Maestro conducts business as well as symphonies
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Manfred Honeck == "Every time I come to Pittsburgh, I make new friends." -
Manfred Honeck greets Joe and Peggy Charny at the season announcement event held for PSO subscribers and donors Tuesday at Heinz Hall.
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On the eve of a major concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, its music director had the eyes of 200 people trained on him. But Manfred Honeck wasn't on the podium at Heinz Hall, he was in one of the building's reception rooms. And when he extended his arms, it wasn't to wave a baton but to shake hands.
He was greeting the patrons -- members of the Friends of the PSO eager to hear the man who captains the renowned orchestra. Mr. Honeck spoke about the music the orchestra was to perform that weekend last year in Heinz Hall and later at New York's Carnegie Hall. Soon the questions turned to Mr. Honeck's personal life: "Do your children play instruments?"
About 50 people stuck around afterward hoping to meet him. That once would have been a lost cause: Since the days of former PSO director Fritz Reiner (1938-48) when there was a clear line between the artistic and business sides of the business, many conductors have deigned to talk only to a few donors and patrons and then scurry away to study scores.
Not Mr. Honeck, 52, who's a prime example of the new style of conductor.
"He stayed until every single person had gone," said Vice President of Donor Relations Mary Ellen Miller, her voice still betraying some disbelief.
"It would be a shame not to do it," he said. "If I treat a friend in a way that I don't want to meet them, I would feel bad."
It's a pattern that the maestro has repeated on numerous occasions, and it may just be exactly what the arts organization needs in these uncertain economic times.
"There are new and different expectations of the orchestra," said Jesse Rosen, president of the League of American Orchestras, based in New York City.
"They are having to compete in ways they didn't have to compete in the days of [former Cleveland Orchestra maestro George] Szell. "There used to be a centrality the symphony, opera and dance shared, but now there are all sorts of arts groups and organizations that are demanding resources."
Some orchestras have tried to address this by offering special concerts and events designed to engage nonsubscribers in classical music.
Mr. Honeck offers special concerts, too, but stands out among other artistic directors in his outreach efforts.
First Published February 27, 2011 12:00 am
