Manfred Honeck

has firmly established himself as one of the world’s leading conductors, whose distinctive and revelatory interpretations receive great international acclaim. He has entered his 16th season as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Guest appearances include Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, as well as the major venues of Europe and leading festivals such as the BBC Proms, Salzburg Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, and Grafenegg Festival.
Honeck’s successful work in Pittsburgh is being extensively documented by recordings on the Reference Recordings label. They have received a multitude of outstanding reviews and awards, including many »Grammy« nominations, and he and the orchestra won the »Grammy« for »Best Orchestral Performance« in 2018.

Born in Austria, Honeck completed his musical training at the University of Music in Vienna. His many years of experience as a member of the viola section in the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra have had a lasting influence on his work as a conductor. He began his conducting career as assistant to Claudio Abbado and as director of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra. Subsequently, he was engaged by the Zurich Opera House, where he was awarded the »European Conducting Prize« in 1993. He has since served as one of three principal conductors of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, as Music Director of the Norwegian National Opera, Principal Guest Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm.
Honeck also has a strong profile as opera conductor. He has appeared as guest at leading houses such as Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Salzburg Festival, Theater an der Wien, and Metropolitan Opera in New York.
As a guest conductor, Honeck has worked with all leading international orchestras, including Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Vienna Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. He has also been Artistic Director of the International Concerts Wolfegg in Germany for almost thirty years.

In 2023/24, in Pittsburgh Honeck will conduct ten wide-ranging programmes and several special projects, including all four of the season’s world premieres and commissions. He will also return to the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic, amongst others and, being renowned for his Bruckner interpretations, place a special focus on this composer’s anniversary in 2024.

Honeck holds honorary doctorates from several universities in the United States and was awarded the honorary title of Professor by the Austrian Federal President. In 2018, the jury of the »International Classical Music Awards« declared him »Artist of the Year«.