Gramophone Magazine reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s GRAMMY-nominated recording of Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 and Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 in the January 2019 issue:
“There’s nothing even remotely studied about Honeck’s performance…He pays unusual attention to detail, yes – note straight away the gently blossoming (and unmarked) crescendo on the ascending E flat major triad of the opening theme – but this never inhibits the music’s momentum or trajectory. The first movement is powerfully propulsive, in fact, with the full complement of Pittsburgh’s strings sounding as lithe as a chamber orchestra. … Indeed, the interpretation is strongly characterised from first note to last, with a particularly rambunctious and eventful Scherzo and finale – savour the earthy rhythms in the latter’s Hungarian
verbunkos variation at 3’52”, for example, or the exultant, rustic rasp of horns in the Scherzo’s Trio.William Caballero, Pittsburgh’s principal horn, shines in so many of the Eroica’s most memorable passages that it’s no wonder Reference chose to fill out the disc with a brilliant account of Strauss’s First Concerto. …this new version offers marvels of its own, from the long, arching phrases Caballero lavishes on lyrical passages to the Mendelssohnian playfulness he brings to the finale. Although taken from concerts five years apart, both works are vividly recorded.
—Andrew Farach-Colton, Gramophone Magazine