Leonard Slatkin twice stepped in for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2006, including filling in last-minute for artistic adviser Andrew Davis in last summer's European tour. Now, he will be an official part of the orchestra.

	Leonard Slatkin has signed a three-year contract with the PSO for three weeks per season. Related article Adams, Corigliano, Danielpour to be composers-of-year

The PSO has appointed the prominent American conductor to be its principal guest conductor, succeeding Yan Pascal Tortelier.

"He brings the whole package," said Larry Tamburri, CEO of the orchestra. "He is articulate about music and American music in particular. He is a very committed artist. It is very exciting for us."

"It was very clear the orchestra and I had a really fine chemistry going" during last year's tour, Slatkin said yesterday from Washington, D.C. "In some way, no matter what it was going to be, we needed to solidify some sort of relationship. This seemed to be the ideal."

Slatkin's three-year contract engages him for three weeks a season, in which he will conduct a mix of "subscription weeks, special projects, domestic tours and other activities." He will assume the role next September, the same month Manfred Honeck begins his tenure as music director.

"I am extremely happy he accepted this offer from the PSO. He is one of the greatest American conductors, and his experience is incredible," Honeck said on the phone from Cologne, Germany. "I am so happy we can have a connection with him -- a stronger connection with him."

Manfred Honeck calls Slatkin "one of the greatest American conductors." Click photo for larger image.

"Leonard's repertory and Manfred's will complement each other," said Tamburri.

Slatkin, 62, agreed, saying he and Honeck have already talked about his wide experience with American music, although the Austrian music director wants Slatkin to stretch out as well.

The guest conductor position "matches what I can best do for the orchestra. It serves the purposes well of Maestro Honeck and complements him," he said.

Slatkin has a long relationship with the PSO. He debuted with the orchestra in 1976 and had a strong role in leading the orchestra at Great Woods from 1987-90. He conducted the orchestra in 2001 but did not return until spring 2006, when he substituted for Richard Hickox. Many PSO musicians felt a good chemistry at the concert, and it led to the orchestra tapping him to replace an ill Davis in Europe last August.

"Aside from wowing us for stepping in for us the way he did at the last moment in the tour, the overall assessment is that the Leonard Slatkin we have seen as of late is a conductor who has exhibited having gone through a great deal of growth," said John Soroka, percussionist and chair of the orchestra committee. "He has musical depth and is a joy to work with. It was clear after the tour he was moved by the experience with us and we were with him."

The tour with Slatkin, said Honeck, "was a very, very joyful tour for the orchestra and for himself."

Tamburri, noting Slatkin's history with the PSO, said, "He hadn't been here for a few years and having him back last spring, he had a good time with the orchestra and they with him. In Europe we had some really good concerts, and everyone felt good about working with him. It was a rekindling of the past relationship."

Yesterday, Slatkin said the PSO has "a spirit and an atmosphere that transcends professionalism and goes to the heart and soul of what music is about. They want to not only to be the best they can, but better than the best. That's a fabulous attitude."

The arrangement reduces the present artistic leadership structure of a trio of conductors to a more traditional pairing of music director and principal guest conductor. The PSO last had such a structure in 1992-93, when Eduardo Mata worked with music director Lorin Maazel. The contract of PSO's guest conductor in an endowed chair, Marek Janowski, expires next year, as does Davis'.

Slatkin rose to prominence as music director of the St. Louis Symphony (1979-96), for which he is now conductor laureate. He will leave his post as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., after the 2007-08 season. He had been there for 12 seasons. He also is principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and recently took a position of music adviser to the Nashville Symphony.

Other recent posts have included principal guest conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra (1997-2000), chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (2000-04) and festival director of the Cleveland Orchestra's Blossom Festival (1990-99).

Slatkin has more than 100 recordings and nine Grammy Awards. He is best known as a champion of American and contemporary music but has had much success with the standard repertoire. "His [Strauss] 'Till Eulenspiegel' on tour was excellent," said Soroka.

Slatkin said he hopes to record "a disc or two" with the PSO, but it was too early to get into specifics.

Born in Los Angeles, Slatkin's parents were founding members of the famed Hollywood String Quartet: violinist Felix Slatkin and cellist Eleanor Aller. He has a son, Daniel, with his wife, the soprano Linda Hohenfeld.

Slatkin, who received a 2003 National Medal of Arts, also will create an annual Conducting Institute in Pittsburgh, as he did in Washington, D.C.