This is the home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, shortly the PSO. A lovely, simple, elegant place. Tight seating like *many* Pittsburgh performance halls. I actually somewhat like the cozy seating because it ensures all seats are relatively close to the stage unlike those of the more spacious halls of the West Coast. Heinz Hall is not as lavish or elaborate as the Benedum Center down the street, but is still a great performance hall. It is actually surprisingly simple compared to some other halls I have been to, but simplicity leads to elegance and beauty in this place.
The PSO is a great symphony. With the passionate maestro Manfred Honeck, you are more than likely to enjoy outstanding classical music performances at Heinz Hall. Anne Sophie Mutter accompanied the PSO with her violin recently in an amazing performance just recently, which I enjoyed greatly (wish she had also performed solo, though...). Having a direct view of the stage from the balcony of course helped. Both balcony and orchestra seating are very good at Heinz Hall since the hall is relatively small. I would recommend avoiding the side seats though, if you have the choice, where I sat once and occasionally did not hear the speaker very well -- this might also be due to my deteriorating hearing (regardless, avoid the side seats! ;)
Heinz Hall is also home to many other shows and concerts beyond the PSO's. I remember listening to David Sedaris and Kathy Griffin here last year, which was a lot of fun (the former being slightly more fun than the latter ;) I am sure this review will be updated in the future with more shows to come as Heinz Hall continues to attract great performers and speakers while offering a cozy yet elegant atmosphere.