# Manfred Honeck



## JoachimBlas26 (Jun 7, 2021)

Recently i listened to his version of Dvorak's Eight and i found it absolutely amazing. It has a freshness and clarity that i cannot find it on any of the existing conductors. I like that he does all the classic repertoire that was played miles of times, but adds his own touch to the music, and it makes me enjoy the music as when i listened to the first time. What's your opinion about him? Do you consider it one of the greatests conductors alive?


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Honeck is generally excellent. All of his Mahler and nearly all of his Beethoven (I'm not convinced by his fussy 9th) are superb. His Beethoven 5/7 and Dvorak 8 discs are probably my favourite recordings of those particular symphonies (and he's helped by incredible sound).


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

What Mahler he has recorded for Exton has been terrific; great playing, superb sound, great conducting. I've picked up more of his work on Reference Recordings and have been generally quite happy. Pittsburgh has long had a great orchestra - probably the best horn section in the world - but being in the rust belt they don't get as much respect as they should. They're one of the few American orchestras still being recorded. Honeck is brilliant and his Vienna Philharmonic background has been a boon to that orchestra. He's a musician's musician and not into the glitz and glamour that most more famous conductors seek out. I hope he hangs around a long time.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Love his recordings. Both performance and sound are outstanding. I have his Beethoven 3 (my favourite recording and I have 27 versions of it), 5, 7 and 9, all of which are among my favourites. Also have Mahler 4, Bruckner 4 and 9 and Shostakovich 5. All of them highly recommended. I'm hoping he records Sibelius.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I've had opportunity to hear Honeck several times at Heinz Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony, including the Beethoven Ninth (was it three times!?). I have several of the RR "Fresh!" and "Pittsburgh Live" recordings featuring Honeck and the PSO, including a couple for which I was in the audience during taping (the aforementioned Ninth, the Shostakovich Fifth, the Beethoven Fifth and Seventh). I suspect I count Honeck among my favorite conductors.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Pittsburgh has been a generally underappreciated symphony, including Honeck. Anyone remember the recordings they made with Steinberg?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

fbjim said:


> Anyone remember the recordings they made with Steinberg?


Yep. His Brahms cycle is fabulous. I wish I had enough pennies for his Beethoven cycle.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Yes, Honeck is one of the best conductors alive in the repertoire he plays. The clarity, freshness and light approach are all pluses as is his strong bond with the Pittsburgh orchestra. My only caveat is that he does not record a lot of different music and stays away from contemporary works although the Stucky in his last record was a nice surprise. It is a great pity he could not complete his outstanding Mahler cycle with Exton.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

fbjim said:


> Pittsburgh has been a generally underappreciated symphony, including Honeck. Anyone remember the recordings they made with Steinberg?


They do have quite a legacy. Reiner made some fine recordings with them, alas all in mono. Previn made some excellent ones, too, unfortunatley not so easy to get on CD. His Goldmark Rustic Wedding is top-dtawer; I still have the LP. Maazel made some excellent recordings there, too: a superb Respighi Roman Trilogy, a beautiful Grand Canyon Suite, a tremendous Saint-Saens Organ Symphony and a Sibelius set that I sure enjoy, although many people didn't.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Honeck does an impressive amount of homework for every work he performs. He's a stickler for paying attention to the minutest details in order to understand a piece in all its depth which comes across clearly, I feel, in his recordings. In a recent interview, for example, he bemoans the fact that musicians nowadays who play Mahler and Bruckner can't tell the very important differences between the Ländler from Salzburg, Steiermark, Tyrol, Bavaria, and the Innviertel. Maestro Honeck makes sure that the members of his orchestra understand such things!


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I'm not sure about Heneck. I didn't like his Dvorak 8 too much. There were some lovely moments but the whole lacked heart and the sense of it going somewhere. The ugly glissando at the beginning put me off and he seemed throughout to lose the pulse while he was messing about with the speeds. Give me Harnoncourt, Kertesz or Kubelik any day. I think I was very impressed by his Brahms 4, though, and will try to hear it again to confirm that. He is certainly not in my top 10 living conductors.


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## OCEANE (10 mo ago)

I began to love his conducting from his Mahler recordings by Exton and those four Mahler recordings are stunning IMHO. Afterwards, I listened to his performance of Beethoven and Bruckner (Reference Recordings) which I liked very much too. 

Undoubtedly, Honeck has a strong personal style in his interpretation which is convincing to me very often. Taking his controversial Beethoven No. 9, I consider it is the result of his own understanding to the music but nothing of showing off. Having him as my favourite conductor, I trust his interpretation subjectively and accept his extraordinary as well. 

Here is his latest one!


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## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

I have the Mahler recordings on Exton and I like those. One of the few few Mahler 1's that I really like. But I find his Pittsburgh recordings to be insufferable and his notes make him sound like some sort of a self- declared expert on every single individual note. Too much pulling and pushing. NO THANKS.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

For me, Honeck's most important contribution is his championing of Walter Braunfels. His stunning recording of the Te Deum has become simply my favourite choral work and the Mass is not that far behind. Heard a very fine Bruckner 8 live locally. Just listened to a Dvorak 8 with the Hessische Rundfunk. Very odd -- some magical moments (particularly in the far too often rushed meditative section of the finale) but far too eccentric and not at all idiomatic. In short -- a conductor who I'll go and hear when he's in town but without necessarily knowing what to expect. Unlike with most of today's superstars, there is at least likely to be some sort of commitment to the music as opposed to simply egotripping.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> I have his Beethoven 3 (my favourite recording and I have 27 versions of it)


27 versions of the Eroica??!! I have one, I think and that is in a boxed set. Are you equally prolific with other works? I guess I'm in the minority here who only buys a fairly small number of selected recordings these days and get rid of anything which no longer matches up (though that's rare as I'm pretty fussy in the first place)


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

dko22 said:


> 27 versions of the Eroica??!! I have one, I think and that is in a boxed set. Are you equally prolific with other works? I guess I'm in the minority here who only buys a fairly small number of selected recordings these days and get rid of anything which no longer matches up (though that's rare as I'm pretty fussy in the first place)


I have a tendency to buy lots of recordings of my favourite works in the quest of finding something new, a tendency that brought home the Honeck Eroica. I probably listen to only half of the Eroicas I have with the other half just collecting dust. I have multiple versions of all of Beethoven , Brahms and Sibelius symphonies and many more of Mahler, Shostakovich and a miscellaneous other favourite works.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

As it's possible to listen to just about anything on a streaming site these days, I tend to use these to investigate music. This way, I can find out what I really like and then buy only exceptional recordings. But it's true that in the past, I did sometimes just get things out of curiosity to try out. I think I have a paranoia about not having enough space for my collection as much as any financial considerations (though that has to be taken into account as well).


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

dko22 said:


> As it's possible to listen to just about anything on a streaming site these days, I tend to use these to investigate music. This way, I can find out what I really like and then buy only exceptional recordings. But it's true that in the past, I did sometimes just get things out of curiosity to try out. I think I have a paranoia about not having enough space for my collection as much as any financial considerations (though that has to be taken into account as well).


Almost all of the CDs I have in my collection that I don't listen to anymore were bought over 20 years ago when streaming services were not a thing. Nowadays I first listen on Spofify or Amazon Prime before buying. Why buy a CD when you can listen on a streaming service, you ask? I like the sound quality of CDs through my HI-FI system better.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

Well I buy CD's of the things I like the most 1. because the sound quality is better 2. because I like actually owning a physical disk (although LP's were better) and 3. --most importantly, to ensure that the record companies will continue to produce them and, in the case of the minority of living composers, to help them directly.

Anyway, enough on this (my fault) - the thread is about Honeck.


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