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In the latest release in the Fresh! series from Reference Recordings, conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra present Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 & Bates: Resurrexit.
On September 23, 1881, Bruckner began work on his Seventh Symphony, just twenty days after finishing his Sixth Symphony. The first and third movements were written first, followed by the second and finally the fourth, with the full symphony completed on September 3, 1883 in St. Florian. The Seventh Symphony was premiered on December 30, 1884 in Leipzig, Germany under the direction of Arthur Nikisch, conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and later chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.
The question has often been raised whether Bruckner’s symphonies are best viewed through a spiritual or intellectual lens. For me, it is impossible to separate one from the other, as I see the symphonies as a total work of art. To experience Bruckner only from an intellectual perspective would somehow diminish the rich spiritual power and deep meaning within the music. Similarly, to reduce Bruckner’s music to the spiritual alone, devoid of skill and mastery, would be superficial.
Just as a human being consists of spirit, soul and body, I see Bruckner’s symphonic music in a similar light:
- Spirit — The art of designing compositional relationships
- Soul — The grasping of a boundless depth of spirituality
- Body — The love of Austrian folk and dance music
Manfred Honeck, Music Director
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:17:41
Additional information
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| SKU | FR757 |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 32 Bit, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
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| Release Date | July 19, 2024 |
Press reviews
Positive Feedback
The Manfred Honeck recordings from Pittsburgh are getting better and better and better. These are recorded live in concert and one reason I’m finding them better and better is that the SoundMirror recording team (John Newton and Mark Donahue) are getting more proficient in capturing the sonics in Heinz Hall and doing so in front of live audiences over the course of three days of performances. They now have their recording process nailed down, and the sonic results are impressive… The result is a superb sonic image of the orchestra: wide and deep, with a superb capture of inner detail, and tremendous dynamics. This team are simply masters of their craft.
This recording has received rave reviews elsewhere. I’m late to the game. But I add my concurrence. Honeck gives a masters class in performing the Bruckner 7th, it is just beautifully done…
Mason Bates (b.1977) is the second composer presented on this album with his 2018 work “Resurrexit.” I’ve been a big fan of his compositions since I first heard two of his shorter works in a local chamber music recital in Richmond, Virginia, and then again with his more expansive work, “Art of War,” in its 2019 premier by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda in Washington, DC. Resurrexit demonstrates his continuing maturation as a composer. It has color, energy, and that probing intellectual curiosity that I hear consistently in his works. Honeck and his Pittsburgh players perform it brilliantly.
New York Times
In his notes for this simply excellent recording of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, Manfred Honeck writes as intelligently and as specifically as ever about the tiniest details in the score at hand, and how he has tried to be as faithful to their spirit as possible.
He points out that many of Bruckner’s rhythms are derived from folk dances. He notes how the great Adagio is linked textually to the later “Te Deum.” Most provocatively, he argues that an extraordinary passage near the end of the first movement, in which timpani thunder around pleading strings and winds, directly illustrates the moment of consecration that is at the heart of the Mass. Whatever the inspiration, the effect in practice is magical.
If this Seventh is one of Honeck’s least interventionist readings, it is hardly less formidable than his Beethoven or his Tchaikovsky. Even more than in his terrifying account of the Bruckner’s Ninth, you get the sense that he holds the composer in awe.
And it’s difficult not to feel a similar reverence for the players of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, too. What tension and body there is in the long, legato lines they draw out, and what hush at points of calm; what sensitivity in the woodwind solos, and what security in the massed brasses.
The Classic Review
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s playing is dazzling on all fronts, its sound as refined and resplendent as Vienna. Reference’s recording, made at live performances in March 2022, provides a deep and wide soundstage that fully encompasses the performance’s extreme dynamic range and tonal richness.
The first movement’s opening cello line is beautifully spun, and the buildup to the first climax is carefully managed. Honeck shapes each line with care (one wonders how many markings are in his orchestral parts). The rustic quality of the third theme (5’49”) is a particular highlight.
The inner detail revealed in the Scherzo is a testament to Honeck’s carefully balanced textures and Reference’s impressive recording. As in their earlier recording of the fourth, the connection between Bruckner’s writing and Austrian folk music is made particularly clear. In the final movement the woodwinds are particularly characterful, the brass powerful and weighty without ever becoming brash.
Mason Bates’ “Resurrexit” was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2018 to celebrate its conductor, “who has taken us on a unique journey into the spirituality of music.” It’s placed in this album after the Symphony, as a generous bonus. Written in a modern yet accessible language, the opening woodwind solo is meant as a lament for the death of Jesus, followed by a richly harmonized string chorale. Tinkling bells represent the beginnings of new life, followed by a full statement of the Gregorian chant Victimae Paschali Laudes (Christians, to the paschal victim), which is then subjected to an increasingly complex series of variations, leading to a splashy, Hollywoodesque conclusion. Its color and energy are surely a crowd pleaser, especially in a performance as brilliant as this.
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