It’s Labor Day! Kids, you get an extra day of weekend! Go out and play!
Daddy’s Little Girl
King Lear is on the move. You can see him and his daughters at Frick Park this weekend (next weekend Regan, Goneril, Cordelia and the gang move to Arsenal Park). Shakespeare in the Park is going to be in a bunch of parks this September. Head over to Frick Park, Beechwood and Nicholson, Squirrel Hill, for the festivities. For a full schedule of the events, additional information and more can be found by clicking here.
Sing! Sing!
The dinner bell is calling! It’s time for Dinner with the Nolens. This month the Nolen’s welcome the musical improve stylings of baby GRAND to dinner. It’s a Song-tacular Supper. Come out on Saturday, September 5. The melody can be heard at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.
In a Big Country
One of Broadway’s faded stars hosts a houseful of family and friends, each looking for love and acceptance in “A Country House,” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies. “The Country House” is at the Playhouse, the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.
On the Boulevard
There’s an opening reception on Saturday, September 5. Come see the stunning photography of Mara Rago. Rago has had over 25 exhibits of her fine art which have been recognized nationally and internationally. Her works have been published in several calendars, including “Feminine Frames, the art of mountain biking,”“Beauty and and t he Bike, real woman who ride,” and “Janine Lindemulder 2008.” The party starts at the Boulevard Art Gallery, 736 Allegheny River Boulevard, Verona, 15147. For more information, click here.
Get Festive!
Come to Carnegie where Mayor Jack Kobistek and the Carnegie Borough have proclaimed September to be The Pittsburgh New Works Festival Month! See brand new premiere short plays at the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theatre). Come down to the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, go here.
Thursday, August 27 you can attend a Hollywood premiere (well, a premiere at the Hollywood Theater). There are free screenings of two locally produced films, “The Painter,” and “Transience.” It’s at the Hollywood Theater, 1449 Potomac Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. For more information, and trailers to the films, click here.
I Laugh, You Laugh, We all Laugh
Julie Goldman comes to town. Julie Goldman, is hailed as a leader of the next generation of queer humor. The Provincetown Banner proclaimed her as “an absolute Must See.” So, see her! On August 28, she will be at Cruze Bar, 1600 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.
Lovely Ladies!
On Friday, August 28, you can get bawdy at the Smokin’ Betties Burlesque Bonanza! Performers such as Just Jingles, Macabre Noir and Kat DeLac and more! I suspect there will be plenty of feather boas on hand. It’s an art form, don’t judge. It’s also only ten bucks to see some Smokin’ Betties at the Club Café, 56-58 S. 12th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. For more information, go here.
Laughter Ensues
Thursday, August 27 the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival kicks off with two separate shows. At 8:00, see Andy Picarro, Kristen Lundberg, Bill Crawford and headliner Todd Glass (Last Comic Standing). At 10, the Friendly Neighborhood Improv Show with babyGrand, Hustlebot, Number 1 Party School and Hotel Nowhere. At the Henry Heymann Theater, 4301 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, including a full schedule for the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival, click here. Sunday Funday
There’s one more free night of entertainment for the Pittsburgh New Works Festival (I toldja we were going to bookend the weekend with free stuff). Catch three original one-act plays on Sunday, August 30. Then, come back for the Festival in September. It’s at the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theatre), 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, go here.
In an obscure Parisian hotel, Monsieur Pinglet plans a tryst with his neighbor’s wife, but encounters half of Paris in the seedy hotel, including his own relatives and the Inspector of Public Morality in “A Little Hotel on the Side” It’s a door-slamming bedroom farce and it’s at the Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Dr, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, go here.
The Red Room in the Mad House
Local singers and dancers unite in a brand new show by The MadHouse crew in “The Red Room” Sunday, August 23. Hear the vocal talents of Kelsey Purcell, Lindsay Pingor, and Patrick Bovo, and see some of Pittsburgh’s most talented dancers: Kerra Alexandra, Heather Lubay, Joanna Fliss, Alexandra Salerno, Josh Pugliese, & Joe Nickel in this red room extravaganza. You can find the Red Room at Latitude 360, 200 Quinn Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15275. For more tickets and information, go here.
That’s Italian Part I
While traveling to Italy with her mother, a beautiful young girl, Clara, has a chance encounter with a handsome, young man in “Light in the Piazza.” But Clara’s mom is trying to put the kibosh on the whole thing because Clara has a secret. You can find the “Light in the Piazza” at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, go here.
That’s Italian Part II
The sisters are back! Raffaella, Enestine, and Concetta return in Pittsburgh’s monthly live sitcom in “Sisters Sorella.” The reunited family is finding itself knee-deep in trouble after a cliffhanger ending in the last episode. Join them Friday or Saturday at 10 PM at the Arcade Comedy Theater, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.
Reading is Fundamental
See three brand new never-been-produced staged readings at the kickoff of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival on Sunday, August 23. For absolutely no money down, you can see “Glue” by John Seibel, “Extraordinary Lies” by James Baden and “Flabby Abby,” by J. Thalia Cunningham. Yes, it’s a free night of theater. It’s at the Carnegie Stage (formerly the Off the Wall Theater) on 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.
And now a sixth thing… Talk about it
It’s back! John McIntire’s “Dangerously Live Comedy Talk Show.” KDKA talk show host and stand up comedian John McIntire will be joined on stage by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s advice columnist and girl-about-town, Natalie Bencivenga, Pittsburgh Commissioner Heather Heidelbaugh and comedian Mike Buzzelli (that guy!). It’s at the Oaks, 310 Allegheny River Blvd, Oakmont, PA 15139. For more information, click here:
PITTSBURGH – The REP, Point Park University’s professional theatre company, opens the 2015-2016 season with The Country House by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Donald Margulies.
Directed by John Amplas, The Country House previews on Thursday, Sept. 3, and runs Sept. 4-20, in the Rauh Theatre at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets range from $25-30. Preview tickets are $15 in advance or Pay-What-You-Want at the door, beginning one hour before curtain and subject to availability. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Pittsburgh Playhouse box office at 412-392-8000, or online at www.pittsburghplayhouse.com.
At her Berkshire estate, Broadway Grand Dame-turned-summer stock star, Anna Patterson, hosts a houseful of guests on the weekend before rehearsals begin at the famed Williamstown Theatre Festival. Personalities collide as she ignites flames between family, friends, and one very famous TV personality, all struggling to find love, legacy, and the roles they play in each other’s lives.
This witty romp was called “One of the most satisfying new American plays to reach Broadway in the past decade,” by the Wall Street Journal during its run last year. The original Broadway production featured Blythe Danner as Anna Patterson.
The REP’s production of The Country House features Maggie Carr as Susie Keegan, Paul Anthony Reynolds as Michael Astor, David Cabot as Elliot Cooper, Marie Elena O’Brien as Nell McNally, Christopher Josephs as Walter Keegan, and Cary Anne Spear as Anna Patterson. Scenic design is by Michael Thomas Essad, lighting design by Andrew David Ostrowski, sound design by Steve Shapiro, costume design by Joan Markert, and stage manager is Ruth Zang.
Director John Amplas is a professor with the Conservatory of Performing Arts, and has taught acting and directing at Point Park since 1992. He is one of the founding members of The REP.
The Andy Warhol Museum announces Warhol By the Book, the first United States exhibition to concentrate on Andy Warhol’s book work. Warhol By the Book opens at The Warhol Saturday, October 10, 2015, and it is on view through Sunday, January 10, 2016.
This exhibition, curated by The Warhol’s Chief Archivist Matt Wrbican, presents Warhol’s book work, from early student-work illustrations of the late 1940s, through to his career as a commercial artist in the 1950s, Pop artist and underground filmmaker in the 1960s, and photographer and Pop culture icon of the 1970s–80s.
“Warhol lived most of his life in the pre-digital era, when books and other printed materials were everywhere. Much of his effort was given to creating work for print, especially in books,” says Wrbican. “Some of his lesser-known work for books can even be said to mark major turning points in his work, such as around 1960, when he decided to move from charming illustrations to serious fine art in the then-daring new mode of Pop Art.”
Warhol continually experimented in his work, and this freedom is evident in his books, which often question the common notion of what a book can be. Andy Warhol’s Index (Book) (1967), was the first of several publications to defy the definition of what a book could be. This seminal work is complete with sound recordings, balloons, fold-outs, holograms, pop-ups, and even a do-it-yourself nose job. While Warhol authored many books (in collaboration with his assistants), these efforts are often overlooked, though they provide a valuable window into Warhol’s creative interests.
Warhol By the Book provides a nearly complete overview of Warhol’s work on books. More than 400 objects relating to more than 80 book titles including unfinished projects, original drawings, manuscripts, paintings, prints, photographs, artist’s books, and other materials that reveal his processes in their creation are featured in the exhibition. Many of the books are presented on digital tablets, as well as the original printed editions, to allow for a more complete viewing experience.
This exhibition is supported in part by Affirmation Arts Fund.
Chamber Music Pittsburgh has announced the fall portion of its newest concert series, Pittsburgh Performs. This series, created by Executive Director Kristen Linfante, seeks to showcase the multi- faceted musical talents that the Steel City has to offer by presenting affordable pay-what-you-wish performances featuring local musicians in non-traditional venues around town.
“There is a multitude of talented musicians living in Pittsburgh,” says Linfante. “This series not only aims to celebrate their talents, but also to bring the music into the communities where people live, work and socialize.” Pittsburgh Performs will lift the music out of the concert hall and make it accessible to more people by meeting them where they already are – in restaurants, bars, community spaces, galleries, and beyond.
In the spirit of making music accessible within the communities, Chamber Music Pittsburgh will not be charging for tickets to the Pittsburgh Performs concerts. Instead, there will be a suggested donation amount that patrons may choose to pay. “The ‘pay-what-you-wish’ model really enhances the community aspect of Pittsburgh Performs,” says Linfante, “because it breaks down that elite, ivory tower mentality that people have come to associate with classical music. Actually, Bach played his music in bars and coffeehouses. That’s how people experienced music. Over time classical music became revered as something so sacred that some people felt it must be protected by putting it in a museum-like setting of the traditional concert hall. But with Pittsburgh Performs, we are looking to reclaim the fundamental truth that everyone is welcome to listen to great music – performed by great local musicians, in great local spots.”
Pittsburgh Performs opens on Thursday, September 24, 2015, at 6:30 PM, featuring DJ duo Tracksploitation in collaboration with a classical string quartet at BOOM Concepts on Penn Avenue, Garfield. Tracksploitation’s “galvanizing energy” has “fostered … an artistic community” (Pittsburgh City Paper), and will feel right at home at BOOM Concepts, which is a self-described creative hub dedicated to the expansion of activity for artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs. Refreshments will be served for free, though patrons are encouraged to donate what they can.
Pittsburgh Performs’ second concert is on Wednesday, November 11, 2015, at 5:00 PM, featuring the Fauré String Trio at Franktuary on Butler Street, Lawrenceville. The Fauré String Trio has had the honor of premiering many new compositions since its inception in 2003, but this concert may be the first time they have the honor of being accompanied by a custom menu of gourmet hot dogs, grub and cocktails available for purchase and designed specially for the event by the folks at Franktuary.
Chamber Music Pittsburgh announces new series: Pittsburgh Performs
Pittsburgh Performs will return for two more concerts in April and May 2016, to be announced.
About Chamber Music Pittsburgh
Chamber Music Pittsburgh (previously the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society) presents world-class chamber music ensembles and soloists, promising emerging artists, and innovative programs; and also fosters an appreciation for chamber music in the Pittsburgh community by offering educational programs and experiences. In carrying out its mandate, CMP has been guided consistently by two basic principles: quality and variety. Each year’s program is a carefully balanced menu of acclaimed chamber ensembles along with the most brilliant emerging groups.
CMP is supported by grants from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust of The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Heinz Endowments. The Heinz Endowments supports efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center for learning and educational excellence, and a region that embraces diversity and inclusion.
CMP receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
September in Pittsburgh brings free Shakespeare productions to the city’s beautiful parks. For its 11th season, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks presents the Bard’s most personal political drama, King Lear, for nine performances in three city parks over four weekends, Sept. 5-27.
Directed by Jeffrey Chips, King Lear features local favorite Ron Siebert as Lear and PSIP Artistic Director and Founder Jennifer Tober as Edmund/Oswald.
Playing in Frick, Schenley, and Arsenal Parks from September 5 through 27, King Lear brings a small, feisty cast of 8 (4 women and 4 men) who are present onstage throughout the show, creating the misenscene with their bodies and voices, and crafting an action-packed tragedy accessible to all ages and Shakespeare lovers and novices alike.
The PSIP production of King Lear—the first production of this compelling tragedy performed in Pittsburgh in many years—provides audiences with rare access to a masterpiece through dramatic storytelling and imaginative staging.
After aging monarch Lear divides his kingdom among his three daughters, he descends into madness. Filled with political intrigue, betrayal, and death, Lear’s world is one in which good does not necessarily triumph over evil. In his fragmented kingdom, life is often unjust, and suffering is arbitrary and inevitable.
“We are very excited that Ron Siebert is playing King Lear,” says Tober. “We have been planning this show around Ron for several years.”
Siebert, a versatile and seasoned actor known to regional audiences for appearances including the title role in Tuesdays with Morrie at St. Vincent’s Theater, has appeared on Broadway, in American regional theaters, and in TV and film. For PSIP, he portrayed Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet in 2013.
For King Lear, director Jeffrey Chips, who performed in The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet with the company, has embraced the PISP aesthetic, eliminating all sets, lights, sound, or special effects, and focusing on the actor and the audience.
The slate of more than a dozen characters are played by eight actors: Nick Benninger, Tonya Lynn, Andrew Miller, Jessica Moore, Adam Rutledge, and Madelyn Tomko. They portray Lear’s daughter Regan, Goneril and Cordelia, the king’s closest Dukes and Earls, Gloucester and his sons Edgar and Edmund, and the King’s Fool.
A lively pre-show featuring some cast members is directed by Chuck Beikert features music and audience interaction prior to each Lear performance. In addition, varied storytelling and performances for all ages is provided in the half hour prior to each performance by the youth troupe Falstaff’s Fellows or PSIP artists Alan Irvine or Yvonne Hudson. [see below or website for details].
Perennial company favorites Lisa Liebering and Tonya Lynn return as production designer and fight choreographer, respectively, creating the details of Lear’s world in the outdoor setting and physical action.
ABOUT PSIP’S KING LEAR
“I love the idea of the ‘yin/yang’ aspect of the play, and by casting only these eight actors, we can explore the great opposition and struggles of the characters at work,” says Chips. “These actors remain present within the audience for the entire show, make character changes in full view, and talk with the audience while amongst them.”
Tober adds, “Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks’ productions are energetic and in your face. And the performers make the language come alive in a way that even the youngest audience members get it. We often, in fact, have kids – and adults! – become involved in the action and talk back to the actors. Our productions are not ‘doublet-and-hose’ Shakespeare—our shows are rough and tumble.”
Audience members sit on blankets or their own chairs and move as the action roves about each park, involving the audience in a very immediate way.
Admission is free with audience donations accepted to help underwrite production costs.
King Lear is presented each Saturday and Sunday in September:
Sept. 5 and 6 at 2 pm, Frick Park, Beechwood Blvd. and Nicholson St, Squirrel Hill.
Sept. 12 and 13 at 2 pm, Arsenal Park, 40th and Butler Streets, Lawrenceville.
Sept. 19 and 20 at 2 pm, Schenley Park, Schenley Drive and Frew Street at Flagstaff Hill (across from Phipps), Oakland.
Sept. 26 at 11 am and repeating at 2:30 pm; and September 27 at 2 pm, Frick Park, Beechwood Blvd, and Nicholson St, Squirrel Hill.
In the half hour prior to each performance, retellings of King Lear provide varied versions story for all ages: “Mrs Shakespeare’s Storytime”, presented by Yvonne Hudson (Saturdays, Sept. 5 and 12); Falstaff’s Fellows, performing a version of King Lear for kids by kids (Sundays, Sept. 20 and 27); and storyteller Alan Irvine entertaining with his tale of Lear for the remaining performances (Sept. 6, 13, 19 and 26).
RAIN OR SHINE POLICY: PSIP performs in the rain as long as there is an audience present. Exceptions to this policy involve situations that could place the audience and/or actors in danger, including, but not limited to, the presence of thunder or lightning.
For more details on the production, players, and performance settings, visit PittsburghShakespeare.org. Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks is on Facebook and tweets from @PghShakespeare.
MORE ON PSIP FEATURED ARTISTS
Jeffrey Chips (director) has staged many Shakespeare works including Twelfth Night (Steel City Shakespeare Center), Double Falsehood (Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Tailgate Shakespeare, Staunton, VA), and Measure for Measure (Circle in the Water Theatre Company, Pittsburgh), in addition to frequently acting with PSIP. He earned M.Litt. and MFA degrees in Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, Virginia, where he trained at the American Shakespeare Center. He is an alumnus of Allegheny College.
Ron Siebert (King Lear) has worked professionally in more than 60 theatres across America. He appeared on Broadway in the The Changing Room and with James Earl Jones in The Iceman Cometh at Circle in The Square Theatre. Sibert played the titles roles in The Misanthrope, Macbeth, and Titus Andronicus, in addition to many Shakespearean roles. At Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, he was Poins in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, along with George Hearn, David Selby and Pittsburgh’s own Tom Atkins. He has appeared with regional companies including Indiana Rep, Florida Rep, Florida Studio Theatre, GEVA Theatre in Rochester, NY. In the Pittsburgh region—in addition to appearing as Friar Laurence in PSIP’s Romeo and Juliet—he was seen as: Uncle Peck in How I Learned to Drive, Off The Wall Theatre; the title role in Lamarck, Playhouse; Morrie Schwartz in Tuesdays with Morrie, Mountain Playhouse; and Jerome Watkins in Henceforth, PICT Classic Theatre. In television, Siebert appeared in most of the daytime dramas broadcast from New York, co-starred in “The Ghost of H.L. Menken”, and as the younger Charles Francis Adams II in PBS’ acclaimed “The Adams Chronicles”. Siebert earned a bachelor’s degree at University of Wisconsin and a MFA at Brandeis University.
Jennifer Tober (Edmund/Oswalt)is a director, teacher, and actor seen frequently in regional productions. She founded PSIP in 2005. Her professional appearances include: Out of This Furnace, The Tempest and Macbeth 3 with Unseam’d Shakespeare; The Red Shoes and Dream of Autumn with Quantum Theatre; Salome and Pillowman with PICT Classic Theatre; and Rope and The Queens at Playhouse REP. Tober founded Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks upon moving to Pittsburgh in 2005 and played the leading role of Rosalind in PSIP’s production of As You Like It in 2014, directed by Lisa Ann Goldsmith.
ABOUT PITTSBURGH SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKS
Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Park’s mission is to bring accessible, high quality free Shakespeare to Pittsburgh citizens and to encourage the enjoyment and preservation of our national public places and parks. Since its founding in 2005, the nonprofit company has presented 10 productions, the Bring Your Own Bard (BYOB) reading series, Week of Will 2014, and other events celebrating Shakespeare’s life and works.
CARNEGIE, PA — Mayor Jack Kobistek and the Carnegie Borough Council issued a proclamation on August 10, for the Pittsburgh New Works Festival on its 25th year.
Kobistek and Council President Patrick J. Catena presented PNWF Board Chair, Claire DeMarco, PNWF Board Treasurer Nancy Batko and Board Member Mike Buzzelli proclaimed the month of September “Pittsburgh New Works Festival Month” in the city of Carnegie during a brief ceremony at the Carnegie Borough Public Meeting on Monday, August 10, 2015.
Kobistek praised the festival, noting its vision in supporting and encouraging the writing and production of original one-act plays from around the globe since its inaugural season in 1991.
In 2013, the Pittsburgh New Works Festival moved to their new home at the Carnegie Stage (formerly known as Off the Wall Theater) in Carnegie, PA.
Beginning August 23 and continuing through September 27, the Pittsburgh New Works Festival will celebrate its 25th season debuting 18 original one-act plays produced by Pittsburgh-area theater companies.
The Festival will culminate at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival Awards Gala October 4, 2015 at Carnegie’s own Cefalo’s Banquet and Event Center featuring the PNWF “Donna Awards” and the presentation of the coveted lifetime achievement award to playwright Eileen Enwright Hodgetts.
PITTSBURGH – On Saturday, September 12 at 7 p.m., be swept away to the Golden Age of the Silver Screen during “Cinema Serenade,” the gala opening of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 2015-2016 season at Heinz Hall, featuring legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman and Music Director Manfred Honeck.
Perlman and the orchestra will perform selections from “Cinema Serenade,” a 1997 recording on which Perlman, the Pittsburgh Symphony and conductor John Williams collaborate. Selections will include “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca,” the love theme from “Cinema Paradiso,” the tango from “Scent of a Woman” and more! The audience will also enjoy music from Offenbach, Liszt, Brahms and others during the concert. There will be no intermission.
The concert is preceded by a cocktail party at Heinz Hall, followed by a Gala dinner and the annual Soirée at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh.
The “Cinema Serenade” Gala is chaired by Ann and Christopher Donahue — along with Honorary Chairs Dick and Ginny Simmons and Brenda and Steve Schlotterbeck. The gala evening includes a pre-concert cocktail hour at Heinz Hall, valet parking, premium-level seating for the concert, a silent auction, a post-concert formal dinner and a dessert reception with Maestro Honeck at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh. Gala packages start at $750.
The “Cinema Serenade” Soirée includes valet parking, a pre-concert cocktail hour at Heinz Hall, concert tickets and a post-concert celebration with symphony musicians at the Wyndham Grand—including hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, a silent auction and live music. The “Cinema Serenade” Soiréeis chaired by Sarah and Kevin Eddy and Bonnie and Jay R. Mangold, along with honorary chairs Mike & Angela DeVanney, Michael J. Herald, Steve Hackman and Nicholas Varischetti. The Soirée Silent Auction Chairs are Christina and Cabot Earle and the Musician Chairs are Becky and Ed Stephan. Soirée packages start at $225.
Silent auction items for “Cinema Serenade” events include premium tickets to Pittsburgh sporting events, Marco Valente earrings from Henne Jewelers, a chef table at the Wyndham Grand, a week-long stay at an eight-bedroom home on Lake Chautauqua and many more fabulous items.
Gala packages and Soirée tickets can be purchased by contacting Kierstin Wilson, events coordinator, at 412-392-4830 and kwilson@pittsburghsymphony.org. All proceeds from the Gala concert and associated parties support the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Education and Community Engagement programs.
Tickets, ranging in price from $35 to $150 for the gala concert only, are on sale now and can be purchased through the Heinz Hall box office at 412-392-4900 or pittsburghsymphony.org. Ticket prices are subject to change.
Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music.
Having performed with every major orchestra and at venerable concert halls around the globe, Perlman was granted a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003 by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in celebration of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of the United States. He has performed multiple times at the White House, most recently in 2012 at the invitation of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama, for Israeli President and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Shimon Peres; and at a State Dinner in 2007, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush, for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. In 2009, Perlman was honored to take part in the inauguration of President Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gabriela Montero, for an audience of nearly 40 million television viewers in the United States and millions more throughout the world.
Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled to national recognition with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, he won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career. Since then, Perlman has established himself as a cultural icon and household name in classical music.
Perlman has further delighted audiences through his frequent appearances on the conductor’s podium. He has performed as conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Montreal and Toronto, as well as at the Ravinia and Tanglewood festivals. He was music advisor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004 where he made regular conducting appearances, and he was principal guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 2001 to 2005. Internationally, Perlman has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic.
Further to his engagements as violinist and conductor, Perlman is increasingly making more speaking appearances. Recent and upcoming engagements including the Salk Institute in San Diego on the centennial anniversary of Dr. Salk’s birth, Orlando at Rollins College, Greensboro at Guilford College, Palm Beach at the Society of the Four Arts and Chicago with the Jewish United Fund.
A major presence in the performing arts on television, Perlman has been honored with four Emmy Awards, most recently for the PBS documentary “Fiddling for the Future,” a film about Perlman’s work as a teacher and conductor for the Perlman Music Program. Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of TV viewers of all ages on popular shows as diverse as “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Sesame Street,” “The Frugal Gourmet,” “The Tonight Show” and various Grammy Awards telecasts. His PBS appearances have included “A Musical Toast” and “Mozart by the Masters,” as well as numerous “Live From Lincoln Center” broadcasts. During the 78th Annual Academy Awards in 2006, he performed a live medley from the five film scores nominated in the category of Best Original Score for a worldwide audience in the hundreds of millions. One of Perlman’s proudest achievements is his collaboration with film composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film “Schindler’s List,” in which he performed the violin solos. He can also be heard as the violin soloist on the soundtrack of Zhang Yimou’s film “Hero” (music by Tan Dun) and Rob Marshall’s “Memoirs of a Geisha” (music by John Williams).
In 2008, Perlman was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in the recording arts. His recordings regularly appear on the best-seller charts and have garnered 16 Grammy Awards. Perlman’s most recent releases include “Eternal Echoes: Songs & Dances for the Soul” (Sony), featuring a collaboration with acclaimed cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot in liturgical and traditional Jewish arrangements for chamber orchestra and klezmer musicians; a recording of Mendelssohn Piano Trios (Sony) with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax; and a recording for Deutsche Grammophon with Perlman conducting the Israel Philharmonic. Other recordings reveal Perlman’s devotion to education, including “Concertos from My Childhood” with the Juilliard Orchestra under Lawrence Foster (EMI) and “Marita and Her Heart’s Desire,” composed and conducted by Bruce Adolphe (Telarc). In 2004, EMI released The Perlman Edition, a limited-edition 15-CD box set featuring many of his finest EMI recordings as well as newly compiled material, and RCA Red Seal released a CD titled Perlman rediscovered, which includes material recorded in 1965 by a young Perlman.
Perlman has a long association with the Israel Philharmonic and has participated in many groundbreaking tours with this orchestra from his homeland. In 1987, he joined the IPO for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He again made history as he joined the orchestra for its first visit to the Soviet Union in 1990, and was cheered by audiences in Moscow and Leningrad who thronged to hear his recital and orchestral performances. This visit was captured on a PBS documentary entitled Perlman in Russia, which won an Emmy. In 1994, Perlman joined the Israel Philharmonic for their first visits to China and India.
Over the past decade, Perlman has become more actively involved in music education, using this opportunity to encourage gifted young string players. Alongside his wife, Toby, his close involvement in the Perlman Music Program has been a particularly rewarding experience, and he has taught full-time at the program each summer since its founding in 1993. Perlman currently holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair at the Juilliard School.
Numerous publications and institutions have paid tribute to Perlman for the unique place he occupies in the artistic and humanitarian fabric of our times. Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew universities are among the institutions that have awarded him honorary degrees. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Juilliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in May 2005. President Reagan honored Perlman with a Medal of Liberty in 1986, and in December 2000, President Clinton awarded Mr. Perlman the National Medal of Arts. His presence on stage, on camera and in personal appearances of all kinds speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled, and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of Perlman’s life.
Manfred Honeck has served as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since the 2008-2009 season. After two extensions, his contract now runs until the end of the 2019-2020 season. To great acclaim, Honeck and his orchestra perform regularly for European audiences. Since 2010, annual tour performances have led them to numerous European music capitals and major music festivals, including Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Musikfest Berlin, Grafenegg Festival, Lucerne Festival and the BBC Proms. Several recordings, amongst them Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, which won a 2012 International Classical Music Award, are available on Japanese label Exton. Honeck’s successful work with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is now captured by Reference Recordings. The first SACD — of Strauss tone poems — was released in fall 2013 and received rave reviews. The second recording, of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 and the Symphonic Suite from Janaček’s opera Jenüfa, conceptualized by Honeck himself, followed in summer 2014 and received a Grammy Award nomination. Several additional recordings are completed, and Bruckner No. 4 was released in February 2015 to high critical praise. Born in Austria, Honeck received his musical training at the Academy of Music in Vienna. Many years of experience as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and at the helm of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra have given his conducting a distinctive stamp. He began his career as assistant to Claudio Abbado in Vienna. Subsequently, he was engaged by the Zurich Opera House, where he was bestowed the prestigious European Conductor’s Award in 1993. Other early stations of his career include Leipzig, where he was one of three main conductors of the MDR Symphony Orchestra and Oslo, where he assumed the post of music director at the Norwegian National Opera on short notice for a year and was engaged as principal guest conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra for several years. From 2000 to 2006, he was music director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm and, from 2008 to 2011, principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has resumed for another three years at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season. As a guest conductor, Honeck has worked with leading international orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome and the Vienna Philharmonic. Orchestras he conducted in the United States include New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also is a regular guest at the Verbier Festival. In February 2013, he had his successful debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the direct result of which was a CD recording together with Anne-Sophie Mutter (works of Dvorak). The current season sees returns to Bamberg, Stuttgart, Rome and New York as well as to the Vienna Symphony (a CD of works by the Strauss family was released in summer 2013) and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He also will conduct Tonhalleorchester Zürich and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others. Honeck has received honorary doctorates from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., and, most recently, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He has been artistic director of the “International Concerts Wolfegg” in Germany for more than 15 years.
On Saturday, August 14, several Lawrenceville bars join forces to rock you all night long at the Rock All Night Tour; over 120 full bands and over 30 solo artists, craft vendors, art, classic cars, and a few surprises. Activities will begin at noon in Arsenal Park and last into the wee hours of the night in Lawrenceville. For more information, go here.
Cheeseburger in Burgettstown
Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band comes to Pittsburgh (sort of). He’ll be at the First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown. He’s played there every year since the First Niagara Pavilion opened in 1990. It’s pretty simple to get to Margaritaville from there. Just go to the First Niagara Pavilion located on Route 18 and Route 22 W, Burgettstown, PA. For more information, go here.
If the shoe fits…
CLO is trying to get the girls to the ball with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The show, running all week, August 11 – 16, features a Tony Award winning score. In addition to seeing a fabulous show, the CLO is collection formal and semi-formal gowns for Becca’s Closet, which donates formal attire to high school girls with financial need who would not otherwise be able to attend their school’s military balls, homecoming or proms. It’s a the Benedum Center, 237 7th Avenue, between Penn and Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.
Play on Words
On Friday, August 14, Alan Olifson returns to the Bricolage with “WordPlay,” storytelling accompanied by a live DJ. Storytellers include, Olifson and Siovhan Christensen, Parag S. Gohel, Adam Tobias, and Bricolage’s own Tami Dixon. It’s at the Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue, 1st Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, go here.
A moving performance
William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” is in town (towns). The show will alternate between two locations, the Grand Theater in Elizabeth, PA and the Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Castle Shannon. Come see the historical tragedy, in a town of your choosing. For locations, more information, and tickets, go here.
