Requiem: Mozart’s Death in Words and Music

Reference Recordings® proudly presents the beloved Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in a very special interpretation. Academy Award and Golden-Globe-winning film and Broadway star F. Murray Abraham joins Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for Honeck’s dramatic conception of “Requiem: Mozart’s Death in Words and Music.” Over a decade ago, Honeck contemporized Mozart’s epic masterpiece by incorporating text into the score. F. Murray Abraham, Manfred Honeck, and the Orchestra previously performed “Requiem: Mozart’s Death in Words and Music” at Heinz Hall in 2012 and at Carnegie Hall in 2014.

Known for a wide range of roles on stage and screen, the highly acclaimed F. Murray Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Italian composer Antonio Salieri in the film Amadeus, which fictionalized a relationship between Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and featured the music of Mozart on the soundtrack. Abraham starred in the critically acclaimed series Homeland, for which he received two Emmy nominations. Abraham recently starred in the HBO hit television series The White Lotus as “Bert,” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

“We are so thrilled that the exceptional artist F. Murray Abraham will return to Pittsburgh to collaborate again with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony on what promises to be an extraordinary concert weekend,” said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. “Manfred Honeck’s interpretation of Mozart’s Requiem is a very special one that includes traditional Austrian death bells, Gregorian chant, and conveys both solace and hope. “

This album was recorded live in 2023 in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound. Maestro Honeck honors us again with his peerless music notes, in which he gives us great insight into his musical interpretation of Mozart’s final, iconic work.

Now in its 130^th season, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is credited with a rich history of engaging the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and is deeply committed to the Pittsburgh region and citizens. Since 2008 the Orchestra has been led by Manfred Honeck, its internationally renowned Music Director.  Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg, Andre Previn, Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons. The Orchestra has always been at the forefront of championing new works, including recent commissions by Mason Bates, Stacy Garrop, James MacMillan, Wynton Marsalis, Jessie Montgomery and Julia Wolfe. The Orchestra has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and live radio broadcasts dating back to the 1930s.  It has toured frequently both domestically and overseas since 1896.  The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras.

This release is the sixteenth in the highly acclaimed Pittsburgh Live! series of releases on the FRESH!imprint from Reference Recordings.  This series has received GRAMMY® awards in 2025 for its recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit, and in 2018 for Shostakovich’s Symphony No.5 /Barber Adagio for Strings, as well as numerous GRAMMY® Nominations for other titles in the series. This release and the entire Pittsburgh Live! series are produced, recorded and mastered by the team at Soundmirror, whose outstanding orchestral, solo, opera and chamber recordings have received over 140 GRAMMY® nominations and awards.