For immediate release:
August 9th, 2022
Contact: Julie Goetz, Director of Communications
(412) 905-9058
jgoetz@pittsburghsymphony.org
LEGENDARY CELLIST YO-YO MA TO JOIN PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FOR A ONE-NIGHT-ONLY CONCERT IN FEBRUARY 2023
PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to announce that long-time friend and legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma will come to Pittsburgh for a one-night-only concert with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony on February 15, 2023, at 7:30 P.M. at Heinz Hall. Details about the program repertoire will be released on a later date.
An artist whose multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding, Yo-Yo Ma strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity through performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, and engaging unexpected musical forms.
Tickets for this concert will go on sale to BNY Mellon Grand Classics subscribers today, and then on sale to the general public on August 29, 2022. Ticket prices range from $40-$135. Tickets for subscribers are available through their Pittsburgh Symphony Personal Service Representatives. Tickets to the general public will be available through the Heinz Hall Box Office online at pittsburghsymphony.org, by phoning 412.392.4900, or in person at 600 Penn Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh.
“Yo-Yo Ma is both one of most accomplished and most beloved artists of our times with whom it is an honor and deep pleasure to have join Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony musicians for what will undoubtedly be a magical and memorable evening,” said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and three years later moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies at The Juilliard School before pursuing a liberal arts education at Harvard. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010), Kennedy Center Honors (2011), and the Polar Music Prize (2012). He has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. His discography of more than 100 albums reflects his wide-ranging interests, and which have been honored with 19 GRAMMY® Awards.
First appearing on the Heinz Hall stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1979 under the baton of André Previn, Yo-Yo Ma has performed with the Orchestra with each subsequent music director (Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons and Manfred Honeck) as well as guest artists including Michael Tilson Thomas. Yo-Yo Ma last appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony in June 2018; a residency planned for the 2020-2021 season, the 125th in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s history, was cancelled due to the pandemic.