Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Pablo Heras-Casado enjoys an unusually varied and broad-ranging career, encompassing the great symphonic and operatic repertoire, historically informed performances, and contemporary scores. A musical character best reflected by the quality of his long-term relationships nurtured with prestigious orchestras around the world. 

In great demand as guest conductor, Heras-Casado regularly appears in Europe with Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Münchner Philharmoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan and many others. He maintains a strong relationship with SWR Symphonieorchester, including projects for Festspielhaus Baden-Baden as well as further afield in Germany. 

In North America he is regularly invited by the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He has also conducted the Berliner and Wiener Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Berlin, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony and The Mariinsky orchestras. Heras-Casado was Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York between 2011 and 2017, regularly performing together at Carnegie Hall and recording for harmonia mundi. 

His recent opera projects include Mozart’s Don Giovanni at La Scala, a regular relation with Wiener Staatsoper with Concentus Musicus Wien, presenting Monteverdi’s operatic trilogy of L’Incoronazione di Poppea and L’Orfeo, concluding with Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria in 2023. That same summer, he makes his debut as guest conductor at Bayreuther Festspiele, conducting Wagner’s Parsifal. As Principal Guest Conductor of Teatro Real in Madrid, he recently completed a highly successful Ring Cycle across four consecutive seasons. He has also previously appeared at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Deutsche Oper in Berlin, The Metropolitan Opera in New York, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Festspiel Baden-Baden. 

He enjoys a fruitful, long-term collaboration with Freiburger Barockorchester, featuring extensive touring and recording projects. In 2023, they tour and record together Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Previously they appeared at Mostly Mozart Festival New York, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, BBC Proms and Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In summer 2022, he commences a new partnership with Anima Eterna Brugge conducting and recording Bruckner’s Symphony no.7 on historical instruments and appearing at Grafenegg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Ravello festivals, as well as later performances in Besançon and Bruges. 

An extensive discography for harmonia mundi includes Schumann’s complete symphonies with Münchener Philharmoniker, released in June 2022, and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring alongside Péter Eötvös Alhambra, with Orchestre de Paris and Isabelle Faust, a work he co-commissioned for the Granada Festival, for which he was Music Director between 2017 and 2019. He also recorded a series of albums celebrating Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020 with Freiburger Barockorchester and featuring Kristian Bezuidenhout, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov. 

A developing series entitled ‘Die Neue Romantik’ also features music by Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann. Other releases on the label include the music of Manuel de Falla (Mahler Chamber Orchestra), Debussy (Philharmonia Orchestra) and Bartók (Münchner Philharmoniker) as well as DVD releases of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer at Teatro Real and Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale with Balthasar-Neumann-Chor & Ensemble. A recipient of numerous awards, including two Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, two Diapason d’Or, and a Latin Grammy, he also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Sony Classical. 

A dedicated educator, Heras-Casado makes a personal commitment to work with young musicians all over the world, regularly leading youth ensembles and projects, such as the Karajan Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker, Juilliard School of Music Orchestra and Juilliard415 ensemble, RCO Young, Escuela de Música Reina Sofia, Fundación Barenboim-Said, Orquesta Joven de Andalucía, Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra and Gustav Mahler Academy. 

2021 Artist of the Year at the International Classic Music Awards, and Musical America’s 2014 Conductor of the Year, Heras-Casado holds the Medalla de Honor of the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation, Medalla de Andalucia 2019 and this region’s Ambassador Award. He is Honorary Ambassador and recipient of the Golden Medal of Merit by the Council of Granada, as well as Honorary Citizen of the Province of Granada, his hometown. In 2018 he is granted the title Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic. 

Highly committed to the Spanish charity Ayuda en Acción as a Global Ambassador, Heras-Casado supports and promotes the charity’s work internationally and conducts an annual charity concert at Teatro Real in Madrid. 

Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and spirited presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the most influential classical artists of today.

With concerto performances at the heart of her career, Nicola is in much demand with major orchestras and conductors across the globe. Conductors with whom Nicola has worked include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jiří Bělohlávek, Stéphane Denève, Christoph Eschenbach, James Gaffigan, Hans Graf, Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert, Jakub Hrůša, Kirill Karabits, Andrew Litton, Kristjan Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Cristian Măcelaru, Zubin Mehta, Andrea Marcon, Peter Oundjian, Vasily Petrenko, Donald Runnicles, Thomas Søndergård, Krzysztof Urbański, Juraj Valcua, Edo de Waart, Pinchas Zukerman and Jaap van Zweden.

Nicola enjoys working with the highest level of orchestras including collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Czech Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C.

In the 2019/20 season, Nicola makes her debut with the Wiener Symphoniker and undergoes a tour of Asia with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Robin Ticciati. She will also reunite with Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and embark on a tour with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra led by Thomas Søndergård. She performs the Marsalis Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and James Gaffigan and with Cristian Măcelaru firstly with the Gothenburg Symphony and then again with the Orchestre de Paris. She will come together again with Karina Canellakis firstly with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and later with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Similarly, she joins Michael Tilson Thomas for concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra and then again with the New World Symphony in Miami. Nicola has also been appointed as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Artist in Residence for 2020 which will include a concerto performance under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis, a European tour and education sessions and masterclasses. 

Last season’s highlights include collaborations with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Frankfurter Museumsorchester, Toscanini Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra with Pablo Heras-Casado. She also undertook tours with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain culminating in a concert at the BBC Proms. During the summer, joined forces with Iván Fischer to perform with the Budapest Festival Orchestra at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl and performed the Marsalis Violin Concerto at the Aspen Music Festival under Robert Spano and at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music with Cristian Măcelaru.

With her regular duo partner pianist Alexei Grynyuk, Nicola frequently performs recitals in the world’s leading concert halls and festivals with most recent highlights including Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rome, Copenhagen, Dortmund, Ludwigshafen, Bielefeld and Kiel. Nicola is also a devoted chamber musician and collaborates with cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk, who have been performing as a trio since 2008. Past performances include London’s Cadogan Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Edinburgh Festival, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Ravinia Festival, New York’s 92nd Street Y and Hong Kong City Hall. In November 2018 the trio embarked on a month-long Australian tour giving 9 performances in 7 cities. This season the trio reunites for a European tour in the Spring of 2020.

Nicola has continued her role as a dedicated, passionate ambassador and leader in music education. She has reached thousands of young people through workshops, masterclasses, partnership projects, and school visits, providing key moments of inspiration for young instrumentalists, as well as focused, high quality teaching and guidance. Nicola has connected with teachers, aiming to support their practice, highlight their essential role in society - especially during a period when many jobs have been under threat – and encourage collaboration and mutual learning. This commitment to supporting the UK’s music practitioners was underlined in July 2018, when Nicola took over as President of the European String Teachers Association. She is formalising her vision and expanding her commitment to the education of young people and the supporting of music teachers by establishing a charitable organisation: The Benedetti Foundation.

Nicola continues to hold key positions in a number of the country’s most established and high quality youth music organisations including the National Children’s Orchestras (Vice President), Sistema Scotland (Big Sister), National Youth Orchestras of Scotland’s Junior Orchestra (Patron), Music in Secondary Schools Trust (Patron), Junior Conservatoire at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Patron) and many more.

Winner of Best Female Artist at both 2012 and 2013 Classical BRIT Awards, Nicola records exclusively for Decca (Universal Music). Her most recent recording features premiere recordings of two works written especially for her by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto in D and Fiddle Dance Suite for Solo Violin. Her past recordings on Universal/Deutsche Grammophon include a varied catalogue of works from Shostakovich & Glazunov Violin Concertos to Szymanowski Concerto (London Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding) to Homecoming; A Scottish Fantasy, which made Nicola the first solo British violinist since the 1990s to enter the Top 20 of the Official U.K. Albums Chart.

Nicola attracts an enormous amount of worldwide media attention following the various facets of her extraordinary career and her international television appearances have been wide and varied including performing at the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games to a live audience of approximately 40,000 and TV viewing audience of 9.4 million people.

Nicola was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours List, awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2017, the youngest ever recipient, and was appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2013 in recognition of her international music career and work with musical charities throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Nicola has received eight honorary degrees to date.

Born in Scotland of Italian heritage, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of five with Brenda Smith. In 1997, she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya. Upon leaving, she continued her studies with Maciej Rakowski and then Pavel Vernikov, and continues to work with multiple acclaimed teachers and performers.

Nicola plays the Gariel Stradivarius (1717), courtesy of Jonathan Moulds.