Pittsburgh Symphony returns to Scottish Rite

Staff report

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, with music director Manfred Honeck, will return to the Scottish Rite Cathedral on April 28 for a concert that will celebrate Mozart’s masterpieces.

Titled “Mozart Extravaganza,” the concert will feature celebrated Mozart scholar and pianist Robert Levin, who will join the PSO in performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, a favorite concerto of Beethoven’s.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $16 to $59; call 800-743-8560 or go to pittsburghsymphony.org. Student tickets (18 and under) are free with the purchase of a parent or guardian ticket.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral, 110 E. Lincoln Ave., will offer a pre-concert buffet dinner between 6 and 7 p.m. The cost is $22 per person, and the reservation deadline is April 18. Call 724-654-6683 (option 3 then option 2) or email info@cathedralnewcastle.com for reservations or more information.

Attendees are in for a special treat, as Levin will perform improvisations on themes suggested by the audience, and the symphony will perform Mozart’s famous “Eine kleine Nachtmusik.”

Principal Horn William Caballero will give the first performance of Levin’s new edition of Mozart’s stunning Concerto No. 1 in D major for Horn and Orchestra. The program will close with Honeck leading the popular Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter.”

Renowned for his improvised embellishments and cadenzas in classical-period repertoire, Levin has recorded a Mozart concerto cycle for Decca; a Beethoven concerto cycle for DG Archiv (including the world premiere recording of Beethoven’s arrangement of the Fourth Concerto for piano and string quintet); and the complete Bach harpsichord concertos with Helmuth Rilling.

A passionate advocate of new music, Levin has commissioned and premiered a large number of works. He is a renowned chamber musician and a noted theorist and musicologist.