Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra marks 125 years.
Organizations don’t often celebrate keeping the lights on for 125 years. But the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is doing just that. The orchestra is set to premiere the 125th Anniversary Celebration in its “Front Row” series of digital concerts on Saturday, 125 years to the day the PSO gave its first concert.
Hosts Jim Cunningham of WQED-FM, producer Sydni Goldman and Mary Persin, vice president for artistic planning, take a look back at the PSO’s lush history while bringing various ensembles back to Heinz Hall for a wide range of performances. Audiences will also hear from music director Manfred Honeck and principal pops conductor Byron Stripling.
PSO president Melia Tourangeau said the organization had been planning an extensive celebration for three years when the pandemic forced it to quickly re-evaluate how to mark the occasion.
Downtown production company Flying Scooter Productions was already at work filming episodes of the “Front Row” digital concert series, now an online platform for all of the PSO’s digital offerings. Filming the anniversary concert began in October, taking advantage of nice weather for the brass and woodwind players to socially distance outdoors.
“It’s such a different way to experience the orchestra,” Tourangeau said. “But it’s called ‘ Front Row’ for a reason because you’re right in the middle of the ensemble. You can see the expressions in the musicians’ eyes. You can see these views of the
instruments and the fingering that you would never see from an audience standpoint in the hall.”
Selections from the anniversary celebration include a movement from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; contemporary pieces from David Watkins, Elizabeth Raum and Mark Fromm for harp, tuba and woodwinds, respectively; the allegro from Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon; and a section of Astor Piazzolla’s “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.”
“We’re the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States,” Tourangeau said. “The
legacy of the Pittsburgh Symphony is remarkable. It’s survived a depression and our first pandemic, and all kinds of other things. We know we will get to the other side of this and be able to launch another 125 years.”
Those unable to catch the concert on Saturday can also tune in a broadcast of it on WQED-TV on March 11 as well as watch it free on the PSO’s website, pittsburghsymphony.org.
The episode will feature performances of more than 50 musicians, said Flying Scooter Productions creative director
Jennifer Schlieper. For the Piazzolla piece, the shoot involved 12 cameras showcasing the interplay between guest concertmaster Alexi Kenney, violinist Chris Wu and the rest of the ensemble.
Cunningham said it was “an incredible honor” to co-host the anniversary celebration. As an on-air announcer for a classical music station, he was effusive about the many recordings the PSO has produced over the years, especially a set of recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies under
William Steinberg re-released in 2020.
He attributed the longevity of the PSO to the hiring of high-quality individual players and the conductors who chose them over the years. He linked the orchestra’s early radio broadcasts and TV forays to the new digital ventures with “Front Row” as continuing to maintain the world-class standards of the PSO.
“Pittsburgh, we tend to undervalue some of our absolute greatest treasures,” Cunningham said. “We’re way above our market size in terms of quality. These world-leading orchestras, you name it, [the PSO is] every bit as good as those orchestras, and on many nights, better. It’s evidenced in the recordings you can buy.”
Micah Wilkinson, principal trumpet player, performed a Victor Ewald piece for brass quintet for the anniversary celebration out in Heinz Hall’s garden — not a controlled environment. He referred to the busy Downtown setting as a “bus depot” that likely tested the recording engineer with capturing the live music.
Having been with the orchestra for three years, Wilkinson said he was proud to perform with an organization with such a long history and rich tradition of touring, recording and musical direction.
“A symphony is what puts great cities on the map,” Wilkinson said. “So to have a symphony with that kind of history, it says a lot for Pittsburgh, and I’m looking forward to being a part of the next 50 years.”
From the theatrical Victor Herbert to the volatile Fritz Reiner to the international William Steinberg to the exacting Lorin Maazel, the PSO has had an enduring legacy of top musical directors over its history. The orchestra has performed in dozens of countries and was also the first American orchestra to play for the Vatican in 2004. And it has won three Grammy Awards, two in 2018 under current maestro Honeck.
Principal cellist Anne Martindale Williams has been with the PSO for 45 years, and she recalled her first year with the orchestra was also the first for music director and Academy Award-winning film composer Andre Previn.
“He brought, shall I say, a little bit of this Hollywood glitz to our smoky Pittsburgh city,” she said.
She played with him in chamber ensembles and remembered recording the PBS show “Previn and the Pittsburgh,” which introduced many TV viewers to the orchestra with guests such as film composer John Williams, Ella Fitzgerald and Stephen Sondheim. She also reflected on the many tours, having played cello with the PSO on every continent except Antarctica.
Williams also recalled fondly the PSO’s first principal pops conductor, Marvin Hamlisch, one of the few people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
“He’s such an individual,” she said. “He was so good at what he did, his composition. He was a great entertainer and knew exactly how to put on a great show every night.”
When asked what sets the PSO apart
after all these years, Tourangeau emphasized the sound and energy of the orchestra. Likewise, Williams spoke of its “deep sense of passion.” Wilkinson referred to the “fire” of its performances.
“I think there’s something exciting, exhilarating, about the tradition among the musicians to lay everything out there on the stage in every performance, to not hold anything back musically and also emotionally,” Wilkinson said. “It’s not a reserved orchestra.”
As for the future of the institution, he pointed to the opportunity “Front Row” gives folks who have never been to Heinz Hall from all over the world to see and hear the orchestra. Williams hoped the PSO would place a renewed focus on engaging audiences of children, young adults and people with special needs.
Ultimately, Tourangeau explained, the organization will focus on three mantras. First, maintaining personal safety during the pandemic. Second, delivering the PSO’s mission and how that can change. Third, sustaining the orchestra financially. Fortunately, she noted, donors and patrons have stuck around.
“Getting through the pandemic was a real concern at the beginning, and I think we’ll be able to do it at this point, which is amazing,” she said.
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at www.psofrontrow.org. Access to the video
link requires a minimum donation of $25. Donations will go toward the PSO’s learning and community engagement program.