Graham Rickson reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s recording of Brahms: Symphony No. 4 & MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra in The ArtsDesk:
“This new Pittsburgh Symphony recording starts beautifully, Manfred Honeck lingering imperceptibly on the upbeat, an unmannered and affecting touch. ‘Unmannered’ sums this performance up; Honeck’s Brahms 4 is consistently idiomatic and fabulously played, the Pittsburgh orchestra’s dark, distinctive timbre perfect for this brooding work. Horns and lower strings are magnificent throughout: sample the last movement’s snarling second variation. Not that Honeck doesn’t find the light as well as the shade; his “Allegro giocoso” has an irresistibly cheeky glint, and the slow movement’s more ardent passages glow.… This is a genuinely great performance, and a last-minute addition to my discs of the year shortlist. Honeck’s notes are a typically lucid, and the engineering is sumptuous.”
—Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk