“The Pittsburgh Symphony is one of the world’s great orchestras, here displaying rich, lush old-world strings which bring to mind conductor Manfred Honeck’s experience in Vienna. The brass section is thrillingly punchy and forward, as is the timpanist. Honeck has good ideas about the symphony, like occasionally dialing back the loudness of the scherzo-march’s final pages, to avoid monotony and preserve a sense of momentum.… among the very best Tchaikovsky discs ever made available on SACD. … Manfred Honeck again composes his own liner notes and again directs our attention to his favorite details or interpretive choices with bar numbers and exact track timings. He also proudly says that the Pittsburgh Symphony’s concertmaster has departed to take over the First Concertmaster chair at the Berlin Philharmonic. That alone should indicate the extraordinarily high quality of this orchestra. Their discs are always a treat. May many more Pittsburgh/Honeck albums follow.” —Brian Reinhart, MusicWeb International
Labels: Brian Reinhart, Manfred Honeck, MusicWeb International, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Review, TchaikovskyDvorak