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Manfred Honeck has firmly established himself as one of the world’s leading conductors, whose distinctive and revelatory interpretations receive great international acclaim. As Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where his contract runs through the 2027-2028 season, he has entered his 17th season. Celebrated at home and abroad, he and the orchestra continue to serve as cultural ambassadors for the city of Pittsburgh. Guest appearances include Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, as well as the major venues of Europe and leading festivals such as the BBC Proms, Salzburg Festival, Musikfest Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, and Grafenegg Festival. In summer 2024, he leads the Pittsburgh Symphony in a nine-city European Festivals Tour, starting with their appearance as the only American orchestra at the prestigious Salzburg Festival and concluding at Vienna Konzerthaus.

Manfred Honeck's successful work in Pittsburgh is being extensively documented by recordings on the Reference Recordings label, featuring works by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and others. They have received a multitude of outstanding reviews and awards, including many GRAMMY® nominations, and he and the orchestra won the GRAMMY® for "Best Orchestral Performance" in 2018. The most recent recording, Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, paired with Resurrexit by Mason Bates, was released in July 2024 to great critical acclaim.

Born in Austria, Manfred Honeck completed his musical training at the University of Music in Vienna. His many years of experience as a member of the viola section in the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra have had a lasting influence on his work as a conductor, and his art of interpretation is based on his determination to venture deep beneath the surface of the music. He began his conducting career as assistant to Claudio Abbado and as director of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra. Subsequently, he was engaged by the Zurich Opera House, where he was awarded the European Conducting Prize in 1993. He has since served as one of three principal conductors of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, as Music Director of the Norwegian National Opera, Principal Guest Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm. In November 2023, he was appointed Honorary Conductor by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, following decades of close collaboration.

Manfred Honeck also has a strong profile as opera conductor. In his four seasons as General Music Director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, he conducted premieres of operas by Berlioz, Mozart, Poulenc, Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner. He has also appeared as guest at leading houses such as Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Royal Opera of Copenhagen, and the Salzburg Festival. In 2020, Beethoven’s anniversary year, he conducted a new staging of Fidelio (1806 version) at the Theater an der Wien. In autumn 2022, he made his much-acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, leading a revival of Mozart’s Idomeneo. Beyond the podium, Manfred Honeck has designed a series of symphonic suites, including Janáček’s Jenůfa, Strauss’s Elektra, Dvořák’s Rusalka as well as Puccini's Turandot which he regularly performs around the globe. The most recent arrangement, of Strauss’s Salome, was premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2023.

As a guest conductor, Manfred Honeck has worked with all leading international orchestras, including Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome and the Vienna Philharmonic. In the United States, he has conducted all major US orchestras, including New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. He has also been Artistic Director of the International Concerts Wolfegg in Germany for thirty years.

In 2024-2025, Manfred Honeck will conduct fourteen wide-ranging programs and several special projects in Pittsburgh, including all four of the season's world premieres and commissions. He also will return to the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. In Bruckner's anniversary year of 2024, he will continue to place a special focus on the music of this composer.

Manfred Honeck holds honorary doctorates from several universities in the United States and was awarded the honorary title of Professor by the Austrian Federal President. In 2018, the jury of the International Classical Music Awards declared him "Artist of the Year".

“With prodigious technique and rhapsodic flair, Mr. Abduraimov dispatched the work’s challenges, including burst upon burst of arm-blurring octaves, with eerie command.” (The New York Times)

Behzod Abduraimov performs with renowned orchestras worldwide including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Concertgebouworkest and with prestigious conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Lorenzo Viotti, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrůša, Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Gustavo Dudamel.

In recital Behzod has appeared a number of times at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and has recently been presented by Chicago Symphony, Kölner Philharmonie and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Festival appearances include Aspen, Verbier, Rheingau, La Roque Antheron and Lucerne Festivals.

Forthcoming engagements include Chicago Symphony under Lahav Shani, returns to the Concertgebouworkest, St Petersburgh Philharmonic, Seattle and Dallas Symphonies as well as Oslo and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras. Behzod will be returning to the Barbican Hall, 92nd Street Y, Spivey Hall, Vancouver Recital Series as well as The Conrad Center, La Jolla.

2020 saw the release of two recordings: Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under James Gaffigan, recorded on Rachmaninov’s own piano from Villa Senar for Sony Classical and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 with Concertgebouworkest under Valery Gergiev, for the RCO live label. Both recordings were nominated for the 2020 Opus Klassik awards in multiple categories. A film of his BBC Proms debut in 2016, with the Münchner Philharmoniker under Valery Gergiev, was released as a DVD in 2018.His 2012 debut CD of Liszt, Saint-Saëns and Prokofiev for Decca won the Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte and his first concerto disc for the label featured Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No.1. 

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Behzod began the piano aged five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. In 2009, he won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3. He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Missouri, where he is Artist-in-Residence.

Audiences and critics alike have praised The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh’s programming, saying, “EXCEPTIONAL and MEMORABLE… I’m still talking about it,” “One of the finest music events I have ever attended,” and “the Mendelssohn never ceases to amaze me… This city should be proud of its choir” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 

Critically acclaimed as one of the finest choruses in the country, MCP is the “voice of the greater Pittsburgh region” — whether premiering a choral work composed by Stewart Copeland of The Police at a rock venue, or performing Mozart with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Unlike other professional arts organizations, MCP is proudly comprised of mostly amateur singers with professional-caliber talent, whose day jobs vary from postal clerk to physician to casino card dealer. MCP singers give generously of their talent, passion, and commitment to share the magic of live music with the widest possible audience, within Heinz Hall and throughout the community. 

For more than a century, MCP has proudly partnered with the PSO as its “chorus of choice,” bringing the joys of symphonic choral music to tens of thousands of people each year. MCP has performed under the batons of world-renowned conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Michael Tilson Thomas, Claudio Abbado, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin, Charles Dutoit, André Previn, Sir Neville Marriner, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Helmuth Rilling, Ingo Metzmacher, Richard Hickox, Zdenek Mácal, and Manfred Honeck.

MCP embraces its long legacy of performances, recordings, and commissions that reimagine choral music for today’s audiences and bring bold, unique programming to the Pittsburgh region, such as the recent world premieres of Satan’s Fall by the Police’s Stewart Copeland and The Times They Are A-Changin’ by composer and conductor Steve Hackman. Under the leadership of its new Robert Page Music Director Daniel Singer, MCP looks forward to continuing its tradition of excellence while seeking innovative ways to encourage broader community participation in MCP as singers and as members of the audience. 

MCP fosters the next generation of choral singers and audience members through its educational program, the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (JMCP). Founded in 1986, JMCP is the region’s premier high school choral training and performance program. Annually, JMCP attracts singers from more than a dozen school districts, providing youth with a challenging musical environment in which to develop their skills and encouraging them to be lifelong participants in the arts.

Cuban-American soprano Elena Villalón recently completed her tenure with the Houston Grand Opera Studio. Described as having “a voice with considerable warmth and mellifluous legato tone, but also weight and breadth” by Washington Classical Review, Ms. Villalón is a 2019 Grand Finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and most recently took home several prizes in the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, including 2nd  Prize, Audience Prize, CS Prize, and the Wil Keune Prize. In the 2022-2023 season, Ms. Villalón will join the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt, debuting as Iole in Hercules in a new production by Barrie Kosky as well as Atalanta in Xerxes. She will return to Houston Grand Opera as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, The Dallas Opera as Gretel in Hansel und Gretel, and the Queen of Sheba in Solomon for an international tour with The English Concert and Harry Bicket. She will also present a recital with the Tuesday Music Club in San Antonio, Texas.  

Ms. Villalón’s 2021-2022 included house and role debuts at The Dallas Opera as Tina in Flight, at Austin Opera as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, and Nannetta in Falstaff with the Santa Fe Opera, as well as continued collaborations with Houston Grand Opera, where she created the role of Amy in the world premiere of Joel Thompson’s The Snowy Day and debuted the role of Juliette in Roméo et Juliette. In concert, Ms. Villalón appeared as the emerging artist recitalist with Vocal Arts DC, collaborating with Kathleen Kelly at the Kennedy Center, as the soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day with Boston Baroque.  

As a Studio member of the Houston Grand Opera, Ms. Villalón performed in digital collaborations including David T. Little’s Vinkensport, The Snowy Day, and Hansel and Gretel, as well as a digital Studio Showcase, performing in scenes as Sophie in Werther, the title role in Lulu, and Poppea in L'incoronazione di Poppea. In performance at HGO, she performed the role of Inés in Kevin Newbery’s new production of La Favorite, La Mujer in the world premiere of Javier Martinez's El Milagro de Recuerdo, and understudied Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Michal in Saul. Ms. Villalón has also appeared with Cincinnati Song Initiative and at the Rienzi Museum of Fine Arts as part of the studio recital series, and was featured in a concert of baroque cantatas and arias with the Mercury Chamber Orchestra. 

A native of Austin, Texas, Elena Villalón is an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music, and made her professional debut as a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she performed the role of Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro and later returned for Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi.  

Passionate about art song and concert repertoire, Ms. Villalón has spent summers at the Tanglewood Music Center and at Songfest in Los Angeles as a Colburn Fellow. At Tanglewood, performance highlights included the soprano solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, Max in Oliver Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are, the world premiere of Michael Gandolfi’s In America, concerts of Bach cantatas conducted by John Harbison, and concerts and recitals curated by Dawn Upshaw, Stephanie Blythe, Margo Garrett, and Sanford Sylvan. 

Elena Villalón lives in Houston, Texas, where she enjoys (besides singing) sailing, sewing, cooking, causing mischief, and spending time with her dogs, Scooter and Spaghetti. 

Andrew Foster-Williams possesses a vocal versatility that allows him to present repertoire ranging from the classics of Bach, Gluck, Handel and Mozart through to more recent masters such as Britten, Debussy, Wagner and Stravinsky on both the opera stage and concert platforms alike.  

Andrew Foster-Williams’ career, initially built on his strong Baroque credentials, has in recent seasons moved towards more dramatic repertoire with successes as Pizarro (Fidelio) at Theater an der Wien and Philharmonie de Paris, and an unanimously praised debut as Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin under esteemed conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Festival de Lanaudière. A subsequent portrayal of Captain Balstrode in Christoph Loy’s divisive production of Peter Grimes at Theater an der Wien, alongside acclaimed performances as Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress) and Gunther (Götterdämmerung) have further enhanced an already highly regarded operatic profile. Other recent role debuts as Lysiart in Christof Loy’s staging of Euryanthe at Theater an der Wien under Constantin Trinks and as Kurnewal in Tristan und Isolde at La Monnaie under Alain Altinoglu highlight a dramatic capacity that has earned the respect of many stage directors as he “holds the attention of the audience with the energy of someone who has great experience, and with sensational vocal ability, which he uses with total freedom…” (Opéra).   Opera performances in the current season include his role debut as Mr Flint (Billy Budd) at the George Enescu Festival under Hannu Lintu, and Donner (Das Rheingold) conducted by Alain Altinoglu in the first instalment of Romeo Castelluci’s new presentation of Der Ring des Nibelungen at La Monnaie.  

Praised for his facility in the French operatic repertoire, recent roles include Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande) and specially curated performances at Opéra National de Bordeaux to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Cervantes featuring music from Ravel’s Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and Massenet’s Don Quichotte under Marc Minkowski. Andrew Foster-Williams made his house debut at Opernhaus Zürich in 2021 as the Four Villains in Andreas Homoki’s setting of Les contes d’Hoffmann under Antonino Fogliani, roles he since has reprised in a new production at Gothenburg Opera and in Barrie Kosky’s fantastical staging at Komische Oper Berlin.  

As a regular guest on the Opéra français series of the Palazzetto Bru Zane label, CD releases include Joncières’ Dimitri, Gounod’s Cinq-Mars, Saint-Saëns’ Proserpine, and Gounod’s Faust, winner of the Opera of the 19th Century category at the Opus Klassik 2020 awards.  Boasting an extensive discography, other commercial releases include Beethoven’s Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II with San Francisco Symphony (Tilson Thomas) on SFSMedia, and The Seasons with Gabrieli Consort & Players (McCreesh) released on Signum and shortlisted for the 2017 Grammophone Awards. Performances captured on DVD include the Gramophone Award winning The Fairy Queen with Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Christie).  

An impressive line-up of concert invitations has taken Andrew Foster-Williams to some of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors of our day. These include the Cleveland Orchestra/ Franz Welser-Möst, Salzburg Mozarteum/Ivor Bolton, San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/ Richard Egarr, Hong Kong Philharmonic/Edo de Waart, Gulbenkian Orchestra/Lorenzo Viotti and the Sibelius Festival/Dalia Stasevska. Foster-Williams offers a concert repertoire as diverse as it is broad which includes Bach’s St John Passion, Britten’s War Requiem, Schönberg’s Gurrelieder, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Mahler’s Symphony No.8. Concert highlights this season include Messiah with Orquesta Sinfonica de Castille y Leon (Egarr), Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Houston Symphony Orchestra (Valčuha), St Matthew Passion with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (Bolton) and Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Stasevska).