Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 - Johnathan Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon (Live) Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra & Manfred Honeck

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27:
• 1 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: I. Andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima (Live) 18:55
• 2 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: II. Andantino in modo di canzona (Live) 10:15
• 3 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: III. Scherzo. Allegro (Live) 05:33
• 4 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco (Live) 08:47
• Jonathan Leshnoff (b. 1973): Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon:
• 5 Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon: I. — (Live) 06:50
• 6 Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon: II. — (Live) 02:45
• 7 Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon: III. — (Live) 07:55
• Total Runtime 01:01:00

Info for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 - Johnathan Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon (Live)

Music Director Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, with Reference Recordings, are pleased to announce the release of a new recording in superb audiophile, pairing Tchaikovsky’s iconic Symphony No. 4 with the world premiere of leading American composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, featuring the orchestra’s own Michael Rusinek, Principal Clarinet, and Nancy Goeres, Principal Bassoon. This HIGHRESAUDIO release was recorded in Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, the acoustically outstanding and historic home of the orchestra.

In this bold yet sensitive interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, Manfred Honeck invites us on a journey that has, “one of the most effective conclusions in all of the symphonic literature.“ According to Honeck’s notes that accompany the music, he and the musicians explore the tension and contrasts between, “darkness and suffering, but also hope and light. At once, it is on the edge of despair—depressed, hopeless, broken, melancholic and gloomy; but there is also an incredible counterpoint—courageous, self-confident, joyful, optimistic, wild and blissful.” Honeck situates the fourth symphony in an historical framework, revealing how the composer’s own life and struggles are reflected in the music—and how this context informs his own interpretation of the work on stage.

Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto that is featured on the disc was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for Rusinek and Goeres, with the world premiere taking place in June of 2019. This also marked the first time that the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra had performed a Leshnoff work.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new works, with recent commissions by Mason Bates, James MacMillan and Julia Wolfe. The orchestra gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” in 1944 and John Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” in 1986.

In contrast with the last movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon offers lightness and buoyancy, juxtaposing the agility of the clarinet with the richness of the bassoon. In the accompanying music notes, Leshnoff says, “An important question would be how to combine and juxtapose the sprite clarinet with the heavier color of the bassoon and be sure that the bassoon stood out from the texture. ...I discovered that there were some magical combinations that the clarinet and bassoon can make with each other. I found that the bassoon can be very plaintive and resonant in its higher register, and that mixing that sound with the timbre of the clarinet yields some remarkable qualities."

The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. This release is the tenth in the highly acclaimed Pittsburgh Live! Series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! imprint from Reference Recordings. This series has received GRAMMY nominations in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The previous release, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, received three GRAMMY nominations. Its recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5/Barber Adagio for Strings won the 2018 GRAMMY Awards for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Engineered Classical Album.

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 more than 100 GRAMMY nominations and awards. For over 40 years, Soundmirror has recorded for every major classical label.

Reference Recordings was founded in 1976 in San Francisco, has won multiple GRAMMY awards and has a catalog that includes numerous American and international orchestras, ensembles and choruses. FRESH! Is part of Reference Recordings’ mission to encourage unique and fine artists, and to give them a strong platform for promotion and sales nationally and internationally.

Recording Details: This recording was engineered by the GRAMMY award-winning recording engineer Mark Donahue and produced by the GRAMMY award-winning recording producer Dirk Sobotka. “Based on our long experience of recording the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Heinz Hall, we chose five omnidirectional DPA 4006 microphones as our main microphone array. Supplementing those with “spot mics” to clarify the detail of the orchestration, we worked towards realizing the above goals. Extensive listening sessions with Maestro Honeck and orchestra musicians were crucial in refining the final balance. This recording was made and post-produced in DSD256 on a Pyramix workstation to give you, the listener, the highest sound quality possible,” according to Soundmirror.

Performances for this recording were presented as part of the 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 seasons, with title sponsorship by BNY Mellon, recorded live at Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA, on May 6-8, 2016 (Tchaikovsky) and on June 6-9, 2019 (Leshnoff).

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor

Manfred Honeck
has served as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since the 2008-2009 season. Together with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Honeck's widely celebrated performances and distinctive interpretations continue to receive international recognition. To great acclaim, Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra regularly perform in major music capitals and festivals, among them the BBC Proms, Musikfest Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Grafenegg Festival, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have also built a close relationship with the Musikverein in Vienna. Following a week-long residency in 2012, they will return once again for three performances in the course of an extensive tour of Europe in spring 2016.

Honeck's successful work with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been extensively documented on recordings with the Reference and Exton labels. The first SACD released by Reference Records of Strauss tone poems, drew rave reviews. The second recording, of Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 and the Symphonic Suite from Janáček's opera Jenůfa, conceptualized by Honeck himself, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 was released in February 2015 to critical acclaim. The next recording, Beethoven 5 & 7, was released in November 2015. Several recordings, among them Mahler's Symphony No. 4, which won a 2012 International Classical Music Award, are also available on the Japanese label Exton.

As a guest conductor, Honeck has worked with the world's leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome. In the United States, Honeck has conducted the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is also a regular guest at the Verbier Festival. In 2013, Honeck gave his successful debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, resulting in a CD recording of Dvořák together with Anne-Sophie Mutter for Deutsche Grammophon which received an Echo Klassik award in 2014. The 2015-2016 season sees him return to Bamberg, Stuttgart, Rome, Stockholm and New York, as well as the Munich Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, among others.

Born in Austria, Honeck received his musical training at the Academy of Music in Vienna. Many years of experience as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and at the helm of the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra have given his conducting a distinctive stamp. Honeck began his career as assistant to Claudio Abbado in Vienna. Subsequently, he was engaged by the Zurich Opera House, where he was bestowed the prestigious European Conductor's Award in 1993. Honeck was one of three main conductors of the MDR Symphony Orchestra in Leipzig and in Oslo, he assumed the post of music director at the Norwegian National Opera and was engaged as principal guest conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2000 to 2006, he was music director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm and, from 2008 to 2011, principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he resumed for another three years at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season.

From 2007 to 2011, Honeck was music director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart where he conducted premieres including Berlioz's Les Troyens, Mozart's Idomeneo, Verdi's Aida, Richard Strauss's Rosenkavalier, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites and Wagner's Lohengrin and Parsifal, as well as numerous symphonic concerts. His operatic guest appearances include Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Royal Opera of Copenhagen, the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg and the Salzburg Festival.

Honeck has received honorary doctorates from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania and, most recently, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Moreover, he has been artistic director of the "International Concerts Wolfegg" in Germany for more than 20 years.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 - Johnathan Leshnoff: Double Concerto for Clarinet & Bassoon (Live)