Manfred Honeck Delivers “Explosive” Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony in Chicago

Posted by Reference Recordings on

April 18, 2016

Manfred Honeck led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in performances of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony this past February, and the performance reviews should give a great preview of what to expect with the upcoming Pittsburgh Symphony recording of Tchaikovsky and Dvořák!

“…the roiling performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, which further burnished Honeck’s local street cred as one of the CSO’s most reliable and exciting guest conductors. … the Austrian conductor has a unique ability to infuse even the most familiar scores with uncommon freshness and electricity. Honeck’s open rehearsal of the Tchaikovsky symphony Thursday morning was illuminating. He was unfailingly cordial yet highly efficient, zeroing in on small yet telling details usually glossed over that can make a big impact in performance. … everything in the Tchaikovsky performance seemed to resonate with an extra degree of tangible presence and dramatic weight Thursday night. The celebrated secondary theme of the opening movement was refined in its initial string statement, growing to a rich, ardent outpouring of emotion. The sudden eruption in the development was scary in its unhinged explosive power with the frantic desperation of the ensuing section riveting under Honeck’s kinetic direction.…” —Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review

Read the full review on ChicagoClassicalReview.com