Pittsburgh Symphony Beethoven a 2015 Recording of the Year!
The Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s new BEETHOVEN: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7 recording has been nominated as a 2015 Recording of the Year by THREE MusicWeb International critics — one of only two recordings to receive such a distinction! Michael Cookson “The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck is on world class form with Beethoven’s Symphonies No’s 5 and 7. This release only arrived a short time ago but its merits were evident immediately.…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven A MusicWeb Recording of the Month
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s new Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7 gets a second (See the first) nomination for “Recording of the Month” from MusicWeb International! “Using a large orchestra one senses an elevated level of musical intelligence together with an unyielding structural coherence that produces impressively selected tempi, dynamic contrasts and moulding of phrase. These are mightily compelling performances, buoyantly rhythmic with plenty of thrust when required. Striking too is the penetrating…
Happy Thanksgiving Sale!
We’re celebrating the Thanksgiving Holiday by giving thanks for YOU! To show our appreciation, Today, November 25th at 5pm PST, we are putting ALL of our HDCDs, SACDs and HRx recordings on sale at a 20% discount until NOON (PST) on Monday, November 30th! Start Saving Today!
Classical CD Choice Reviews Utah Symphony’s Mahler: Symphony No. 1
The Utah Symphony’s Mahler: Symphony No. 1 recording gets a rave review from Graham Williams on Classical CD Choice: “Now, from the Reference Recordings Fresh! Label, we have a compelling new account of Mahler’s 1st Symphony recorded in state-of-the-art sound from this same orchestra under their current Music Director, the Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer.… The magical opening pages of the first movement are beautifully controlled with the off-stage trumpets suitably distanced yet absolutely audible. The…
Manfred Honeck Sets A New Standard
MusicWeb International names Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s BEETHOVEN: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7 recording a “Recording of the Month”! “Over the course of 12 pages, conductor Manfred Honeck sets a new standard for excellence in CD booklets. He walks us through these two beloved Beethoven symphonies, moment by moment, pointing out details we may have missed – and indeed, over years of listening, I’d missed quite a few. His notes are personal, explaining…
Fiona Boyes Wins Annual Blues411 Jimi Award!
Blues411.com announced their annual Jimi Awards winners yesterday, and we’re happy to share that Fiona Boyes was not only nominated in two different categories, she is the Jimi Awards 2015 “Guitar Heroine”! Jimi Awards Guitar Heroine: “Guitars are not just toys for the boys. We have a long history of ladies playing the guitar and doing it with an amazing degree of excellence. Here is our choice a lady who is self taught and started…
Classical CD Choice Calls New Pittsburgh Symphony Beethoven “Vital”
Graham Williams offers a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s new Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7 recordings on Classical CD Choice: “The refreshingly vivid interpretations of works by Richard Strauss, Dvorak, Janacek and Bruckner that have appeared over the last few years on the Reference Recordings ‘Fresh’ label from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have convincingly demonstrated the ability of this partnership to deliver new and often remarkable…
The Arts Desk Reviews the Utah Symphony’s Mahler Symphony No. 1
The Arts Desk critic Graham Rickson has a new review of Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony’s Mahler: Symphony No. 1 recording: “Wonderfully played too, by an orchestra many won’t have heard of, under a conductor usually associated with French repertoire. Readers with long memories may remember a pioneering 1960s and 1970s Mahler cycle recorded by the Utah Symphony under Maurice Abravanel, frustratingly difficult to find now. Abravanel’s zeal compensated for the occasional lapses in…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Beethoven Provides “Personality”
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says our new recording from the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck “provides personality, weight” to Beethoven’s Symphony Nos. 5 & 7: “The new recording of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 7 by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is exceptionally compelling, featuring true individuality, committed playing and demonstration-quality sound. …The recording of Beethoven’s Seventh retains the striking force of Honeck’s 2009 performances, including an excellent tempo relationship between the Presto Scherzo…
Pittsburgh Symphony Beethoven An AllMusic Editor’s Choice!
AllMusic.com names the new Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck BEETHOVEN recording a November Editor’s Choice! “…this intriguing hybrid SACD from Reference Recordings is a real adventure. The excitement lies in Manfred Honeck’s clear-headed and musically sound interpretations and the astonishing performances by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which are not based on conventional practices but on careful study of the scores and original sketches, documentation from Beethoven’s time, and what has been concealed under layers of…
Available Now! Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck — BEETHOVEN: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra — BEETHOVEN: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 Now Available! Amazon.comiTunes The Authoritative New Beethoven Interpretation From Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, In Superb Audiophile Sound Conductor Manfred Honeck writes in his fascinating and thorough music notes: “A recording of Beethoven is always a great occasion and event. The marrying of the music’s historic interpretation with the brilliance of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s playing and the fantastic technique of Soundmirror have…
Fiona Boyes Wins The Age Music Victoria Awards Best Blues Album!
Last month we told you Fiona Boyes and her new Box & Dice album was nominated for The Age Music Victoria’s “Best Blues Album” award, and now it’s our pleasure to share that Box & Dice is the winner! See Fiona’s photo and reaction below: Last night at The Age Music Victoria Awards!!! Thank you so much to my band mates Mark Grunden & Dean Addison – album… Posted by Fiona Boyes on Wednesday, November 11,…
More HRAudio Praise for Pittsburgh Symphony’s BEETHOVEN
A second HRAudio.net review from contributor Adrian Quanjer: “Playing and recording, including dynamic contrasts and rhythmic changes, touch upon extremes: Both are extraordinarily well done, but one cannot escape a feeling of them having been stretched to the maximum. Taking the fifth symphony as an example, one notes that interpretational drive, richly inspired by Beethoven’s inner conflicts, unrelenting fury and continuous struggle to conquer defeat, sweeps up the orchestra to the limits of what it…
ClassicsToday Calls Far In The Heavens “Powerful & Poignant”
ClassicsToday critic David Vernier gives a 9/10 rating to True Concord Voices & Orchestra’s new Far In The Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus recording: “Paulus wisely sought in this work to honor the victims while addressing the universal experience of those grieving and healing from loss of loved ones–in his words… Indeed, he accomplished that, with music that projects a concert-hall-scale grandeur (including some savvy orchestration) while embodying a style reminiscent of what can…
HR Audio Reviews Pittsburgh Symphony BEETHOVEN!
Critic Graham Williams has a new review for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck’s BEETHOVEN: Symphony Nos. 5 & 7 recording: “The refreshingly vivid interpretations of works by Richard Strauss, Dvorak, Janacek and Bruckner that have appeared over the last few years on the Reference Recordings ‘Fresh’ label from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have convincingly demonstrated the ability of this partnership to deliver new and often remarkable insights into some of…