Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director to Guest Conduct in Philadelphia and LA

In November 2013, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director Manfred Honeck will lead performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Both engagements are debuts for Honeck-his first time leading the Philadelphia Orchestra and his first time conducting at Disney Hall. He has led the Pittsburgh Symphony since 2007.

On Nov. 14-16, Honeck will lead the Philadelphia Orchestra in "From Vienna to the New World," a journey with which the Austrian conductor is quite familiar. The program features works by composers who were influenced by the music and spirit of foreign cultures, including Antonín Dvo?ák's "New World" Symphony, which was inspired by the composer's three-year stay in the United States; Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5, which is punctuated by a Turkish-style dervish; and Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, which was originally based on a French stage comedy. More information or tickets can be found at www.philorch.org.

Honeck will cross the country to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Nov. 21-23 in a program of Dvo?ák at the inspiring Disney Concert Hall. Featuring the composer's Carnival Overture, tuneful, dancing Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 8. More information and tickets can be found at www.laphil.com.

Manfred Honeck was appointed the ninth music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in January 2007, and began his tenure at the start of the 2008-2009 season. After a first extension in 2009, his contract was extended for the second time in February 2012, now through the 2019-2020 season. Honeck was born in Austria and studied music at the Academy of Music in Vienna. An accomplished violinist and violist, he spent more than 10 years as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. He began his career as conductor of Vienna's Jeunesse Orchestra, which he co-founded, and as assistant to Claudio Abbado at the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in Vienna. In 2010, Honeck was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. Apart from his numerous tasks as conductor, he has been Artistic Director of the "International Concerts Wolfegg" in Germany for more than 15 years. Honeck served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2011, a position he will resume from 2013 to 2016. As a guest conductor, Honeck has worked with major orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic and in the United States with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Washington and Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Note: Maestro Manfred Honeck is available for interviews in advance of his appearances in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Contact Pascal Nadon, Pascal Nadon Communications, at 646-234-7088 or pascal@pascalnadon.com to make arrangements.

Thursday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 15, 2 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 16, 8 p.m.

"FROM VIENNA TO THE NEW WORLD"

VERIZON HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA

MANFRED HONECK, conductor

CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF, violin

Johann Strauss Jr.: Overture to Die Fledermaus

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5

Antonín Dvo?ák: Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World")

Thursday, Nov. 21, 8 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23, 2 p.m.

"ZIMMERMAN PLAYS DVO?ÁK"

WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, LOS ANGELES, CA.

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

MANFRED HONECK, conductor

FRANK PETER ZIMMERMAN, violin

Antonín Dvo?ák:

Carnival Overture

Violin Concerto

Symphony No. 8

Photo Credit: Felix Broede