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. 

One of classical music’s most creative minds, in the 2023-24 season Alice Sara Ott appears as Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre and Paris’s Radio France; gives the worldwide premieres of a new piano concerto composed for her by Bryce Dessner; embarks upon an extensive Asia tour with her project Echoes Of Life; and releases two major new albums on Deutsche Grammophon, for whom she is an exclusive recording artist.  

2023-24 also sees Alice Sara Ott on tour with London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Kazuki Yamada. She makes her debut with New York Philharmonic performing Ravel’s G Major concerto with Karina Canellakis conducting. Ott also premieres Bryce Dessner’s piano concerto with Tonhalle Zurich Orchestra with Kent Nagano, before going on to perform it with the likes of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin.  

Two major album releases this season include Beethoven and Echoes Of Life Deluxe, a follow-up to Echoes Of Life, Ott’s widely successful tenth album on Deutsche Grammophon. The Beethoven project - with Karina Canellakis and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra - was born as a collaboration with Apple Music, with the album released exclusively upon launch of the new Apple Music Classical app. Ott was the face of Apple Music’s global advertising, starring and performing in the multi-platform video campaign.  

In 2023-24 Ott will take Echoes Of Life on an extensive Asia tour taking in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Echoes Of Life, built around Chopin’s preludes op.28 and featuring works from the likes of Chilly Gonzales, Francesco Tristano, Arvo Pärt and György Ligeti - is, in its live incarnation, an affecting and original collaboration with architect Hakan Demirel. A digital video installation accompanying the recital takes the audience on their own virtual journey to create a unique concert experience.  

Alice Sara Ott has worked with conductors at the highest-level including Gustavo Dudamel, Pablo Heras-Casado, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Edward Gardner, Paavo Järvi, Sir Antonio Pappano, Gianandrea Noseda, Andrés Orozco- Estrada, Francois Leleux, Yuri Temirkanov, Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sakari Oramo, Osmo Vänskä, Myung-Whun Chung and Robin Ticciati. She continues to perform with ensembles such as Berliner Philharmoniker, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Münchner Philharmoniker, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, and Wiener Symphoniker.  

Beethoven and Echoes Of Life Deluxe follow on from seminal albums such as Nightfall, Wonderland and The Chopin Project, taking her total number of album streams to over 370 million. Also a talented illustrator and designer, Alice Sara Ott created a signature line of bags for JOST, one of Germany’s premium fashion brands. As well as her collaboration with Apple Music, she has also been global brand ambassador for Technics, collaborated with French luxury jewelry house, Chaumet, part of the LVMH group, and with German luxury jewelry brand Wempe.