♦ PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
♦ Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique
Edward Gardner, conductor
Behzod Abduraimov, piano
Heinz Hall
MAY 15 FRI 7:30 PM
MAY 16 SAT 7:30 PM – Saturday Sessions
MAY 17 SUN 2:30 PM
KNUSSEN: Flourish with Fireworks
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Notes: Nine days before his death, Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of one of the most resounding final statements in music: his “Pathétique” Symphony, full of sweeping melodies, passionate outbursts, and emotional extremes. “Without exaggeration, I have put my whole soul into this symphony,” he wrote. “I love it as I have never loved any of my other musical offspring.” Then, Beethoven First Piano Concerto, indicative of the composer’s evolving style and fearless experimentation.
♦ Scheherazade
Gemma New, conductor
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Heinz Hall
MAY 29 FRI 7:30 PM
MAY 31 SUN 2:30 PM
SALINA FISHER: Rainphase
KORNGOLD: Violin Concerto
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade
Notes: One of the most colorful and magical scores in all symphonic music, Rimsky-Korsakov’s wondrous Scheherazade is pure romance – an imaginative portrayal of the Tales of the Arabian Nights and a wild ride for the whole orchestra. Then, a violin concerto from Korngold, one of the greatest composers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. But first, Salina Fisher’s Rainphase will transport you to another world entirely, with ethereal, mesmerizing sound.
♦ PSO360: Passageways
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Bach: Concerto in D minor for Two Violins
Mendelssohn: Concerto in D minor
Heinz Hall
MAY 30 SAT 7:30 PM
Notes: Stefan Jackiw’s rare combination of impeccable technique together with poetry and purity have earned him the distinction of one of America’s foremost violinists. Hailed by The Financial Times as “brilliantly skillful and selflessly musical,” he continues to earn renown on the greatest stages of the world. In this one-night-only special evening, Jackiw joins together with a virtuoso ensemble of Pittsburgh Symphony musicians for an intimate evening of “Passageways.” Join us as we trace the line from Bach to Mendelssohn, up through today in a special collection of signature works. Arvo Pärt’s evocative Fratres opens the program with both expansiveness and stillness. Concertmaster David McCarroll joins Jackiw in Bach’s brilliant “Double” Violin Concerto. The program builds to a dramatic conclusion with Jackiw serving as soloist in the rarely performed Mendelssohn d minor Violin Concerto, an early Mendelssohn work composed just at the age of thirteen and brimming with invention, virtuosity and lyricism.
♦ PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & WYNTON MARSALIS
♦ All Rise
Heinz Hall
MAY 9 SAT 7:30 PM
Notes: Written by Wynton Marsalis, All Rise is a sweeping work for symphony orchestra, jazz orchestra, and chorus designed from its very conception as a collaboration across musical traditions and voices. For this special Lift Every Voice program, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is joined by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, and the Lift Every Voice Unity Choir led by Nikki Porter, uniting hundreds of musicians and singers on the Heinz Hall stage.
Part symphony, part jazz suite, part choral proclamation, All Rise reflects the breadth and vitality of Black musical expression in America from blues, swing, and spirituals to orchestral traditions. Marsalis conceived the work as a musical gathering: one ensemble does not accompany another, but rather all performers stand side by side, listening, responding, and building something larger than themselves.
About Lift Every Voice
This performance continues the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Lift Every Voice concert series, which celebrates the joy, creativity, and enduring influence of Black music in America while centering collaboration, inclusion, and shared experience. With deep local participation and national artistic partners, All Rise embodies the spirit of the series and the city itself: Pittsburgh artists and institutions joining in dialogue with one of the great creative voices of our time.
♦ An American Canon: The legacy of St. James AME’s orchestra
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church
444 Lincoln Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
MAY 12 TUE 7:00 PM
Notes: Join us for an exploration of the historic concerts of Pittsburgh’s Black orchestras, who thrived across the city in the 1930’s, including at St. James AME. Drawing from actual programs from those concerts, Pittsburgh Symphony musicians with host Jacob Joyce will demonstrate the rich tapestry of shared expression through classical music. As part of our on-going collaboration with the Afro-American Music Institute, this program will feature the research of Candace Burgess. Enjoy this one-of-a-kind experience, exploring the music and engaging with PSO musicians like never before.
This performance is presented in honor of the memory of Afro-American Music Institute co-founder, Dr. James T. Johnson.
♦ CITY THEATRE
♦ Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Text by John Cameron Mitchell, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Trask
Directed by Robert Ramirez
May 2 – June 7, 2026
Presented in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Notes: First staged at City Theatre in 2003, Hedwig and the Angry Inch will electrify the Greer Cabaret downtown in our first-ever revival of a legendary show adored by audiences and hailed by critics. The Tony Award-winning, fierce and energetic musical follows the life, loves, and heartbreaks of the legendary Hedwig, an East German rock and roll goddess. Funny, inspiring, and brimming with energy, Hedwig is a love story to those who have too much fight in them to quit.
♦ BACH CHOIR OF PITTSBURGH
♦ Oscar Nods
Agnes and Joseph Katz Performing Arts Theater
5738 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
May 2 (7:30pm)
May 3 (6:30 pm) note time!
Notes: he Bach Choir explores the endless diversity of style and genres of Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning songs, from Pittsburgh’s own Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” to “My Heart Will Go On.”
♦ PITTSBURGH OPERA
♦ Falstaff
Benedum Center
APRIL 28,
MAY 1 & 3
Notes: Presented by Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes
from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare • APRIL 28, MAY 1, 3, 2026
Laugh last, laugh best.
Beloved buffoon Sir John Falstaff has fallen on hard times. But being a ladies’ man (or so he’d like to think), he drunkenly schemes to cash in on his wit and charm by wooing the wealthy wives of Windsor, Alice Ford and Meg Page. However, when these women uncover that he has sent them both identical love letters, they hatch a plan of their own to teach Falstaff a lesson he won’t soon forget!
The music matches the merriment and mischief of this madcap romp. See why Verdi’s buoyant comedy, based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, is considered one of the best comedic operas of all time!
Antony Walker conducts; Crystal Manich directs.
♦ PITTSBURGH CONCERT CHORALE
♦ Music of the 90’s
Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church
May 2, 2026; 7:30
Ingomar United Methodist Church
May 3, 2026; 4:00
Notes: The ’90s called. We picked up. No, we didn’t let it go to the answering machine.
Join the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for a night that goes way back, featuring the brooding genius of Radiohead, the unapologetic pop of Britney Spears, the raw nerve of Alanis Morissette, the heart-throb moments with Celine and the ‘90s boy bands, the been-there-done-that swagger of Shania Twain, and oh so much more!
These are the songs that lived in your Discman, survived your mix CDs, and somehow sound even better now. Dust off your frosted tips and your Doc Martens. It’s going to be all that, and yes, a bag of chips. Totally!
♦ PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE
♦ A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the PBT Orchestra
Benedum Center
May 15 – May 17, 2026
Notes: A Dreamy Forest Romance!
Step into the enchanting world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an ethereal ballet that celebrates the transformative power of love. Based on William Shakespeare’s iconic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream weaves a tale of quarrels and reconciliations between Oberon and Titania, the fairy king and queen, and the romantic misadventures of two mortal couples—all under the mischievous spell of Puck. Audiences will be captivated by the romantic, whimsical story, stunning costumes and lush scenery. With exceptional choreography and a recognizable and vibrant Felix Mendelssohn score brought to life by the PBT Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, this production will be pure magic.
Choreography: Ben Stevenson | Music: Felix Mendelssohn