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This is a free event; RSVP requested but not required. Through the link above, you will have the option to purchase a ticket for a pre-event reception at Soldiers & Sailors.

Is the work of the composer and musician a distinctively human act? For all of human history until only recently the answer was an obvious yes. But as we find ourselves in a brave new world of machine learning and artificial intelligence, many no longer see art as so specifically human. In the era of AI, can we still speak of art as essentially human? 

Who better to address these questions than Maestro Manfred Honeck, now in his 17th season as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and known the world over for his acclaimed performances and Grammy-winning recordings. 

Maestro Honeck will explore the richness of the creative process. What does the composer bring to the creation of a new musical work? What is the role of the composer’s imagination? The composer’s musical and cultural context? What about the performing musician, and the conductor in particular? How do they approach a musical score? How does their knowledge of the composer’s life and intentions shape their interpretation of the music they perform? 

No prior knowledge of classical music is required for this evening. Maestro Honeck will make these themes come alive in speech and sound. To highlight the various dimensions of the musical works and to showcase the creativity involved in the performing musician, he will play excerpts from several recordings of the same works of music. 

Maestro Honeck will be joined by John Henry Crosby, Founder and President of the Hildebrand Project, for a one-on-one interview and discussion of these topics, and we will end the evening with a brief time for Q&A from audience members.

This event is possible through the collaboration with the HIldebrand Project