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For immediate release:
May 31, 2023
Contact: Julie Goetz, Director of Communications 
(412) 905-9058
jgoetz@pittsburghsymphony.org

PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND REFERENCE RECORDINGS ANNOUNCE THRILLING NEW RECORDING BY MANFRED HONECK AND THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Honeck and PSO Recording of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 and Schulhoff Five Pieces Shines with Dazzling Performance and Superb Sound

Street Date: July 28, 2023

Hybrid SACD with Stereo SACD, 5.0 Surround SACD and Stereo CD layers
also available in high resolution and standard resolution digital downloads

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Reference Recordings proudly present Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, in a significant new interpretation from conductor Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It is paired with Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces, newly arranged for large orchestra by Manfred Honeck and Tomáš Ille. The popular Austro-Czech composer Schulhoff’s life (1894–1942) ended in a concentration camp during the Nazi’s rise in Germany, but not before composing a number of pieces inspired by jazz and dance influences. His 1924 Five Pieces for String Quartet, from which the new arrangement for large orchestra has been created, is the most performed. This album was recorded live in June 2022 in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound.

The recording is available to the media now, and available to the public for instant purchase, streaming and downloading on July 28, 2023. For downloadable copies for reviewers, members of the media should contact Jan Mancuso at Reference Recordings: referencerecordings@gmail.com or 1-800-336-8866.

“Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony has accompanied me since my earliest years as a conductor. Additionally, it took on special significance for me as it was the first major work that I conducted together with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2006, unaware that they were looking for a new Music Director at the time,” said Manfred Honeck, Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. “I take pleasure in returning to this symphony and continually discovering new elements in the score and it gives me the greatest joy to record this work with the fantastic musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.”

As has become his tradition, the CD is accompanied by a booklet with meticulous music notes from Manfred Honeck, in which he provides great insight into his interpretation as well as the history and musical structure of Tchaikovsky’s great Symphony No. 5. Honeck makes special emphasis of the recurring “fate” themes so prominent in this symphony and in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

This release is the fourteenth 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, 2020 and 2022. 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 long-time partners at Soundmirror (PRODUCER: Dirk Sobotka SOUND ENGINEER: Mark Donahue MASTERING ENGINEER: Mark Donahue), whose outstanding orchestral, solo, opera and chamber recordings have received more than 130 Grammy nominations and awards.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, known for its artistic excellence for more than 125 years, is credited with a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and is deeply committed to Pittsburgh and its region. Since 2008, the Pittsburgh Symphony has been led by its worldwide acclaimed Music Director Manfred Honeck. Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg, André Previn, Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has always been at the forefront of championing new works, including recent commissions by Mason Bates, Stacy Garrop, Jonathan Leshnoff, James MacMillan, Wynton Marsalis, Jessie Montgomery and Julia Wolfe. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and live radio broadcasts dating back to the 1930s. It has toured frequently both domestically and overseas since 1900— including more than 40 international tours. The Pittsburgh Symphony continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras.

Reference Recordings, founded in 1976 in San Francisco, has won multiple GRAMMY® awards and 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 give them a strong platform for promotion and sales nationally and internationally. Reference Recordings are distributed in North America by Naxos USA, and internationally through a network of independent distributors. For more information, visit: www.ReferenceRecordings.com

MANFRED HONECK AND THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 | Schulhoff Five Pieces
HYBRID
SACD

Street Date: July 28, 2023
Hybrid SACD with Stereo SACD, 5.0 Surround SACD and Stereo CD layers
also available in high resolution and standard resolution digital downloads
RECORDED: June 17–19, 2022 RECORDING LOCATION: Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, Pittsburgh, PA PRODUCER: Dirk Sobotka SOUND ENGINEER: Mark Donahue MASTERING ENGINEER: Mark Donahue For more information and reviewer copies: Janice Mancuso—Media Relations referencerecordings@gmail.com
• US: 1-800-336-8866 • Int’l: 1-650-355-1845 Photos, graphic elements available in the ‘Press Room’ at: www.ReferenceRecordings.com

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