Pittsburgh Symphony Tchaikovsky/Dvořák “Once In A Lifetime”

Posted by Reference Recordings on

July 7, 2016

“I want to suggest listening to what I believe to be a one in a lifetime audition: the newest record of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by its music director, the Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck.… However, more than the high technical quality, I was deeply moved by the artistic quality when performing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6. It is one of my favourite works, one I have listened to again and again performed by various orchestras. It is a special work, breathtakingly beautiful, which has traps for the performers. … Honeck knows how to find the perfect balance between all the elements written by Tchaikovsky in the music score, and especially those not written in the music score. Manfred Honeck’s interpretation brings forth an extraordinary dynamic compass, from a barely perceptible pianissimo to the thundering fortissimo one can only imagine, the lines are neatly made, on large spaces, but even more so, Manfred Honeck transforms this symphony in a philosophical study about the meaning of life and death, inviting the audience to meditate, so that the audience can enter the realm of the chosen ones. You just have to want to listen attentively and to let yourself be guided by Manfred Honeck…the conductor who has made Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra one of the greatest ensemble of our times.…” —Cristina Comandaşu (translation by Irina Mihai), Radio Romania