“It is fair to say that Manfred Honeck's series of live recordings with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra of music by Richard Strauss, Dvorak, Bruckner and Beethoven on the Reference Recordings Fresh! label have been revelatory, even to those listeners who are very familiar with the works featured on them that are, by and large, cornerstones of the orchestral repertoire. The main work on this latest release is Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor and in an engrossing twelve page essay in the liner notes Honeck first discusses the genesis of the Symphony and speculates on its probable secret programme…These notes are almost worth the price of the disc! From the first bars it is clear that this is to be a pretty special account of the Symphony. … It is no surprise then to find that the 'Rusalka Fantasy' is almost like a newly minted Dvorak orchestral masterpiece. The PSO's scintillating performance of the suite makes it a most welcome and imaginative addition to the catalogue. The skilled recording team (Soundmirror, Boston) have ensured that these recordings, made and post produced in DSD256, are in every way worthy of the performances enshrined on this SACD. There is no doubt that the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra are fortunate to have such a perceptive Music Director with a meticulous care for detail and the ability to deliver performances of such consistently high quality. But Manfred Honeck is equally blessed with a supremely accomplished virtuoso orchestra who can fulfil his wishes to the letter. Long may this partnership continue and, hopefully, yield many more such involving, and often spine-tingling, recordings as these.” —Graham Williams, HRAudio
Labels: Graham Williams, HRAudio.net, Manfred Honeck, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, TchaikovskyDvorak