Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director Manfred Honeck will become the longest-serving music director in the organization’s 131-year history under a contract extension through the 2032–33 season.
Honeck has led the symphony since the 2008–09 season. When the new agreement concludes, he will have completed a 25-year partnership with the orchestra, surpassing William Steinberg’s 24-year tenure from 1952 to 1976.
The extension gives the symphony seven more years under the Austrian-born conductor, whose tenure has helped raise the orchestra’s international profile through recordings and overseas touring.
Under Honeck, the symphony’s Pittsburgh Live! recording series has earned 12 Grammy nominations and three wins, including Best Orchestral Performance for its recording of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The orchestra has also appeared regularly in Europe, including four performances at the Salzburg Festival, and returned to Carnegie Hall in December 2025.
As president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Malia Tourangeau has admired the way Honeck conducts the orchestra, and says his style adds to how they best represent the city of Pittsburgh.
"When people describe the city, they talk about how we punch above our weight. And there's this kind of grittiness about the city," she said. "Those are the adjectives, and those are the same adjectives that are used when the musicians talk about playing for the Pittsburgh Symphony and under Manfred's leadership."
The extension preserves a defining artistic relationship for the Symphony as it continues to perform in Pittsburgh, record and tour internationally.
This article by Gabby Sartori was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Manfred Honeck extension will make Pittsburgh Symphony history
