HRAudio.net‘s Adrian Quanjer gives a five-star rating to Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 and Steven Stucky: “Silent Spring” recording:
“Unfamiliar as I was with Silent Spring, in Honeck’s reading it unescapably got my immediate attention. Expressing in music what is barely possible to express in words. Around 15 minutes of awareness of the formidable complexities of nature is in itself already worth acquiring this release. … I have no hesitation in saying that these Pittsburghers belong to the best American orchestras, surpassing many European colleagues as well. Typical American sound? Possibly. So what! I love it. … Throughout the symphony, passion is omnipresent, be it in a positive or ominous posture. Honeck unravels with his musicians to infinite perfection a modern version of a symphony that is all too often, with a couple of bangs in the fourth movement, played in a programmatic countryside setting, omitting the underlying notion that ‘’Beethoven’s deep and living relationship with God is clearly evident through his worship of nature’’. (Honeck’s words). Summing it up: This release is as striking as it is Honeck’s.”
—Adrian Quanjer, HRAudio.net
See the full review on HRAudio.net