Upcoming Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck release, Strauss: Elektra/Rosenkavalier is already receiving critical praise:
“Simply sensational! The eminent sound quality, for which Soundmirror, Boston deserves all the credits, takes the listener straight into the reality of Heinz Hall where Maestro Manfred Honeck grabs you by the throat with his ‘shaped into the minutest detail’ Pittsburgh Symphony, in a high octane performance of a new ‘Elektra Suite’ conceptualized by him and realized by his Czech friend Tomáš Ille.… the listener is right from the start overwhelmed by the sheer force of the music and the remarkably realistic character of the recorded sound, placing the different sections in an array of individually recognizable instruments. It clearly needs a highly competent and disciplined orchestral force to handle the selected material. And that is just what is here on offer. The Pittsburgh Symphony has, under its present Music Director, further developed into one of the most prestigious American orchestras, qualifying for universal respect and, above all, continued popular support as ‘an unmistakable monument of modern American orchestral culture’. Indeed, this is an orchestra expertly managed from the top by a gifted, inspired and precision minded ‘Chef’ keeping each and every one on a string into shaping an extraordinarily and homogenous overall sound scape. … This is a disk of high caliber from every perspective, with all the spontaneity of a live recording and without any audible noises from a clearly impressed audience.” —Adrian Quanjer, HRAudio.net