Archive for Strauss – Page 3
ClassicsToday Gives Strauss full 10s!
ClassicsToday gives Pittsburgh Symphony’s Strauss recording a 10/10 in both Artist & Sound Quality! “Recordings like this restore one’s faith in the possibility of true musical greatness. Manfred Honeck conducts this music as do few others today. He’s not afraid to have a good time, nor is he a strict literalist. … For all of their larger-than-life qualities, Honeck remains sensitive to every dynamic nuance, intricacy of balance, and rhythmic quirk. Every one of these…
Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss named a Gramophone Editor’s Choice!
Gramophone Magazine names the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s new Strauss release an “Editor’s Choice” recording for the new March issue! Not surprisingly, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra play these three masterly symphonic poems with virtuosity, great feeling and a glorious patina of string tone, and the rich hall resonance is well caught by the SACD recording. But what make these performances so outstanding are Manfred Honeck’s interpretations, which vividly bring out the music’s emotional and pictorial detail.…
Fanfare Magazine Reviews Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss
Fanfare Magazine‘s Arthur Lintegen strongly recommends the new Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss release: “This Till is a devilish rogue. Honeck’s frequent changes in tempo and phrasing reflect the different aspects of his character, ranging from funny, to naughty, to malicious. The French horn player has no problems with his treacherous solo. … ‘Death and Transfiguration’ will be special for some listeners … The quiet sections are hauntingly beautiful with some magnificent solo woodwinds, and the turbulent…
SoundStage! Features the Pittsburgh Symphony
SoundStage! HiFi’s “Keepers” feature by Richard Freed has a wonderful feature on orchestra recordings and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Here’s a bit about the Fresh! Label and the Strauss recording. “What is truly different here is that the label in question, Reference Recordings, had built its reputation entirely in the realm of the audiophile, which is to say, on its own engineering and production skills, which have little or no direct involvement in this project.…
MusicWeb International Reviews Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss
Michael Cookson has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Strauss release in MusicWeb International: “Maestro Honeck conducts the noble introduction to Don Juan with an heroic feel to this moody and colourful score in which a sumptuous and ripe sensuality predominates. With a striking range of orchestral colour the Pittsburgh orchestra’s stormy and robust surges of restless energy are almost overpowering. … Recorded in 2012 by Soundmirror of Boston the satisfying sound certainly serves…
La Folia Says It Doesn’t Get Better than the Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss
La Folia with a wonderful rave review of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Struass SACD: “It really doesn’t get better than this. … From Don Juan’s opening bars, it is impossible not to smile at this recording’s dynamism. In the notes Honeck itemizes a ticking clock, labored breathing, and irregular accents indicating a distorted gait, etc., all of which are astoundingly vivid. …[I] am glad that Till Eulenspiegel closes this program. The twisting clarinet precisely portrays Till’s…
Stereophile Names “Strauss” A Record To Die For!
In the February 2014 issue of Stereophile Magazine, Kalman Rubinson names the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Strauss SACD, a “Record to Die For.” “From the first note, one hears an immediate and direct instrumental sound, with instruments on a wide, deep soundstage that begins at the speaker plane and extends deeply. … I find this startlingly close to a real concert experience, where the hall acoustics have a more subtle influence and don’t intrude on…
ClassicalEar Gives Five Stars to Strauss
The ClassicalEar iPhone Review App has a new five-star review for our Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss SACD! “This is quite a disc. Manfred Honeck’s live performances from June 2012 bring so much to admire, not least a thrilling electricity, heaps of chutzpah, revelatory detail and sparky temperament… just sit back and marvel at the PSO’s breathtaking sheen, swaggering virtuosity and remarkable composure (fabulous horns throughout). … In short, an exceptionally stimulating and hugely charismatic Strauss anthology.…
Classical CD Choice Reviews Strauss
The UK’s Classical CD Choice has a slew of new reviews in their recent post, “From Rollicking Richard Strauss to Measured Jerry Goldsmith,” including the following review of the new Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss recording by critic, Barry Forshaw: “The mastery of the orchestra which is the hallmark of Richard Strauss’s achievement has been well served by the SACD medium, but this particular combination of three of the composer’s greatest tone poems has not heretofore appeared…
Classical Candor Reviews Strauss
Classical Candor (which recently named our Elgar/Vaughan Williams recording a 2013 favorite) has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Strauss recording: “…what Maestro Honeck and his team offer are vigorous performances and excellent, live, hybrid multichannel SACD sound. … With Honeck it’s all about the excitement. … Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 … [is] both dreadful and peaceful, ominous and tranquil, dramatic and serene, at least in Honeck’s hands, and he builds a commendably…
Canada Free Press Raves for Strauss & Horns for the Holidays!
Canada Free Press reviewer, Jim Bray, has a double-rave review for our Pittsburgh Symphony, Strauss, and Dallas Wind Symphony, Horns for the Holidays, recordings. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Strauss “A new SACD from Reference Recordings brings the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to life in your home via a fantastic recording of a trio works from composer Richard Strauss…when you fire up this disc you might just think you’re in the ‘historic Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts’…This…
Pizzicato Calls Pittsburgh’s Strauss “Magic”
Luxemburg’s Pizzicato magazine has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Strauss recording, titling it “Magic Sound from Pittsburgh.” “Manfred Honeck is one of the few conductors who may call themselves successors of the greatest, Karajan und Co. On this SACD this outstanding musician conducts a Strauss program which one must count among the best having been published in the last years.” —Alain Steffen, Pizzicato See the full review in the original language at www.pizzicato.lu…
ArtsDesk Reviews PSO Strauss
Graham Rickson of The Arts Desk has calls the new Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recording a “magnificent achievement.” “There’s an incredible elasticity and flexibility at work here. Manfred Honeck’s interventionist, hyper-romantic approach to three of Strauss’s most accessible tone poems pays enormous dividends…Everything sounds stupendous – this has to be the best-played, best-recorded Strauss anthology for years… Honeck’s players project with such chutzpah that any resistance is futile. A magnificent achievement.” —Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk…
ResMusica Reviews Strauss
French Magazine ResMusica has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Strauss release: “Audiophiles will be delighted as this American firm (Reference Recordings) is synonymous with high quality techniques and top-flight artistry…Manfred Honeck masterfully manages the layering of sound and the thematic transitions…a fundamentally masterful orchestra. …the PSO exhibits desire and exceptional collective jubilation…very refreshing. …Honeck continues to assert himself as one of the most relevant conductors of our time…” —Pierre-Jean Tribot, ResMusica Read the…
Der Neue Merker Reviews Strauss
German magazine, Der Neue Merker on our new Pittsburgh Symphony Strauss SACD — “This absolutely worth listening to.” The review is full of praise for the orchestra and conductor, Manfred Honeck, making special notice of the wide range of colors and dynamics the orchestra brings to all three works. Find the review in the original language at www.der-neue-merker.eu! Purchase during the RR Holiday Sale and Save!