Moussa talks about his Pittsburgh Symphony commission Adgilis Deda —Hymn for Orchestra – mentioning that it is terrific to have it on a program with one of his favorite composers Anton Bruckner as well as how it was inspired by a person he met in Georgia of the former USSR where he spent an extended period of time. He describes his path so far as a musician studying in Canada, Munich, Germany and now living in Berlin. He is delighted that the Pittsburgh Symphony has already played his Violin Concerto and that he will be working with an orchestra and conductor he has admired from afar.

Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Manfred Honeck talks with Jim Cunningham in the grand lobby of Heinz Hall about the Liszt Dante Symphony and this weekend’s performances of Beethoven’s Ninth with 3 pieces by Anton Bruckner – Locus Iste, Ave Maria and the Adagio from the String Quintet in F in the arrangement Manfred Honeck and Thomas Ille have made. He also speaks about the Beethoven Ninth and how it is always new including an offstage military band and working with Daniel Singer at the Mendelssohn Choir. Manfred Honeck talks about the Pittsburgh Symphony commission of Samy Moussa to write Adgilis Deda—Hymn for Orchestra. The Pittsburgh Symphony announced just this week that the orchestra will be back on tour in August and September 2024 as the only American orchestra at the Salzburg Festival and return visits to several other prestigious European Festivals.

Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes returns to the Pittsburgh Symphony to play one of the most challenging piano concertos of all, the Third by Sergei Rachmaninov with Music Director Manfred Honeck. He joins Jim Cunningham in the Grand Lobby of Heinz Hall to talk about the fine points of the Concerto, how he stays ” in the pocket” as drummers in jazz and funk bands like to do, comments on the record Rachmaninov made of his own Third, mentions a few favorites from the 37 cd box set of his recordings which have been issued by Warner Classics, talks about his season with the Rachmaninov Third also in Philadelphia, his chamber music tour with the Dover Quartet playing Brahms and Dohnanyi and his videos including the Pictures Reframed which involves the piano being played under water and his love of his hometown Bergen, Norway about a day’s drive from Trondheim where he will perform this season. He says he does not know anything about the Trondheim stick dance which Monty Python suggests is done by women in Norway to resolve marital disputes.

Gilmore and Avery Fisher prize winning pianist Charlie Albright makes his Pittsburgh Symphony debut April 12, 13 and 14 with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for PNC Pops and Saturday morning Fiddlesticks concerts. He’s from Centralia, Washington with a start at age 3 then on to studying at Harvard with an interest in economics and pre medicine but the piano became the main focus. He’s appeared with Yo Yo Ma on numerous occasions often with special circumstances and he is loving the sound of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the grandeur of Heinz Hall and the collaboration with Byron Stripling. The subjects covered include why he loves music and young people, his work on YouTube teaching piano, his daughter who is less than one year old and the pre concert ritual which now and then includes a stop at Chipotle. Charlie Albright spoke after the Friday rehearsal with Jim Cunningham sitting at the top of the stairs in the grand lobby under the crystal chandeliers.

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins Jim Cunningham to share his thoughts about Camille Saint-Saens and the Egyptian Concerto No. 5 written in uxor and inspired by his visit to the country even weaving a bit of a song he heard from the river. Jean-Yves talks about his Hall of Fame designation at the Hollywood Bowl, his work in the wine region of Burgundy with cellist Gautier Capucon, his interest in jazz, his new cd with Michael Feinstein and his style with couture from Vivienne Westwood.

The long time Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra discusses the Inextinguishable Symphony No 4 by Carl Nielsen, the Bach Toccata and Fugue in d minor in the Skrowacewski transcription and its use on horror films along the way to becoming the best known music by J. S. Bach. Maestro Vanska says he’s living the Finnish equivalent of the free life but enjoys his home in Minnesota, he knows the Finnish wunderkind Klaus Makela and why he is great having just been appointed Music Director in Chicago along with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Topics include the Finnish character to avoid small talk , his Yamaha motorcycle and why he let the Minnesota Orchestra auction it off.