Gramophone Reviews the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Beethoven and Strauss
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…
Doug MacLeod’s Break The Chain Vinyl is a Hi-Fi News Album Choice!
UPDATE: Hi-Fi News has selected Break The Chain as a Top Audiophile Vinyl Album of 2019! Hi-Fi News features Doug MacLeod’s Break The Chain recording as their December 2018 “Album Choice” in the Audiophile: Vinyl section: “Vintage LPs…have been audiophile totems for decades, but rare are new titles. MacLeod’s third for Reference ticks all the boxes: higher-speed playback, 180g vinyl and half-speed mastering.… [It has a] sound that’s massive, visceral and weighty. The content? As…
Fiona Boyes: Little Things
Fiona Boyes is putting together the stories behind the songs from her new Voodoo in the Shadows recording. Here she gives the back-story to “Little Things”: “In the midst of the busy holiday season, remember – sometimes it’s the ‘Little Things’ that count! Here’s instalment #5 of the ‘Voodoo in the Shadows – About the songs’ series, each giving a little glimpse into the stories behind the songs on the new album. ‘Little Things’ is one for the…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven A New York Times Best Track of 2018
The New York Times has released its “25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2018” and the GRAMMY-nominated Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck recording of Beethoven’s “Funeral March” from Symphony No. 3 made the list! “The most interesting and innovative Beethoven recording since these forces set down the Fifth and Seventh, this intense “Eroica” nods in the direction of tradition but sounds completely new, rethought from the ground up.” —David Allen, The New York Times See the…
MusicWeb International Continues Praise of Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven and Strauss Recording
MusicWeb International has published a second review of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s GRAMMY-nominated Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 recording: “In this Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh recording, it’s evident that Manfred Honeck entirely acknowledges that this progressive score is music of extensive concentration, intensity and, as the designation might suggest, heroic power. Bold and focused, naturally flowing and stimulating with an undertow of mystery in the Allegro, this performance from the Pittsburgh…
Watch the Pittsburgh Symphony on PBS
December 11, 2018, 8pm (EST), PBS broadcasts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s Tree of Life: A Concert for Peace and Unity featuring renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman. The concert was in remembrance of the city’s Tree of Life Synagogue tragedy. Learn more about the broadcast and local station information at pbs.org Watch the PBS Preview
FIVE 2019 GRAMMY Nominations!
Reference Recordings is excited to announce five GRAMMY® Nominations for the 2019 GRAMMY® Awards! John Williams At The Movies Best Engineered, Classical & Best Classical Compendium John Williams is a game changer. Early in his career he crossed the lines between music that was “art” and music that was “commercial,” and never looked back. He is one of the best known, most awarded and most successful composers in US history, and his name is inextricably…
Voodoo in the Shadows in Living Blues
After coming in at #4 on the Living Blues October Charts, Fiona Boyes’ Voodoo in the Shadows was up to #3 for November! The album also received a review in the December 2018 Living Blues Magazine: “Guitarist and singer-songwriter Fiona Boyes draws musical inspiration from a variety of influences, displaying a prowess unbound by style or genre. … With excellent musicianship and a spirited atmosphere throughout, Fiona Boyes’ Voodoo in the Shadows casts a seductive…
Teach Me Thy Statutes Is MusicWeb International’s 2018 Recording of the Year
The PaTRAM Institute’s Teach Me Thy Statutes recording has been named the 2018 MusicWeb International Recording of the Year! “In this twelve month period, we published more than 2400 reviews. There is no easy or entirely satisfactory way of choosing one above all others as our Recording of the Year, but this year the choice was a little easier than usual. … none stood as deserving of this accolade as much as the choral works of…
Fiona Boyes: New Orleans
Fiona Boyes is putting together the stories behind the songs from her new Voodoo in the Shadows recording. Here she gives the back-story to “New Orleans”: Previous Videos
Textura Reviews A QSF Journey
Textura features Quartet San Francisco‘s A QSF Journey recording in their November 2018 reviews: “…many of this eclectic recording’s pieces eschew conventional classical style for others, specifically tango, bluegrass, and folk music from around the world. Such choices lend the recording a highly personalized quality that, paired with the excellence of the quartet’s playing, makes the hour spent in this group’s company time well spent. … the album upholds the group’s crossover reputation in its set-list,…
Fiona Boyes Joins Music on the Couch
Fiona Boyes joined the “Music on the Couch” program to talk about her Voodoo In The Shadows release – listen here (she joins at 1:31:00): Voodoo In The Shadows Fiona Boyes is Australia’s most successful and celebrated international Blues artist. Her previous Reference Recordings release, Professin’ The Blues, received the 2017 Acoustic Album of the Year award from Blues Blast Magazine. The Blues Foundation in Memphis has honored her with 6 Blues Music Award nominations,…
Classical Candor on Pittsburgh’s “Dynamic” Beethoven Symphony No. 3
“Dynamic. That’s the best word to describe Manfred Honeck’s performance of the Beethoven Third. It’s dynamic in terms of Honeck’s interpretation and in terms of Soundmirror/Reference Recordings’ sonics. Of course, if “dynamic” is not the first thing you want from a Beethoven symphony, you might not appreciate Honeck’s way with it. But there is no questioning the excitement the recording generates. … The first movement Allegro con brio contains the usual complement of rhythms and harmonies we expect of…
The Absolute Sound Gives High Marks To John Williams At The Movies
The Dallas Winds and Jerry Junkin‘s new John Williams At The Movies recording receives high marks (4 Stars for Music, 5 Stars for Sonics) in the December 2018 issue of The Absolute Sound: “The principal reason for the recording’s success is that Williams composed so effectively for brass and percussion. The sonority here is frequently different from the original orchestrations, but in most cases it works very well. … all of the arrangements are spectacular,…
A QSF Journey in The Whole Note
The Whole Note features Quartet San Francisco’s A QSF Journey recording in their November 2018 issue: “The boundaries between music genres are fluid and constantly moving these days, with many musicians experimenting and combining elements of different styles in both new compositions and interpretations of the traditional ones. Classical music seems to be an especially productive foundation for such crossovers, breeding many exciting projects. One of them is the latest release by Grammy-nominated Quartet San…