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Audiophile Audition Gives Five Stars to Beethoven Symphony No. 9
The Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 gets a five-star rave from Audiophile Audition: “This disc should come with a warning label. Why? Because it is easily the most intense Ninth I have ever heard. This is not a criticism, only a fact. … The wonderful last movement gives us a truly joyful and energetic flow of consolation and satisfaction, jam-packed with intensity and far, far away from the “joyful,…
MusicWeb International Offers a Third Rave for Jonathan Leshnoff’s Symphony No. 3 & Piano Concerto
Following a Recording of the Month distinction and a fantastic new interview, Michael Wilkinson joins the chorus of MusicWeb International critics in praising Jonathan Leshnoff: Symphony No. 3; Piano Concerto recording with the Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, Joyce Yang, and Stephen Powell: “When first heard, Leshnoff provides music overwhelmingly tonal, rich in melody, with a confident momentum. It is exciting in both variety of timbres and in its immediacy. Repeated hearings reveal new depths…
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…
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 –…
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…
Atlanta Audio Society Reviews Kansas City Symphony’s Leshnoff Recording
Phil Muse reviews The Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, Stephen Powell, and Joyce Yang’s recording of Leshnoff: Symphony No. 3; Piano Concerto in the Atlanta Audio Society‘s December Newsletter: “Once again, an exploration of the music of American composer Jonathan Leshnoff proves rewarding. … What makes this composer so distinguishable from his contemporaries is easy to divine: it is the concentrated emotion, the lyricism, cohesive construction, and economy of his music. In the last-cited, Leshnoff…
Living Blues Reviews Fiona Boyes Blues in My Heart
Living Blues reviews Fiona Boyes’ 20th Anniversary Digitally Remastered release, Blues in my Heart: “One listen, and well, yeah, she’s blues alright, that and then some. There are not enough acoustic blues women, and even less who compose their own songs at her level. She graces the genre with the remastered 20th anniversary edition of her first solo recording, Blues in My Heart. Listeners will appreciate the generous helping of 18 songs on this CD,…
Carlisle Floyd: Prince of Players Receives Two 2021 GRAMMY® Nominations
The 2021 GRAMMY® Award Nominations were announced today and Reference Recordings releases appeared on four nominations! 2021 GRAMMY® Nominations for RR releases: Best Opera Recording Carlisle Floyd: Prince Of Players — William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares & Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus) Best Contemporary Classical Composition Carlisle Floyd: Prince Of Players — Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra) Producer of the Year, Classical…
Rafael’s Music Notes Reviews The Kansas City Symphony’s Leshnoff Recording!
The first review is in for the Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern, Stephen Powell, and Joyce Yang’s Leshnoff World Premiere Recordings! “Thanks to various CD’s released by Reference Recordings, I have become an admirer of the music of American composer Jonathan Leshnoff. … The impressive lineup of soloists and the sterling work of the Kansas musicians numbers immense artistic rewards in this treasure of a recording, impeccably engineered and produced by Dirk Sobatka of Soundmirror. ……
The Train of Change
The song “The Train of Change” was being born around 2007 in Costa da Caparica Portugal, before President Obama was elected. During this European tour I saw hope, love, joy, and a vision of peace just about everywhere I went. President Obama served two terms and this song slowly drifted from my awareness. Then with the killing of George Floyd, I saw America rise up and say ‘Enough Is Enough’! I watched as so many…
Gramophone Reviews Tchaikovsky and Leshnoff
Gramophone Magazine reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff: Double Concerto in the September 2020 issue: “Manfred Honeck… [in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4] conveys a strong sense of structural integrity while simultaneously portraying the unfolding drama in vivid colours. … the playing itself is exquisite. In the Scherzo, Honeck is meticulous in his observance of piano and pianissimo markings, while the finale packs a wallop. Indeed, the symphony’s final moments are…
HR Audio Gives Five Stars to Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky/Leshnoff!
HR Audio‘s Graham Williams gives a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review for the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff: Double Concerto SACD: “any new release from the award-winning team of Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony on the Reference Recordings label is worth investigating as, based on previous form, it is likely to yield a performance that brings new interpretive insights to even the most familiar staples of the classical repertoire. In addition,…
Doug MacLeod Wins 2020 Blues Music Award!
The Blues Music Awards hosted a virtual Blues Music Awards Show and Doug MacLeod was announced as the 2020 Acoustic Artist of the Year! The 2020 Blues Music Award was Doug’s 11th nomination and marks his fourth Blues Music Award in the past 5 years (2018 Acoustic Album of the Year, 2016 & 2017 Acoustic Artist of the Year)! Congratulations to Doug! Watch Doug’s Acceptance Speech from Home: Watch the awards ceremony: Doug MacLeod Recordings…
PaTRAM’s Kurt Sander: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in Choral Journal
PaTRAM’s recording of Kurt Sander’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom received a three-page feature in the latest issue (Vol 60, No. 9) of the American Choral Directors Association’s Choral Journal: “The Reference Recordings album, most excellently sung by PaTram Institute Singers under the direction of Peter Jermihov, has garnered two 2020 GRAMMY® nominations, and deservedly so. It is a sublime recording, which expertly marries gorgeous choral performance with majestic, inspiring choral composition. … Sanders…