Jerry Dubins reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4; Leshnoff: Double Concerto for clarinet and bassoon in the November/December 2020 issue of Fanfare Magazine: “[Leshnoff’s Double Concerto] is gloriously beautiful and quite possibly a masterpiece, though that judgment will have to be left to time. … If Leshnoff’s aim was to ensure that the bassoon would emerge as the clarinet’s equal, he suceeded admirably. Nancy Goeres huffs and puffs…
BBC Music Magazine’s critics have selected their favorite recordings of 2020 and the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Jonathan Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon is a best orchestral recording! “Tchaikovsky’s Fourth is a work of inspired structural ingenuity, as is clear both from Manfred Honeck’s insightful and extensive notes and this fine recording by the Pittsburgh Symphony on the kind of commanding form older collectors may…
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto recording has been nominated for the 2021 International Classical Music Awards in the Assorted Programs category! See the full list at icma-info.com Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon Reference Recordings® proudly presents Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in an exquisite interpretation from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It is coupled with a World…
Fanfare Magazine reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff Double Concerto recording in the September/October 2020 issue: “Manfred Honeck has a special talent for making recordings. …A Honeck release is a documentarian’s dream. Musicologists will never have to puzzle over what he meant to achieve, as historians still do with storied conductors of the past. I wish more were like him. … Honeck’s take on the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony…
American Record Guide critic Roger Hecht reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto: “Manfred Honeck seems to have a clear, thought out concept of this work. Every phrase, measure, balance, dynamic nuance, coloring, etc. sounds conceived in advance. … The result is a conception executed to the last 16th note by well trained players. … this is an effective and interesting performance, carried off with…
MusicWeb International’s Lee Denham is a new Jonathan Leshnoff fan after hearing the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck recording of his Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon: “The Concerto lasts around 15 minutes and opens with a long, songful Adagio, followed by a short perky waltz, with a busy finale full of good humour. As it began, my attention immediately pricked up at the ear-catching and melodious sounds from the orchestral introduction before the clarinet…
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…
Nelson Brill reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto recording on Boston Concert Reviews: “This new classical gem is from another gifted composer, Jonathan Leshnoff, in his delectable exploration of the unique sounds created when a solo clarinet and bassoon join forces with a sparkling orchestra. Leshnoff’s Concerto For Clarinet and Bassoon is performed by the venerable Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by their Music Director, Manfred Honeck, and recorded on…
Audiophile Audition gives ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto: “any new recording needs to have something different going for it, as there have been so many fabulous offerings over the last 60 years. I am pleased to report—and this is hardly new—that the Pittsburghians have accomplished just that. … Honeck, always at pains to justify his interpretative schema, does just that again…
Rafael de Acha adds the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 and Jonathan Leshnoff Double Concerto recording to his short list of Best of 2020: “Commissioned and premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Manfred Honeck, the ensemble’s superb Music Director, Jonathan Leshnoff’s beautiful Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon affords PSO principals Michael Rusinek (clarinet) and Nancy Goeres (bassoon) the opportunity to shine as soloists in this gorgeous 20-minute-long, three-movement composition. Leshnoff’s music is unabashedly accessible. From the onset…
BBC Music Magazine gives the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck a 5-Star Recording rating for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto and makes it their Orchestral Choice! “Tchaikovsky’s Fourth is a work of inspired structural ingenuity, as is clear both from Manfred Honeck’s insightful and extensive notes and this fine recording by the Pittsburgh Symphony… Honeck paces everything so that the eruptions that crown the first movement’s exposition, development, recapitulation and coda retain…
Graham Rickson praises the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 and Jonathan Leshnoff Double Concerto in The Arts Desk: “Quick warning: the Pittsburgh brass are borderline oppressive in Tchaikovsky’s opening fate motif, and it’s all for the good; this symphony’s initial bars should be scary if the journey from darkness to light is to feel convincing. … This is thrilling stuff – sample the Pittsburgh horns’ exultant big tune…
AllMusic’s James Manheim gives a four-and-a-half star rating to Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 & Leshnoff: Double Concerto recording: “the Symphony No. 4 has rarely received such an intense performance… The Pittsburgh Symphony is in fine form in the symphony’s thrilling brass passages and in the all-pizzicato strings of the third movement. The accompanying Double Concerto for clarinet and bassoon by Leshnoff is also a pleasure: a neo-Romantic work agreeably…
MusicWeb International‘s John Quinn reviews Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto recording: “The Double Concerto was written for the artists who play it here… There’s a fresh, open feel to the music and, apart from one brief climax, the movement is predominantly gentle and lyrical in voice. The whole thing is winningly attractive. … I think Jonathan Leshnoff has given us a thoroughly entertaining piece. … Michael…
ArtsFuse reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s recording of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 and Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon: “Manfred Honeck is one of that rare breed of artist: a conductor who can draw compelling, electrifying accounts of the standard canon as if on cue. His latest release, which pairs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 4 with Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, manages this feat again. Honeck’s reading is marked by a…