At one point during the concert Tuesday night at Heinz Hall, Burt Bacharach was talking about writing a song, “Falling Out of Love,” with the great Jerry Leiber in the famed Brill Building in New York.

He rattled off a few of the lyricist’s classics, mentioning “Hound Dog” and “Stand by Me.”

“I would have loved to have written THAT one,” Mr. Bacharach said of “Stand By Me,” which was striking — in the sense that there are actually songs that Burt Bacharach regrets NOT writing.

This is a man with no less than 73 hits on the American charts, many of them pop treasures in themselves.

One month short of his 90th birthday (May 12), he is still on the road performing them, on Tuesday backed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

It’s hard to imagine a better set list from an original artist at an orchestral pops concert.

Within the first 20 minutes, there was “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” “Don't Make Me Over,” “Walk on By,” “This Guy's in Love with You,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Wishin' & Hopin’,” “(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” and they were just warming up.

Although Mr. Bacharach may have looked frail, the performance certainly wasn’t. He accompanied on piano, often standing to gesture to the orchestra, which richly and beautifully backed his combo that includes son Oliver also on piano, and three singers.

Those singers have the biggest shoes to fill, delivering songs made famous by the likes of Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Jack Jones, Herb Albert, B.J. Thomas and Dusty Springfield.

Josie James, who brought down the house with “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” has the cool, sultry quality of Ms. Warwick with some added fire when needed. Donna Taylor, who soloed on “Falling Out of Love” and “On My Own,” among others, has a brassier, gospel style with a bit less in control of the notes.

John Pagano is a powerhouse, which you absolutely have to be if you’re going to belt out “What’s New Pussycat?” like Tom Jones. Another of his stellar moments was “This House is Empty Now,” a ballad from “Painted From Memory,” the Grammy-winning 1998 collaboration with Elvis Costello.

Mr. Bacharach shared a few stories during the set, most notably one about growing in New York a fan of the Giants and the Yankees but also the Pirates and the Pitt Panthers.

Why the Panthers?

In his neighborhood, he said, “It wasn’t cool to be Jewish,” so his family kind of concealed that fact. “What got me hooked on Pittsburgh was an all-star running back named Marshall Goldberg.” He idolized the football player who helped them win two championships in the ‘30s, thinking, “He was Jewish, so it could be done.” Mr. Goldberg would later surprise him backstage at a concert in Kansas City.

After a ladies special on The Carpenters’ “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” Mr. Bacharach popped a cough drop to introduce a medley of movie songs. Along with writing for many of them, he said, “I was fortunate to even be in some motion pictures, if you can say that being in ‘Austin Powers’ …” You can finish the sentence easily enough.

It introduced the most moving portion of the concert, Mr. Bacharach singing just parts of “The Look of Love,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head,” “Wives and Lovers” and “Alfie” in the most fragile of talk-sing, his voice cracking.

It wasn’t pretty, like the orchestra’s strings, but what’s more powerful, more emotional than getting to see a master and an icon perform the music that touched so many lives?

Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.com.

BURT BACHARACH SET LIST

What the World Needs Now Is Love

Don't Make Me Over / Walk on By / This Guy's in Love with You / I Say a Little Prayer / Trains, Boats & Planes / Wishin' & Hopin' / (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me

Do You Know the Way to San Jose

Anyone Who Had a Heart

This House is Empty Now

Falling Out of Love

Make It Easy on Yourself

On My Own

Be Aware

(They Long to Be) Close to You

The Look of Love (he sang) / Arthur's Theme / What's New Pussycat / The World Is a Circle / April Fools / Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (he sang) / The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance / Making Love / Wives and Lovers (he sang) jazzy / Alfie/ A House is Not a Home

Encore:

That's What Friends Are For

First Published: April 11, 2018, 4:27 p.m.
Updated: April 11, 2018, 4:43 p.m.