This native Austrian completed his musical education at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music. His many years as a member of the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra have certainly shaped his subsequent work as a conductor. After assisting Claudio Abbado in Vienna, followed by posts in Zurich, Oslo and Leipzig, Honeck’s first major position came in 2000 when he became principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since the 2008/2009 season he has been music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, following in the footsteps of such great names as Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons. Today Manfred Honeck is regularly invited to conduct top international ensembles, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. His debut with the Staatskapelle came in 1995 at a New Year’s Eve Concert in the Saxon capital.