Archive for Manfred Honeck – Page 11
New Pittsburgh Symphony Recording is “Stunning”
“Thanks to Strauss’ distinctive sound world, this was the first time in many years that any music had both disturbed and excited me to such a remarkable degree. Both Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier work marvellously in this symphonic suite form. Especially striking in its new guise is Elektra, a work which startles and unsettles with murder, obsession and thirst for revenge pushing harmony and tonality to the edge and sheer barbarity of sound to levels…
New Pittsburgh Symphony Recording Gets Five Stars from HRAudio!
HRAudio’s Graham Williams gives five stars for performance and sonics to our upcoming Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck release, Strauss: Elektra/Rosenkavalier! “All Straussians will be intrigued by this latest release from Manfred Honeck and his marvellous Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra of orchestral suites from what many would regard as the greatest of the composer’s fifteen operas – Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier… Honeck has already demonstrated his mastery of the Strauss idiom in his previous fine…
New Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss is Sensational!
Upcoming Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck release, Strauss: Elektra/Rosenkavalier is already receiving critical praise: “Simply sensational! The eminent sound quality, for which Soundmirror, Boston deserves all the credits, takes the listener straight into the reality of Heinz Hall where Maestro Manfred Honeck grabs you by the throat with his ‘shaped into the minutest detail’ Pittsburgh Symphony, in a high octane performance of a new ‘Elektra Suite’ conceptualized by him and realized by his Czech…
First Listen – Pittsburgh Symphony: Strauss
First Listen — Strauss: Elektra/Rosenkavalier Excerpts from Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier: Suites from the Opera Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck, Music Director Album out November 18, 2016!
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky & Dvořák a “Winner”
“Manfred Honeck has a winner here again with the Pittsburgh Symphony. It would be hard to praise this recording too much. Not only does he bring us the most exciting recorded Tchaikovsky “Pathetique” I know—plus arrange a fine unified suite from Dvořák’s Rusalka—he’s taken trouble to pen the best CD program notes I recall reading anywhere, complete with audio index points and examples of what he’s trying to accomplish. Honeck’s observations about Tchaikovsky’s life and…
Culture Spot LA Reviews Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky/Dvořák
“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Reference Recordings are on a mission: to record some of the world’s greatest symphonic works under the unique direction of its music director Manfred Honeck. The latest offering is a recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, “Pathétique.” And just as with the previous recordings by Honeck and the PSO, Honeck takes the listener on a musical journey with the Tchaikovsky. Not content to just play…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven in ClassicalNet
Brian Wigman reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 for ClassicalNet: “On a completely subjective note, few releases on the market excite me as much as those from Reference Recordings. Long-known for superlative sound quality and intelligent repertoire selection, they have recently focused on getting the very best from American orchestras. Pittsburgh and Kansas City are similar musically to their baseball counterparts in that they are respected but…
ClassicsToday Celebrates Pittsburgh’s Tchaikovsky and Dvořák Pairing
“You would expect Honeck to respond to the passion and intensity of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, and so he does. The wild first movement development and exciting scherzo handily capture the music’s dynamism, and the playing is, as usual, terrific. What lingers in the mind most, though, is Honeck’s ability to project the despairing finale in a single arch from start to finish. There’s something about his phrasing that captures the music’s flow with special conviction;…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 is “Completely Satisfying”
“I have effusively praised the previous efforts of Manfred Honeck, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Soundmirror recording team, and this is yet another winner.…this one rises to the top in recording quality, and the performance is outstanding. … it’s appropriately dramatic and completely satisfying—and the accompanying Rusalka Fantasy, by Dvorák, is a delight.” —Kalman Rubinson, Stereophile See the full review on Stereophile.com Reference Recordings Amazon iTunes Native DSD Arkiv Music
Pittsburgh Symphony Brings American Record Guide to Tears
American Record Guide critic Donald Vroon is moved by the latest Pittsburgh Symphony recording of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6: “Here is a symphony that has been recorded a great deal. Even conductors who don’t like Tchaikovsky have recorded it, probably because of the challenges it presents. So naturally there have been a great many routine performances under conductors who have no real feeling for it. Manfred Honeck is not among them. I don’t know him…
Pittsburgh Symphony LIVE from Berlin Now on YouTube!
The Pittsburgh Symphony with Music Director Manfred Honeck conducting plays Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony and No. 6 and the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 with Daniil Trifonov soloist. From the Philharmonie in Berlin June May 22 2016. Interviews include Manfred Honeck, Principal Contrabassoon James Rodgers, Trombone James Nova, Violinist Alison Fujito and President and CEO Melia Tourangeau with Jim Cunningham Artistic Director Jim Cunningham, host. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74…
Pittsburgh Symphony Tchaikovsky/Dvořák “Once In A Lifetime”
“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…
Classical CD Review Features Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony
“For Reference Recodings, there are SACDs of Strauss symphonic poems, and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8 coupled with a suite from Janacek’s opera Jenufa. Now we have three more SACDS of live recordings all made in the fine acoustics of Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts. All of these are superlative, virtuoso performances. The Beethoven symphonies are high energy throughout, with a rather frantic but exiting pace for the final two movements of Symphony No.…
“Thoughtful and Thought-Provoking” Tchaikovsky
John Quinn reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 and Dvořák Rusalka recording in MusicWeb International: “In summary Honeck’s performance of this symphony is a thoughtful and thought-provoking rendition of a score that can suffer from over-familiarity.” —John Quinn, MusicWeb International Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 Dvořák: Rusalka Fantasy (arr. Honeck/Ille) Pittsburgh Symphony OrchestraManfred Honeck, Music DirectorFR-720 Reference Recordings Amazon iTunes Native DSD Arkiv Music
Pittsburgh Symphony Tchaikovsky/Dvořák is “Outstanding”
“Any new disc from this particular team is usually an event, and this one keeps up the trend. It’s unusual to find a leading conductor who doesn’t seem set on setting down complete cycles of everything. Manfred Honeck’s discography is highly selective, and all the better for it.… Honeck’s careful handling of Tchaikovsky’s dynamic markings pays enormous dividends. Some passages exist on the very edge of audibility and the ffff explosions will rattle your sash…