WATCH: World-Renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Plays Airport Show

Ludwig van Beethoven never saw an airplane—he died 76 years before the Wright Brothers made their historic flight in 1903.

But at Pittsburgh International Airport last week, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed two Beethoven symphonies in a free concert on the Ticketing Level in the Landside Terminal.

It was a first as well for PSO Music Director Manfred Honeck, who said it was his first airport show.

More than 100 guests attended the show along with airport staffers who enjoyed the live performance while they worked.

“Who would think you would actually hear a live symphony in an airport instead of it being piped in?” said Christine Divens of Hopewell, Pa. “Here, you’re closer to the performers.”

TSA agents peered through explosive detection areas while airline staff watched from behind ticketing counters. And passengers making their way through the airport stopped pulling their roller boards long enough to catch part of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6—known as the Pastoral—and Symphony No. 1.

“Great show, great venue,” said Mark Galimberti of Latrobe, Pa. “It’s large, but it’s still intimate. For example, we went up and talke