Composer: Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Manfred Honeck
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Reference Recordings
Catalogue: FR713
Release: 2015
Size: 245 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 4 in Eb Major ‘Romantic’
01. I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell
02. II. Andante quasi allegretto
03. III. Scherzo: Bewegt
04. IV. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
Anton Bruckner’s Symphony no.4 in E-flat major (‘Romantic’) is one of the composer’s most popular works. Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra offer us a fresh and powerful new interpretation of this great music.
This release is the third in the highly acclaimed ‘Pittsburgh Live!’ series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! series from Reference Recordings.
For more than 116 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been known for its artistic excellence. It has a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians. Past conductors include the legendary names of Reiner, Steinberg, Previn, and Maazel. This tradition was furthered in the autumn of 2008, when celebrated Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became Music director of the Pittsburgh symphony orchestra.
The PSO is critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras and has completed more than 36 international tours, including 20 european tours, eight trips to the far east, and two to south america. The Pso was the first American orchestra to perform at the Vatican, in January 2004 for the late Pope John Paul II, as part of the Pontiff’s silver Jubilee celebration.
This release and the entire ‘Pittsburgh Live!’ series are recorded and mastered by the team at Soundmirror, whose outstanding orchestral, solo, opera and chamber recordings have received over 70 Grammy nominations and awards!
One of the most popular versions of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, “Romantic,” is the 1879/80 version, edited by Leopold Nowak, which Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra perform on this hybrid SACD from Reference Recordings. Notwithstanding the inroads some conductors have made in promoting the original 1874 version, which in many ways is a quite different composition, other conductors, like Honeck, still find value in this familiar revision, which has always been in the repertoire and which, along with the Seventh Symphony, has become Bruckner’s most recognizable piece. Honeck gives this live performance a rather expansive interpretation, emphasizing the long sweep of melody and using a fair amount of rubato in his tempos to add dramatic shading, particularly by drawing out cadences for their full emotional effect. The orchestra is prepared for all of Honeck’s gradations and nuances, and it is remarkably fluid in shifting from one mood to the next without seeming forced. Yet the most important aspect of this performance is the attention to tone colors, which Honeck clarifies and highlights with great delicacy, proving that in the right hands, Bruckner’s writing for orchestra is astonishing. Of course, the super audio sound captures every aspect of the sound with fidelity, and the dynamic range is extremely wide, so listeners should be aware that the lowest volume levels might need some careful adjustments.