Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra renews music director Manfred Honeck's contract through 2032-2033 season
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has extended the contract of music director Manfred Honeck through the 2032-2033 season, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The extension will see Honeck cap off a 25-year partnership, making him the longest-serving music director in the orchestra's 131-year history, according to a media release from orchestra officials.
"From the very beginning of his tenure, Manfred Honeck has inspired this orchestra, our audiences, and our city through an extraordinary devotion to music and an artistic passion that has made an enduring mark on our history," said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
With Honeck, the orchestra launched its acclaimed Pittsburgh Live! Recording series with Reference Recordings, earning twelve Grammy Award nominations and three wins, including Best Orchestral Performance for the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5/Barber "Adagio for Strings" album.
"For nearly two decades I have felt a very special relationship with this orchestra," said Honeck. "From my first performances, I sensed a unique spirit of devotion to the music and power in execution. Our relationship is built on trust, dedication, and a shared desire to reach the deepest meaning of the music we perform."
Honeck's tenure has seen him and the PSO collaborate with several internationally recognized artists, including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, John Williams, and F. Murray Abraham.
Honeck has also worked to keep the orchestra as an integral part of Pittsburgh's arts community.
In 2018, he led the orchestra and city in the Concert for Peace and Unity in honor of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims, and in 2013, he led The Singing City, which brought thousands of singers from the region together with the symphony.
"I am honored, excited and inspired to extend this partnership to be 25 years, a milestone that reflects the deepest artistic relationship of my life. I cherish the 18 years I have had with this orchestra and look forward with great anticipation to all that the next seven years will bring," Honeck said.
