Pittsburgh, PA, USA– The legendary artist, singer, songwriter, composer, musician, activist, author, and all-around rock star Sting with the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra left an audience awe-struck with their collaboration. On a chilly January evening at the beautiful and legendary Heinz Hall in downtown Pittsburgh, Sting strutted onto the stage singing “Englishman in New York” with music by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. This is the perfect way to enter a stage. Sting has had many collaborations in the past and when he is with an orchestra all of his talents shine. This is not a show in an arena or a stadium, this show in Heinz Hall is an intimate show that Sting made personal with many stories about the songs which he performed. He let the audience inside his brilliant musical mind for the evening. Each song was amplified with the compositions from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, one will never hear “Roxanne” the same way again. Many who were in attendance this night could feel the music as well as hear these wonderful songs in a whole new way.
A rock star plus an orchestra equals a night that one will never forget. The stage lighting is simple with a simple spotlight on Sting, and on the back of the stage, the lighting changed to blue, white, red, lavender, and pink. This lighting is sophisticated and it definitely lets Sting and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra be the main focus for the night. Sting shared stories and inspiration from his songs throughout the night. One of the sweetest moments came when he spoke about the song “End of the Game”, which Sting states is “his wife, Trudy, the favorite song”. This is a statement of romance. Another song which is titled “Russians”, was a somber moment during the night. There are three songs that are performed from Sting’s musical score for The Last Ship. Sting spoke about his songwriting and how the song “I Hung My Head”, which Johnny Cash chose to sing, was Sting writing a country western song. Other songs were performed with personal stories from Sting about his growing up in a shipyard town and another song was about the death of his father, which can bring a tear to one’s eye. Sting is a true talent and is a true performer in every sense of the word.
Sting plus the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra equals a perfect performance.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is known all around the world. This evening PSO was under the direction of Moon Doh, the Assistant Conductor. His energy throughout the night did not quit, one could tell his enthusiasm for the music. The energy he held was infectious, every musician in the orchestra caught onto this energy. The entire Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra deserves a standing ovation on this night. There were several times during the program in which Sting reminds the audience he is with the Pittsburgh Orchestra. This shows true respect from one artist for another artist. This is wonderful. A major highlight for this evening is a wonderful performance of the song “What Could Have Been”, from the artful animated Netflix series ‘Arcane: League of Legends’. The performance of this song included a brilliant feature performance from Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra violinist Justine Compagna.
Everyone in the audience was on their feet for the performance of “Every Breath You Take”. This is a once-in-a-lifetime performance to see and those lucky enough to see Sting and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra had a magical night of music. The setlist is below. Anyone can visit the website of each: https://www.sting.com/ and https://pittsburghsymphony.org/. Check the social media pages out and follow for more information.
SONG LIST:
Englishman in New York
Roxanne
Magic
Fields of Gold
When we Dance
I Hung my Head
Cry
End of the Game
Practical Arrangement
What Say you, Meg
Shape of my Heart
The Last Ship
What Could Have Been
Russians
King of Pain
Every Breath You Take
Desert Rose
Fragile