Heinz Hall, originally constructed in 1927, was beautifully renovated in the 1970s.
This is the most elegant of the downtown theaters, with the others being lovely in their own rights.
One ton chandelier anyone? Gorgeous detailing. What a stunner.
A friend treated me to my second evening at the symphony. It was a delight to enjoy “Alec’s Playlist” as conducted by Maestro Manfred Honeck. We also experienced the amazing and unique organist Cameron Carpenter.
The program included Alec’s intro piece, commonly known as the soundtrack to “2001 Space Odyssey.” Its proper name is, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Opus by Richard Strauss.
That piece set the tone for a delightful commentary by Mr. Baldwin. He personalized the evening, giving the audience a glimpse into this accomplished actor’s love of classical music.
Echoing in Heinz Hall Were
Hector Berlioz’s Dream of the Witches’ Sabbath.
Gustav Mahler, Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor. This wound up being my favorite piece. Relaxing into the music, your body moves up and down, racing your heartbeat one moment and soothing you the next.
Tchaikovsky provided us with Pas de Deux from “The Nutcracker, Opus 71.”
Beethoven enlivened us with Finale (IV. Allegro con brio) from Symphony No. 7 in A major, Opus 92. That music, like Für Elise, is a favorite of this classical music novice.
Sergei Prokofiev’s The Death of Tybalt, Opus 64, made me want to reread this tragic scene in Romeo & Juliet.
Who could resist enjoying George Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm?
The final piece was by Dmitri Shostakovich, Finale (IV. Allegro non trope) from Symphony No. 5, Opus 47.
There are no Bad Seats
Heinz Hall acoustics are so generous that every seat is a perfect one. When Cameron Carpenter played, a huge screen displayed his keyboard work. He played across four tiers of the International Touring Organ. If you have a chance to see him, don’t scoff, indulge and enjoy the uniqueness of his talent.
Pittsburgh’s Symphony Orchestra is phenomenal. Hearing them play in Heinz Hall is an all-encompassing experience.
Have you been?
*PS. If you want to see the theatre district, go to Doors Open Pittsburgh in October.
Read: Pittsburgh blogs
I’m looking forward to your upcoming post on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which was produced in Pittsburgh. Won’t you be my neighbor, Rose? 🙂
Mister Rogers is still much loved in our community.
What a beautiful venue. I can imagine how lovely the music must have sounded in such a spectacular hall.
The setting did make it extra special, Mina. One park in town has the symphony outside in the summer. I’m making it a point to get there this year.
I live in a rural area, and have to admit I do not get exposed to this music as much as I like. For me, it is getting albums and listening to NPR every week.
It must be incredible to hear this music live, and I hope I get more exposure to it.
Me, too, for you, William. NPR is a great place to hear good music. There is just something so fantastic to seeing it live.
Rose Mary — what a spectacular hall! Would that the NY Philharmonic had something comparable. They’ve been playing in a bad-sounding hall for 50 years and are fund-raising for a new one. Alec Baldwin is a major patron of the NY Philharmonic, donating $1 million. He is also the voice that tells the audience to silence their cell phones. He has also been on their Board for quite a few years and has narrated many of their concerts. He gets criticized a lot but I admire him for his dedication to classical music.
Oh my Jeannette, I had no idea the NY Philharmonic was not housed in a building as gorgeous and sound-full as the Heinz!
I will admit to pretty much always loving Alec…if some of my past deeds had been publicized, it’s possible I could have had as much bad press as he. In honor of Prince, I will admit to dancing on the bar at Natali’s in Red Lodge, Montana that famous New Year’s of 1999. 🙂
What a spectacular building Rose Mary! I haven’t been to a symphony performance since my last visit to New York, but I can well image it must have been a wonderful evening. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photographs and scratching my itch to travel. 🙂
I’m always glad to be an instigator, Marquita (that’s my one-word epithet). I would imagine hearing the symphony in NY would also be wonderful.
What a grand building. The chandeliers are breathtaking. I imagine posh dinner dances when I see such buildings as these.
The look and feel of a building certainly adds to the experience.
You’re spot on, Phoenicia. My friend and I both imagined us with long, white kid gloves with pearl buttons and shawls draped around our shoulders. 🙂 Ah, to ever be so elegant!
Rose, I do believe that the setting can enhance the experience and hearing the symphony in such a beautiful building would have made it almost a spiritual experience. Where we live there is no such building or, for that matter, a symphony and I genuinely miss that. So glad you had the chance to go.
You nailed it, Lenie, it was a spiritual experience to get swept up in the music and let it sway my emotions all over the place. What a joy. I could live in the country, for sure, but I would miss being 20 minutes away from places like the Heinz.
Heinz Hall is gorgeous. It’s so great it’s been restored. Your post reminded me that it’s been too long since I last a symphony performance. It sounds like you heard a great line-up. How cool to also have Alec Baldwin’s commentary.
Hope you get to attend very soon, Donna!
Wow, what a beautiful building, Rose! I love the chandelier. I saw the Pittsburgh’s Symphony Orchestra perform. I bet it was a great show. Thanks for sharing.
We have some lovely and unique theatres in Pburgh, Sabrina. I hope you get to see them. Yes, the PSO is wonderful.
Heinz Hall looks pretty good. It reminds me of the Fox Theatre here in Atlanta.
I’ll have to google it, Jason, I don’t know anything about the Fox.
Incredible building! Thanks for sharing the pictures!
It’s a great experience, Seester.
How beautiful. I would love to experience the acoustics of Heinz Hall. I’ve only been to the symphony once back in college, but go to lots of musicals.
My friend Fiona is a true music lover (with a wonderful voice) and she assured me the acoustics were perfect. Since it’s been years since the first time I heard a symphony there, I didn’t know what to expect. It was, in a word, astounding.
I love musicals!
Wonderful to see you writing about Pittsburgh.We have such amazing architecture and such a diverse group of arts.
We do, Eileen. More blogs to follow exploring our city!
What a beautiful building. I can imagine the pounding drums of Thus Sprach Zarathustra echoing amongst those chandeliers.
You are right, Ken. The drums were thunderous!
Those chandeliers are breathtaking! As soon as I finish this comment, I am off to see if this particular show is a “Pittsburgh only” show or if it will be happening elsewhere. It sounds like you had a fantastic evening in a lovely space listening to beautiful music. That’s a perfect evening out. Thank you for sharing your pictures – I’ve never been to Heinz Hall, sadly.
I believe this was just for Pittsburgh, Maureen. Alec’s story is that he was here filming “Concussion” (still on my list to see) and wandered into the Heinz for a show. One of the directors sat with him and at the end, invited/asked him if he would come back and host one. He did! And he also paid for 300 students to get into the theatre. Pretty neat!
That’s awesome that he came back and did a show! I did look and you are right, it was a ‘Burgh thing. I love the fact that he made it possible for 300 students to see the show too. Very cool.
Looks spectacular! Makes this home town gal really proud:)
I decided to take a hint from Ken with his Newark posts and start blogging about this crazy city of Pittsburgh! Glad you liked it, Jacquie.