@ the Symphony

Violin prodigy Himari makes her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony on November 28th with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. She joined Jim Cunningham to talk about the Bruch, her first EP with Decca Records, and playing with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Himari began playing the violin at the age of three and by the age of six, was already performing with professional orchest...

 Houston Symphony Music Director Juraj Valcuha returns to conduct the Richard Strauss "Ein Heldenleben," A hero's Life, which reveals the autobiography of the composer complete with his thoughts on music critics but does it end with a triumph? Not exactly.  It is a giant piece and 45 minutes of delightful music. Maestro Valcuha tells Jim Cunningham in his dressing room after rehearsal on Thursday...

Just as he left the stage Thursday afternoon at Heinz Hall, Pablo Fernandez talked with Jim Cunningham about his Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1 with Juraj Valcuha and the Pittsburgh Symphony. They've worked together with great success in Paris, he loves working with the Pittsburgh, and remembers well his debut with John Williams in December of 2023. He's been playing the Saint-Saens since he was...

Pianist Helene Grimaud talks with Jim Cunningham about her wide-ranging tour with the Gershwin Piano Concerto marking its 100th anniversary. She recorded it live with David Zinman two decades ago and is delighted to return to it in Pittsburgh, Houston, Washington DC and opening the new era in Cincinnati with Christian Macelaru. She's recently driven across the country from her California home to r...

Domingo Hindoyan makes his Heinz Hall debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony on November 7th and 9th leading "Alegria" by Roberto Sierra, the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F with Helene Grimaud as soloist and the Cesar Franck D minor Symphony. Maestro Hindoyan talks about his family growing up in Venezuela and playing the violin in the youth orchestra which is part of the highly successful training progr...

She loves being the champion of the new in classical music. Leila Josefowicz, violinist with an Avery Fisher Career Prize and a Macarthur Genius Award, hasn’t found being anointed brainy to be a detriment to her social life or connecting with listeners. She joins Dalia Stasevska for the new Saturday Sessions concert on Saturday October 18, 2025 at Heinz Hall and Friday and Sunday for the Stravinsk...

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Jacob Joyce joined Jim Cunningham on the QED Morning Show to discuss the Orchestra's first Saturday Session of the season. These concerts bring you iconic classical repertoire in a more guided, approachable way. Jacob hosts from the stage, sharing insights and stories as the music comes to life. Jacob explained what people can expect at this Saturd...

Leaving on a jet plane finds Dalia Stasevska wearing a Metallica t shirt but arriving at Heinz Hall for her Pittsburgh Symphony debut without her luggage. She was projecting teen spirit during this conversation with Jim Cunningham in the guest conductor’s dressing room - after all, her husband plays in a metal band. Metallica worked with the Berlin Philharmonic and both the Symphony Orchestra and...

Francesco Piemontesi returns to Heinz Hall to perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with Robin Ticciati conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He spoke with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham about the piece, working with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, what he has upcoming in his performance schedule and much more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Music Critic Jeremy Reynolds stopped by our broadcast location to talk to Jim Cunningham about his immediate post-concert thoughts on the season opening concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During intermission of WQED-FM's live broadcast of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on September 26, 2025, WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke with Music Director Manfred Honeck, soloist Alexi Kenney about his performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and composer Christopher Theofanidis, whose "Rainbow Body" opened the concert. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com...

WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Assistant Conductor Jacob Joyce about the pre-concert talk he held with composer Christopher Theofanidis. Jacob also talked about the November 2025 concert by the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, in which he is the Artistic Director. Jim also spoke with violinist Karin Hoppo, a member of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra....

WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke with Jeremy Reynolds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Classical Music Critic, after the Friday June 13, 2025 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert. Jeremy gave his quick review of the concert - he loved the 2nd movement of the Shostakovich and thought Beatrice Rana brought impressive energy to the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1. He also gives a sneak peak of some upcoming...

During intermission of our live broadcast of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on Friday June 13, 2025, WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke with Music Director Manfred Honeck about the Shostakovich Symphony No. 10; the world premiere of Lera Auerbach's "Frozen Dreams;" and his summer plans. He then spoke with guest pianist Beatrice Rana about the Mendelssohn Piano Concert she just finished playing. She...

Prior to Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert on Friday June 13, 2025, WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke with PSO Violist Stephanie Tretick, who is retiring after 45 years with the orchestra. She talks about her musical journey; memories of the PSO over the years; and how she'll miss visiting hardware stores in different countries on the orchestra tours. Jim also spoke with PSO Principal Tuba Craig...

Chopin Piano Competition winning pianist Bruce Liu makes his debut at Heinz Hall Friday June 6 and Sunday June 8th with a 360 concert on the 7th playing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3. He sat down in the Grand Lobby at Heinz Hall after the dress rehearsal with Jim Cunningham to talk about the delights of the Beethoven Third. Beethoven was already experiencing hearing trouble playing the Third...

Pittsburgh Symphony Guest Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero speaks in the conductor’s dressing room about the program of May 30th through June 1st, which features "Sprout" by Sean Shepherd, the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with Nemanja Radulovic, and the Brahms Fourth Symphony. He tells Jim Cunningham he is delighted to return and thrilled to see Jeremy Black as Concertmaster of the Grant Park Orchestr...

Nemanja Radulovic makes his Pittsburgh debut playing the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with Guest Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero May 30th and 31st plus a matinee on June 1st at Heinz Hall. The Serbian born violin virtuoso talks with Jim Cunningham in the grand lobby about his music study in Serbia, Serbian history, his love of Bach and his two Bach CDs, plus his Khachaturian and Rimsky Korsakoff CD....

Pittsburgh Symphony guest conductor Yuraj Valcuha made his American debut at Heinz Hall and has become a favorite appearing here many times including this weekend and next season. In this conversation in the conductor’s dressing room surrounded by the portraits of previous music directors, he spoke of how much he enjoys his visits and his family ties to Pittsburgh referencing the historical marker...

Vikingur Olafsson speaks with Jim Cunningham in the Heinz Hall Fourth Floor rehearsal Room about his work with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony playing Brahms First Concerto. He spoke about his path to playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations around the globe more than 88 times, being called the Icelandic Glenn Gould, loving the Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since hearing them...

After our live broadcast, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal Cello, Anne Martindale Williams, spoke with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham about the concert; the PSO Disrupt Concert that took place the night before; and how her daughter has changed from playing the cello to practicing medicine. Jim was also visited by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Melia Tourangeau, who gave a review...

During intermission of our live broadcast, WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham first spoke with the weekend's guest conductor - Daniele Rustioni, who made his 2nd appearance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He talked about the program, getting appointed as Principal Guest Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and more. He was followed by guest pianist Kirill Gerstein, also making his 2nd appearance with...

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Jacob Joyce spoke with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham before our live broadcast to talk about this evening's concert. He also spoke about the latest news on the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, of which he is the Music Director. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of perso...

What did Jeremy Reynolds, classical music critic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, think of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's concert with conductor Elim Chan and pianist Jan Lisiecki? Listen to his immediate reactions as he spoke with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham at the end of the concert during our live broadcast of March 7, 2025. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com...

During intermission of our live broadcast of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke with guest conductor Elim Chan, guest pianist Jan Lisiecki, and PSO Vice-President of Artistic Planning Mary Persin about the just release 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra season. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collec...