{"id":42,"date":"2018-02-27T16:09:19","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T21:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/?p=42"},"modified":"2018-02-28T15:10:18","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T20:10:18","slug":"hello-maestro-manfred-honecks-sweet-on-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/distinction\/2018\/music\/hello-maestro-manfred-honecks-sweet-on-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Hello Maestro!: Manfred Honeck’s sweet on Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

The music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is not one to pass up a cookie.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy donors know I am Austrian. They like to buy me mementos,\u201d he said, passing a tin of Austrian sweets around a room in Heinz Hall during a recording session.<\/p>\n

He looks crestfallen when someone tries to decline. \u201cBut this is more important than work!\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n

Mr. Honeck is celebrating his 10th anniversary as music director of the PSO. That\u2019s 10 years of world premieres, European tours, a labor strike, collaborative projects with Music for the Spirit and other Pittsburgh institutions, internationally acclaimed recordings and this year, a pair of Grammy awards.<\/p>\n

But aside from his accolades and musical stardom, he\u2019s got a bit of a sweet tooth. And he likes Starbucks. A lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the coffee,\u201d he said, happily noting that American espressos (his standard fare is a double espresso) come in larger cups than in Europe. <\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy watching the people and families in the mornings in the Market Square.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in the small town of Nenzing, Austria, in 1958, Mr. Honeck\u2019s career rise was meteoric. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Vienna, performing both as a violinist and violist. (It\u2019s difficult though not uncommon for a musician to master both instruments.) He performed with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as a violist and later was a guest conductor.<\/p>\n

He studied conducting with the likes of Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein, and after a period of conducting youth orchestras in the 1980s, made the leap to the big time in 1991 with the Zurich Opera. After leading the Oslo Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Leipzig MDR Symphony Orchestra and others, Mr. Honeck began his tenure with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2008.<\/p>\n

At the time, he said to the Post-Gazette: \u201cIt is no exaggeration to say that the orchestra and I got on like a house on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten years later, for his work with the PSO as well as his international efforts, the International Classical Music Awards selected Mr. Honeck as the 2017 Artist of the Year, an accolade indicative of the maestro\u2019s success on the international stage.<\/p>\n

\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony during practice at Heinz Hall. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck during an interview in his room at the Fairmont Pittsburgh. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony during practice at Heinz Hall. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pittsburgh <\/a>
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Conductor Manfred Honeck conducts rehearsal with the orchestra at Heinz Hall. (Nate Guidry\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pittsburgh <\/a>
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Conductor Manfred Honeck conducts rehearsal with the orchestra at Heinz Hall. (Nate Guidry\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony during practice at Heinz Hall. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony during practice at Heinz Hall. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"From <\/a>
From left, Manfred Honeck, Associate Conductor Andres Franco, Countertenor Andrey Nemzer compare notes after Pittsburgh Symphony practice at Heinz Hall. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck leads the Pittsburgh Symphony during practice at Heinz Hall. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Manfred <\/a>
Manfred Honeck walks out of the Fairtmont Pittsburgh. (Andrew Rush\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pittsburgh <\/a>
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Conductor Manfred Honeck conducts rehearsal with the orchestra at Heinz Hall. (Nate Guidry\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\r\nFamily man\r\n<\/h3>\n

One of nine children himself, Mr. Honeck and his wife, Christiane, have six children and several grandchildren. His family still lives in Altach, Austria, near the Swiss border. For 10 years and counting, the conductor has stayed in a corner suite at the Fairmont Hotel Downtown whenever he has business in Pittsburgh, which is often.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to use the gym here, so I used to bring my sports shoes with me,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I just have no time, so eventually I gave up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fairmont\u2019s front desk agents and waitstaff at its Fl.2 restaurant greet Mr. Honeck with a familiar \u201cHello Maestro!\u201d when he passes through. He\u2019s fond of Fl.2\u2019s Arnold Palmers and recommends the rotisserie chicken salad, though he politely yet firmly makes known his distaste for pomegranate seeds.<\/p>\n

Before lunch, Mr. Honeck says grace \u2014 no muss, no fuss \u2014 then talks about the time he conducted the Christmas Mass for the pope. He noted that Christmas is usually a time reserved for family.<\/p>\n

When the Honecks visit Pittsburgh, he takes his family to Steelers games, museums, and when the children were younger, Kennywood. They go for long drives to see the countryside, and on one such drive, detoured to see the Amish.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmusement parks are nothing new, but visiting the Amish was amazing to experience,\u201d Mr. Honeck said. \u201cWe had to see if it was really true if they drive not cars but horses. And they were there. It was fascinating to see the families. We went to an Amish shop and I was impressed. The quality of the food was so good \u2014 a little expensive but so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

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