Pittsburgh Symphony Unveils 2026-2027 Classical Season Lineup

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra unveiled its 26/27 classical season under the collaborative artistic leadership of Music Director Manfred Honeck in his 19th season. Honeck and the PSO unveiled programming shaped by visionary voices, deep artistic relationships, and a far-reaching vision that affirms the PSO as a premier American orchestra of the 21st century. Subscriptions and renewals for the BNY Classics series are on sale now through the Symphony’s website and box office, with single tickets available in summer.

A Family of Artists

At the heart of the 26/27 season is PSO’s long-standing relationship with world-class artists, bringing together a roster of returning collaborators, rising stars, and exciting debuts. Returning conductors with a deep creative history alongside the PSO include Dima Slobodeniouk, Petr Popelka, Daniele Rustioni, Juraj Valčuha, Elim Chan, and Donald Runnicles. World-class artists such as Lang Lang, Augustin Hadelich, Jeanine De Bique, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kirill Gerstein, and many more perform with the orchestra as part of the PSO’s ever-evolving artistic family. Across the season, 10 star pianists and five violin virtuosos will be featured as guest soloists alongside the most diverse guest conductor lineup in PSO history.

The 26/27 season also highlights Pittsburgh and PSO musicians. Principal Tuba Craig Knox will perform the world premiere of a PSO-commissioned tuba concerto written for him by Nick DiBerardino, and Principal Clarinet Michael Rusinek will perform Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto on a recording weekend complemented by Mahler’s First Symphony. The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh joins the Symphony on the PSO premiere of Beethoven’s Mass in C Major in December 2026, as well as Carmina Burana in February 2027.

Visionary Voices

The 26/27 season continues the PSO’s advocacy of contemporary composers and commitment to cultivating the next generation of musical talent. Three conductors make their PSO debuts—Karina Canellakis, Kevin John Edusei, and Kahchun Wong—alongside pianist Alexander Malofeev, mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne, violinist Francesca Dego, soprano Joelle Harvey, baritone Will Liverman, and violinist Tessa Lark.

The PSO is championing works by some of today’s greatest composers, including Anna Clyne, Mason Bates, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Camille Pépin, and Arvo Pärt, performing 10 PSO premieres across the season. Commissions and world premieres include a new work by Bates, the aforementioned tuba concerto by Nick DiBerardino, and the latest entry in the acclaimed series of operatic suites by Manfred Honeck and Tomáš Ille: Korngold’s Die tote Stadt. In partnership with peer orchestras, the PSO is also a co-commissioner of premieres by Juri Reinvere, Samy Moussa, and Carlos Simon.

Beethoven Anniversary and Mozart Marathon

The PSO will mark the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death with a theme spanning the full season. In addition to the PSO premiere of Mass in C Major, March 19–21 brings an all-Beethoven program featuring Symphony No. 5 led by Honeck and Augustin Hadelich performing the Violin Concerto. A U.S. premiere by Juri Reinvere opens the program, meditating on Beethoven’s final words.

In April 2027, the PSO will host an all-Mozart weekend led by Honeck and joined by pianist Rudolf Buchbinder for two separate programs. Buchbinder will perform Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 21, and Honeck will lead the orchestra in Symphonies Nos. 40 and 41. On Saturday, the PSO will present two performances of Amadeus in concert with live orchestra, led by Associate Conductor Jacob Joyce.

Concert Evolution

As part of its commitment to meeting audiences where they are, the PSO continues to evolve the concert experience through live video, festival-style weekends, enhanced theatrical presentation, immersive formats, and special projects that deepen engagement.

Personal welcomes from the stage, insider context, digital content, lighting and stagecraft, interactive questions, expanded program book content, and pre- and post-concert performances and Q&As will be incorporated throughout the season. While the former Disrupt and Saturday Sessions series will discontinue, insights from those formats will be integrated into subscription concerts.

Audio Recording

Building on a distinguished recording history that includes 11 GRAMMY nominations in the past decade, the PSO will capture two concerts for future releases, featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with Michael Rusinek, a new work by Samy Moussa, the Honeck/Ille arrangement of Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2.