Stereo Times critic Russell Lichter was “intrigued by the hoopla” around the new Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck Bruckner release. Did it live up to the hype?
“I really did not know the PSO’s music-making ability nor was I familiar with Manfred Honeck, but I know them now and in my view this orchestra and conductor are up there with the very best in the world. This particular performance, this amazing performance, is very special indeed. … After a very long neglect—for it’s been years since I listened to Bruckner—I suddenly rediscovered this great symphony played like I’d never heard it played before. … The Fourth Symphony, although not of the almost unimaginably sustained spiritual depth and height of the later symphonies, is pure Bruckner, made of the same rich clusters of sound and high drama. … And this performance is nothing short of revelatory.” —Russell Lichter, Stereo Times