In Saturday’s (7/16) Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mark Kanny writes, “The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has chosen 27-year-old Noah Bendix-Balgley as its new concertmaster. Bendix-Balgley was hired just over a year after his predecessor, Andres Cardenes, gave his final performance as concertmaster. Bendix-Balgley’s three-year contract begins in September. All principal chairs in the orchestra are now filled. The next concertmaster, who in May won the Vibrarte International Music Competition in Paris and was a laureate of the 2009 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, says he’s excited and very honored. … ‘He is the perfect fit for the orchestra,’ says music director Manfred Honeck. ‘In addition to absolute technical ability, he has a wonderful sound, the best sound we heard in auditions, and a very natural musicality. He’s also a wonderful person and a wonderful communicator.’ … The audition committee of the orchestra said, in a prepared statement, ‘His playing is exceptional and charismatic; he demonstrated every quality we want in a concertmaster. We look forward to his leadership.’ Bendix-Balgley’s great grandfather, Samuel Leventhal, was a violinist in the Pittsburgh Orchestra from 1900 to 1904.”
Posted July 18, 2011
