How often does the Pittsburgh Symphony sell out Heinz Hall?
It’s not terribly often, maybe a couple or few times a year. Lately, it’s been the live-with-film concerts like “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” that have packed people into seats.
Still, in the classical world, there’s at least one name that listeners far and wide will shell out to see: cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who is returning to Pittsburgh for one night only on Feb. 15, 2023.
Last time Ma — one of classical music’s most celebrated and decorated ambassadors — appeared with the symphony the hall was packed to the gills and rightly so. At the time, the Post-Gazette said in a review:
“What makes musicians truly remarkable is not their ability to play the right notes at the right time with good dynamics, though these are of course essential elements of a great performance. It’s about their ability to transcend language and meaning to touch listeners in a profound way, and Mr. Ma does this more consistently and poignantly that any other artist I’ve heard...”
Tickets for this concert are on sale for current subscribers and will go on sale to the public on Aug. 29. Prices will range from $40 to $135 at pittsburghsymphony.org or at 412-392-4900. Ma was last in Pittsburgh in 2018, when he took a day to perform and watch performances in community spaces in Braddock as part of the Kennedy Center’s Art Across America program.
Then, he also talked about how he learned to handle his celebrity from Fred Rogers on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Ma appeared twice on the show and maintained a friendship with The Steel City’s most treasured neighbor.
The symphony will release details about the program at a later date, and tickets are likely to sell out quickly.
Pittsburgh musical aficionados willing to drive can also catch Ma in a performance with the Wheeling Symphony in West Virginia on Sept. 29, where he’ll perform a cello concerto by legendary film composer John Williams. That concert also includes a world premiere, “Migrations in Rhythm: A Concerto for Beatbox and Rhyme” by Evan Meier. Information, tickets at wheelingsymphony.com.
Jeremy Reynolds: jreynolds@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1634; twitter: @Reynolds_PG. Mr. Reynolds' work at the Post-Gazette is supported in part by a grant from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Getty Foundation and Rubin Institute.
First Published: August 9, 2022, 8:06 p.m.
Updated: August 10, 2022, 10:19 a.m.
