Manfred Honeck

Manfred Honeck is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading conductors, renowned for
his distinctive and revelatory interpretations that have garnered international acclaim. As
Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he is about to enter his 19th
season, he continues to shape the orchestra’s artistic identity with a deep sense of purpose
and passion. His tenure, recently extended through the 2032-2033 season, has seen the
orchestra flourish both artistically and as a cultural ambassador for the city of Pittsburgh.
Celebrated at home and abroad, guest appearances under his leadership 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, Musikfest Berlin, Lucerne Festival,
Rheingau Music Festival, and Grafenegg Festival.

Manfred Honeck’s successful tenure in Pittsburgh is extensively documented by a series of
recordings on the Reference Recordings label, featuring works by Beethoven, Brahms,
Bruckner, Shostakovich, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and others. They have received widespread
critical acclaim and multiple GRAMMY® nominations, including a win for “Best Orchestral
Performance” in 2018. The latest album, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 paired with Carlos
Simon’s Black American Dances, was released in July 2026.

Born in Austria, Manfred 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, and his art of interpretation is rooted in a desire to venture deep beneath the
surface of the music. He began his conducting career as an 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. In 2023, he was appointed Honorary
Conductor by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, following decades of close collaboration.

Manfred Honeck also enjoys a distinguished profile as an opera conductor. In his four
seasons as General Music Director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, he conducted premieres of
operas by Berlioz, Mozart, Poulenc, Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner. He has also guest at leading houses such as Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Royal Opera of Copenhagen, and the Salzburg Festival. In 2020, Beethoven’s anniversary year, he conducted a new staging of Fidelio (1806 version) at the Theater an der Wien. In autumn 2022, he made his much-acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, leading a revival of Mozart’s Idomeneo. Beyond the podium, Manfred Honeck has created a series of symphonic suites, including Janáček’s Jenůfa, Strauss’s Elektra, Dvořák’s Rusalka as well as Puccini’s Turandot which he regularly performs around the globe. The most recent arrangement, of Strauss’s Arabella, was premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2025.

As a guest conductor, Manfred Honeck is a regular presence with all leading international
orchestras, including Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Accademia di
Santa Cecilia Rome and the Vienna Philharmonic. In the United States, he has conducted all
major orchestras from New York to San Francisco. He has also been Artistic Director of the
International Concerts Wolfegg in Germany for over three decades.

In summer 2026, he will return to the Salzburg Festival, conducting Ariadne auf Naxos with
the Vienna Philharmonic. He will also lead the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on its festival
tour through Europe which includes appearances in Salzburg, Lucerne, Amsterdam,
Hamburg, and the season opening of the Vienna Konzerthaus. In the 2026-27 season, he
will commemorate the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death with special
programs and a new commission from Jüri Reinvere, to be presented worldwide.

Manfred 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”. In
2026, he was awarded the Julio Kilenyi Medal by the American Bruckner Society, an honour
bestowed on distinguished interpreters of Bruckner.