Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Bruckner: Symphony No.4 Hybrid Multi-Channel & Stereo SACD

2016 Grammy Nominee! The Third Release in SACD Series with the Pittsburgh Symphony!
Thrilling Live Performances in Brilliant Audiophile Sound!
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have recorded a new CD, the third title in a series of multi-channel hybrid SACDs on the FRESH! published by Reference Recordings. The collaboration is successful: the previous recording of Dvorak and Janacek symphonies was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2014 and received excellent critical acclaim. This release features Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 'Romantic' in the 1878/80 version, the same one used for the symphony's premiere in 1881.
Manfred Honeck, who has held the post of chief conductor in Pittsburgh since the 2008/2009 season, says of the recording: "For me it was important to adapt the Bruckner sound in such a way that the special character of 'romantic' music is expressed by working out a variety of colors, ranging from enormous blocks of sound to incredibly quiet and lyrical playing."
The track is released as a hybrid multi-channel SACD with stereo and 5.1 mix on the SACD track and with an additional CD track encoded in HDCD.
Anton Bruckner is known as a deeply religious composer whose Catholic spirituality is prominent in his music, particularly his later symphonies. However, his Symphony No. 4 in e-flat major ("Romantic") is one of his most secular, most influenced by nature and most popular works. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music director Manfred Honeck offer a bold new interpretation of this great music, breaking Bruckner out of the strictly interpreted box in which he is often placed.
Here, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Honeck present the 1878/80 version, the same version that was used for the symphony’s premiere in 1881.
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. The previous release, "Dvorák/Janacek" (FRSAM710), has received a Grammy® nomination along with numerous critical accolades.
For more than 119 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been known for its artistic excellence. The PSO has a rich history of the world's finest conductors and musicians. Past conductors include the legendary names of Reiner, Steinberg, Previn, Maazel, and other greats. This tradition was furthered in fall 2008, when celebrated Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
The PSO has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No.1 "Jeremiah" in 1944. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the groundbreaking PBS series "Previn and the Pittsburgh."
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! Soundmirror has recorded for every major classical record label, now including Reference Recordings.
"Good barely covers it. All eight of the releases that the Pittsburgh forces have brought out on Reference Recordings, with the aid of microphone whizzes from Soundmirror, come with the highest of recommendations."Four have received nominations for the Grammy for best orchestral performance. One, of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Barber's Adagio for Strings, won in 2018." - David Allen, The New York Times

Features:

• Super Audio CD
• SACD 5.1 Multi-Channel SACD Layer
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
• Mastered at Soundmirror
  

Musicians:

• Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• Manfred Honeck, music director

Selections:

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Symphony No.4 in E-flat Major "Romantic" Version of 1878/80 - Edited by Prof. Dr. Leopold Nowak
1. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell
2. Andante quasi Allegretto
3. Scherzo: Bewegt - Trio. Nicht zu schnell. Keinesfalls schleppend
4. Finale: Bewegt doch nicht zu schnell