SA-CD.net’s Graham Williams gives five stars for both performance and sonics to the new Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck Bruckner recording:
“Manfred Honeck has shown himself to be a searching interpreter of everything he conducts, in addition to being an outstandingly cultured musician and fine orchestral trainer. … Honeck convincingly relates the musical ideas to the literary ones outlined in the composer’s programme – something that in some respects moves the symphony closer to becoming a four-movement tone-poem. … The sheer beauty of the orchestral playing can be appreciated at any point in the Symphony’s 66′ span, but as an example try the start of the recapitulation (11’54”) where flute and horn intertwine over soft strings and almost tactile timpani – quite magical. … Honeck’s powerfully driving account of the Finale – a movement of great contrasts and difficult to bring off successfully – is free yet it does not lack cohesion. … The gradual build up of tension from the start of the coda to the movement’s triumphant ending with its effulgent brass is spine tingling, leaving one with a feeling of huge admiration for all the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony…here they have excelled themselves and produced a recording that is quite exceptional in its dynamic range, clarity and spaciousness. …this distinctive, some might say revelatory, account of Bruckner’s 4th Symphony should not be missed.” —Graham Williams, SA-CD.net