The Score | Coldplay Fusion

How about a mash-up of the “Eroica” Symphony and Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” “Mylo Xyloto,” and “Viva la Vida”? Th at was the theme of Beethoven + Coldplay, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s FUSE@PSO concert at Heinz Hall this fall. The mixed-genre series, conceived by Steve Hackman, launched in June with a program featuring Hackman’s own mash-up of Brahms’s First Symphony and Radiohead’s OK Computer. Aimed at younger concertgoers, FUSE@PSO is both musical and social; June’s event began with preconcert drinks, appetizers, and board games at Heinz Hall Summer Garden. Leading up to October’s Beethoven + Coldplay concert, the PSO ran a competition for local students: contestants uploaded cover versions or mash-ups of a Coldplay song, and winners had the chance to perform their song at Heinz Hall during the Fuse concert pre-party. This winter, the series continues with Copland + Bon Iver and Stravinsky’s “Firebird” Remixed.