Author Archive for Reference Recordings – Page 11
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 is a “Triumph”
Audiophile site, Dagogo, reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9: “The Presto and “Ode to Joy” is among the most purveying and thrilling I’ve heard. Once again, there are goosebumps inducing, spectacular definition and contrasting dynamics, atop a precision in the performance to die for. The Adagio Third Movement opens with such majesty as to usurp the first movement Allegro, although this is also swifter in duration and…
Must Read Interview with Jonathan Leshnoff
MusicWeb International critic Lee Denham has published a must-read interview with composer Jonathan Leshnoff titled “An Interview and Portrait of America’s next great composer”: Twenty-first century classical composers are a rare breed – and even rarer are those who have enjoyed as much popular acclaim as Jonathan Leshnoff, a comparative youngster, born in 1973, whose works have already been taken up by many orchestras in his native USA with much success – the New York…
Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 recording is “essential”
Classical Voice North America calls Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 an “essential” recording: “Honeck’s riveting new CD of Beethoven’s Ninth with the Pittsburgh Symphony was recorded at Heinz Hall concerts in June 2019. He introduced his swift approach to Beethoven, drawing on the composer’s metronome markings, with stunning performances of the Seventh in 2009. The recording of the Ninth benefits from the experience the orchestra had with Honeck’s interpretation at concerts…
BBC Music Magazine Gives Five Stars to Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9
The April issue of BBC Music Magazine features a Five-Star Review for the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9: “an impressive account of this huge work that seems bent on marking itself as the unassailable definition of ‘monumental’. In terms of sound and precision, the performance is meticulous, immaculate and even. That’s not to say that Honeck doesn’t occasionally play a little loose. … Honeck choreographs the gradual build of…
Rob Cowan Recommends Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony Beethoven No. 9
Critic Rob Cowan adds the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 to his “Spring Collection” of top new releases: “combining explosive climaxes with moments of deep repose. The finale is the highpoint, the angry celli and basses delivering their sermon to the minions – though note the achingly beautiful quiet flutes, oboes and clarinets at around the 2:00 mark – before ushering in the Ode to Joy theme from the…
Five Stars from AllMusic for the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9
AllMusic‘s James Manheim gives five stars to Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra‘s recording of Beethoven: Symphony No. 9! “His reading is fast, blazing, kinetic, with moments of high contrast, such as the ethereal third movement in its entirety, giving the listener breathing space. The first movement is quick, but Honeck relaxes the tempo just slightly as things proceed, making room for the brass to give their stentorian statements. The scherzo is very fast throughout, which…
The Absolute Sound Reviews Fiona Boyes’ Blues In My Heart
Greg Cahill gives Fiona Boyes’ Blues In My Heart: 20th Anniversary Edition a four-star review in The Absolute Sound: “Boyes lends a loose, sassy flair to these songs—check out the defiant attitude she bestows upon Kid Bailey’s “Rowdy Blues.” Boyes’ vocals and picking are the driving force here, and her big Matan dreadnaught is close-miked to accentuate the foot stomps, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and string bends. And she is supported by occasional bandmates Kaz Dalla Rosa…
Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony Offer a New Go-To Beethoven Symphony No. 9
Culture Spot LA reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra‘s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9: “Getting a CD in the mail from Reference Recordings is always a little like Christmas, especially when the package contains a new release by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. That’s because I know that there will always be an interesting and often exhilarating interpretation of whatever work(s) Honeck decides to bring the listener. … Right out…
TheaterByte Gives Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 its Highest Recommendation
TheaterByte‘s Lawrence Devoe puts Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 recording at the top of his list: “A thrilling performance of Beethoven’s crowning symphonic achievement by Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra that in terms of sound and musical execution goes to the top of my list of recordings of this venerable work. Maestro Manfred Honeck is in his twelfth season as music director of one of America’s top-tier…
Kansas City Symphony’s Leshnoff Album is a MusicWeb International Recording of the Month!
MusicWeb International names the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Jonathan Leshnoff: Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 3 with Joyce Yang and Stephen Powell a February 2021 Recording of the Month! “Both are world-premiere recordings, the symphony set down a week after its premiere performance in 2016, while the Concerto was recorded live at its premiere in November 2019, and both are treated to excellent orchestral playing, as well as superb sonics from Reference Recordings –…
InfoDad Reviews Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphony
The InfoDad Team revels in Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 recording, giving it their highest rating! “there are near-infinite ways of presenting a symphony as crucial to all of classical music as Beethoven’s Ninth, and any recording that has something new to say is certainly entitled to say it. In the case of the performance led by Manfred Honeck and released by Reference Recordings, it happens that there is much new to…
Pizzicato Reviews Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9
Remy Franck reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s recording of Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in Pizzicato Magazine: “Manfred Honeck is a conductor who thinks a lot about music… This always results in personal interpretations like this one. …There is plenty of excitement in his very detailed and pulsating interpretation, with emphatically bright colors and many a tumble in the woodwinds, in addition to some more austere-sounding passages (including the somewhat eerie funeral march at…
Four Stars from ConcertoNet for Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9
ConcertoNet critic Linda Holt, gives a four-star (of four) review to the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 recording: “Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have released a remarkable new reading of one of the most venerated classics of the Western canon, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in D minor, opus 125. Honeck’s vision of this work is impressive for its respect for the instructions of the composer and its dynamic sense of unfolding…
Manfred Honeck Discusses Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with The New York Times
Don’t miss this incredible look at Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Manfred Honeck and New York Times critic David Allen! See it on nytimes.com “Manfred Honeck is one of today’s leading Beethoven conductors. As music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, he has created notably exciting recordings of the Third, Fifth and Seventh Symphonies. Now he and the orchestra, founded 125 years ago this month, are releasing their interpretation of the mighty Ninth. What makes Honeck’s approach so…
MusicWeb International Review for Kansas City Symphony’s Leshnoff Premiere Recordings
MusicWeb International reviews the Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, Stephen Powell, and Joyce Yang’s world premiere recordings of Jonathan Leshnoff: Symphony No. 3 and Piano Concerto: “This is an excellent concerto. It’s thoroughly entertaining, though in saying that I don’t want to give the impression that the music is in any way superficial. Such is not the case; the work is inventive and very accessible and in the second movement depths of feeling are plumbed.…