Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1895, was the first American orchestra to perform at Lucerne Festival. Its ascent into the top ranks of international orchestras took place in the 1930s and is closely associated with guest conductor Otto Klemperer and Music Director Fritz Reiner, who shaped the orchestra’s development at that time. During Reiner’s tenure (1938–48), the orchestra undertook its first tour and began making recordings. For nearly a quarter-century, from 1952 to 1976, William Steinberg led the orchestra and expanded its international reputation. Music Directors André Previn (1976–84), Lorin Maazel (1988–96), and Mariss Jansons (1997–2004) continued this great tradition. Manfred Honeck has held the position of Music Director since 2008; the orchestra has toured in Asia under his leadership and is embarking on a European tour in the summer of 2026, with stops at the Salzburg Festival and in Warsaw, Hamburg, Cologne, Amsterdam, Essen, and Vienna. In addition to classical concerts at Heinz Hall and regular performances at major American music centers such as New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presents a pops series, which has been led by Byron Stripling since 2020. It reaches tens of thousands of young people each year through family concerts and a wide range of outreach and educational programs. The orchestra has received numerous awards for its recordings, including several Grammy Awards. Most recently, Mozart’s Requiem, featuring recitations by F. Murray Abraham, was released in the fall of 2025.

Lucerne Festival (IMF) debut on 30 August 1964 in a program of works by Weber, Schubert, Piston, Hindemith, and Ravel led by William Steinberg; most recent appearance here was on 6 September 2017 with Manfred Honeck, who conducted by music by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky. 

Further information: pso.culturaldistrict.org

June 2026