Available in Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound DSD plus Dolby Atmos TrueHD Immersive Audio at NativeDSD
Reference Recordings proudly presents Manfred Honeck’s masterly interpretation of Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, (Op. 95) “From the New World”, and the first commercial release of Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances. T
his album was recorded live in February 2025 in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound by the team at Sound Mirror. Maestro Honeck honors us again with his scholarly and personal music notes, in which he gives us great insight into this most famous of Dvořák’s symphonies.
This release is the seventeenth in the highly acclaimed Pittsburgh Live! series of releases on the Fresh! imprint from Reference Recordings that are available in Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound DSD plus Dolby Atmos TrueHD Immersive Audio at NativeDSD.
Carlos Simon is the current Composer-in-Residence with the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C., and holds the position of inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His music ranges from concert music for large and small ensembles to film scores with influences of jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism. He was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem for the Enslaved, which commemorates the stories of the 272 enslaved men, women, and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is credited with a rich history of engaging the world’s finest conductors and musicians and is deeply committed to the Pittsburgh region and citizens. Since 2008, the Orchestra has been led by Manfred Honeck, its internationally renowned Music Director. The Orchestra has always been at the forefront; championing new works and 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 1896. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, Conductor
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as MP3.Total time: 00:58:54
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | FR769SACD |
| Qualities | DSD 128, DSD 512, DSD 64, MKV 48 kHz, DSD 256, DXD 32 Bit, DXD 24 Bit |
| Channels | 5ch Surround, 2ch Stereo, Dolby Atmos TrueHD, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround |
| Artists | |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Conductors | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Release Date | July 2, 2026 |
Press reviews
The Arts Fuse
With Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances, the Pittsburgh Symphony offers a thoughtful and resonant recontextualization of Dvořák’s Ninth.
Everything is well-blended—the framing sections of the Largo are particularly luminous—and big contrasts are the rule. The first movement’s introduction is conspicuously explosive, its coda feisty. There’s a brawny rusticity to parts of the finale and the big climaxes near the end sound almost like screams.
Throughout, too, there’s a becoming sense of space, both in fast tempos and slow. The Largo is enchantingly unhurried but never drags, while the Scherzo’s lilting Trio comes across like a vision from afar: its nuanced dynamics and taut rhythms craft an atmosphere of beguiling nostalgia.
Taken together, Honeck’s is an interpretation that allows one to hear—or at least think of—this music afresh. There are myriad ways to approach it, of course, but, given the context of the symphony’s proximity to Simon’s Dances, the larger album suggests a vision of shared humanity across eras, styles, ethnicities, and genres that our times, so fraught with division and strife, might do well to learn from.
2 reviews for Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 & Simon: Four Black American Dances
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Simply the most heartfelt Dvorak 9 I have ever heard.
Arell Jan (verified owner) –
A beautiful interpretation of Dvorak’s 9th Symphony that really stands out from the crowd. Unfortunately, the sound engineer let the triangle get lost in the mix. Otherwise, that’s one of my system’s strengths.
For the *Black American Dances*, the sound engineer clearly put in a lot more effort. A beautiful recording and a real asset to the world of orchestral music.
Michael Lehmann (verified owner) –