Classical Candor‘s John J. Puccio has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s new Dvořák & Janáček SACD:
“This new rendering of [Dvořák] No. 8 by Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on a live Reference Recordings Fresh! hybrid SACD stacks up pretty well. … There is great exuberance in the conductor’s handling of the various themes, while the sounds of nature, like the birdsong of the flute, create a truly sweet atmosphere. … [The Janáček Jenfua Suite] is also quite colorful music, filled with a bit of swirling boisterousness, too, and under Honeck it makes an especially entertaining piece of music. Love that xylophone. …insofar as live recordings go, this one is quite good. While it is fairly close up in the manner of most live recordings, it seldom sounds bright or edgy. In fact, in the two-channel stereo mode to which I listened, it’s mostly rather smooth and warm, with plenty of midrange transparency. If one didn’t sense the presence of an audience through their breathing and occasional wheezing, one might think this were a studio recording.” —John J. Puccio