Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Strauss: Tone Poems Hybrid Multi-Channel & Stereo SACD

2014 Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For!
The First Release In SACD Series With The Pittsburgh Symphony!
Grammophone Editor's Choice March 2014!
Thrilling live performances from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in brilliant audiophile sound! This release is the first in a series of multi-channel hybrid SACD recordings on FRESH! from Reference Recordings.
Just in time for Richard Strauss' 150th birthday in 2014, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under its conductor Manfred Honeck is releasing a new CD with three of his "tone poems": Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration and Till Eulenspiegel's Lustige Streiche. The CD is a live recording from Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh and the first in a series of multichannel hybrid SACDs on Reference Recordings' FRESH! label with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck.
Manfred Honeck writes about the recording: "All three 'tone poems' focus on existential moments of human life. These life-defining moments deserve special interpretive attention and perspicacity. For example, when the dying character reflects on her life in 'Death and Transfiguration', you can hear dance-like, swinging moments – memories of his time as a student. [...] While the climaxes in the courtroom scene of 'Till Eulenspiegel' and in the last stormy crescendo in 'Don Juan' come just before the end, 'Death and Transfiguration' is composed with a solemn, crowning conclusion. These and countless other details make it possible to tell the 'tone poems' in an even more exciting way. I hope that this recording will encourage listeners to discover more details that make these works so vivid and captivating to this day."
We are truly honored to offer music from this great American orchestra and their renowned conductor, Manfred Honeck. For more than 116 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. This tradition was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. With a long and distinguished history of touring both domestically and overseas since 1900, the PSO is critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras. They have made more than 35 international tours, and recently returned from their 2013 European Festivals Tour, where enthralled audiences filled the PSO's concerts in Grafenegg, Berlin, Bucharest, Paris, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Lucerne and Bonn. Fans of the PSO worldwide are sure to enjoy this thrilling series of releases!
This series of SACD releases 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. Recordings are made in historic Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Originally the Loew's Penn Theater, built in 1927 as an opulent movie house, it was rebuilt and dedicated in 1971 and further renovated in 1995.
"Not surprisingly, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra play these three masterly symphonic poems with virtuosity, great feeling and a glorious patina of string tone, and the rich hall resonance is well caught by the SACD recording. But what make these performances so outstanding are Manfred Honeck's interpretations, which vividly bring out the music's emotional and pictorial detail...This is one of the outstanding Strauss CDs of the year; the quality of playing and recording makes it very recommendable indeed." - Ivan March, Grammophone's Editor's Choice March 2014!
"...Spectacularly lustrous sound combines stunning range with genuine 'take you there' impact. In short, an exceptionally stimulating and hugely charismatic Strauss anthology." - Andrew Achenbach, Classical Ear
"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
• Recorded at Heinz Hall For the Performing Arts

Musicians:

• Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• Manfred Honeck, music director

Selections:

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Tone Poems
1. Don Juan, Op.20
2. Death and Transfiguration, Op.24
3. Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op.28