This is the twelfth recording of Honeck and his Pittsburgh orchestra on the Reference label. Overall, the series has greatly impressed me, with impassioned performances of standard repertoire featuring thoughtful interpretations and sterling playing. The two most recent entries in the series (Tchaikovsky’s fourth and Beethoven’s ninth symphonies) proved somewhat less impressive, but this latest album brings a welcome return to form.
By any measure, this is exceptional Brahms playing. The strings have robust power and impressive precision, matched by wind playing full of character and warmth, the horns particularly wonderful throughout. Honeck, a violist in the Vienna Philharmonic for several years, knows how to extract an authentic Brahmsian color from his players – their velvety richness is the equal of any middle-European ensemble. Yet the winds, most especially the brass, also implement an “American” brightness and clarity that often enriches the string timbre and clarifies contrapuntal writing. There is also a wonderful sense of ebb and flow, and Honeck captures every contrasting emotion in this music: listen to the subtle agitation he creates at 5’12” in the first movement (the oboe playing particularly distinguished), or the rapt elegiac atmosphere beginning at 7’04”.
Yet for all his focus on lyricism (a particularly gorgeous example is heard at 3’33” in the Andante moderato), Honeck never dawdles, nor does he ever get bogged down in the sheer beauty of the sound. He uses some individualistic phrasing and rubato, but the players are with him every step of the way, so that the shaping feels organic and completely convincing. He also has a masterful sense of the music’s architecture.
The third movement, despite being driven hard, is truly “giocoso” (humorous) – its kinship with the Academic Festival Overture has never been clearer. Moreover, the players are audibly enjoying themselves, reveling in their corporate virtuosity, in a thrillingly uninhibited reading. The triangle balance is just right, while timpani have a clarity and presence that only heighten the music’s joviality.
Related Classical Music Reviews
- Review: Brahms Symphony No. 4 – SCO, Dausgaard
- Review: Beethoven – Complete Symphonies – Vienna Philhamornic Orchestra, Nelsons
- Review: “Stabat” – Pärt, Macmillan & Vasks – Ross
Honeck’s penchant for interpretive intervention is most obvious in the final movement, though in this instance nothing seems mannered – in fact, this performance has a sweep and urgency that is intensely dramatic and completely convincing. Look no further than the fiercely powerful crescendo of the opening measures, or at 0’53” how the Pittsburgh strings really dig into their lines. The flute solo variation has a chaste beauty, followed by wonderfully luxuriant horn color in the next variation. At 5’27” Honeck allows the brass its head, and from here to the final bar the playing builds in power, tempo, and tension, leading to truly cataclysmic ending.
MacMillan’s Larghetto is an orchestration of his choral “Miserere,” originally written for The Sixteen and Harry Christophers. The composer felt the music could have an “instrumental existence,” and certainly the agonizing lament of the original is still deeply apparent in this new work. There are extended solos for trumpet and horn (beautifully played), often quoting Allegri’s Miserere, which is a key feature of the choral work. Honeck obviously believes in the piece, and there is a noble conviction to this reading that will likely never be bettered.
Liner notes are thorough and engaging. Even if one does not agree with Honeck’s ideas, he certainly makes his points with clarity and passion. The engineered sound is excellent, with deep and wide soundstage. Both works were recorded before an absolutely silent audience. This is yet another feather in the cap for this team. Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony are a wonderful partnership – he recently extended his contract with them through the 2027-28 season. Might we hope that in that time they will record the other symphonic works of Brahms? Whatever the repertoire, I look forward to the next release – urgently recommended.
Brahms Symphony No. 4 & MacMillan Larghetto for Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck – Conductor
Reference Recordings, CD FR-744
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