The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Reference Recordings to Release BRUCKNER 4, 2/10

On February 10, the latest collaboration between the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Reference Recordings, "Bruckner 4," will be released on the FRESH! label.

Anton Bruckner is known as a deeply religious composer whose Catholic spirituality is prominent in his music, particularly his later symphonies. However, his Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major ("Romantic") is one of his most secular, most influenced by nature and most popular works. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Manfred Honeck offer a bold new interpretation of this great music, breaking Bruckner out of the strictly interpreted box in which he is often placed. Here, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Honeck present the 1878/80 version, the same version that was used for the symphony's premiere in 1881.

This release is the third in the highly acclaimed "Pittsburgh Live!" series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! Series from Reference Recordings. The last release, "Dvo?ák/Jana?ek," has received a Grammy nomination along with numerous critical accolades.

For more than 119 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been known for its artistic excellence, a rich history of the world's finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), Andre Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1995-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" in 1944. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the groundbreaking PBS series "Previn and the Pittsburgh." The orchestra has received increased national attention since 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3, which are made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

With a long and distinguished history of touring both domestically and overseas since 1900-including 36 international tours to Europe, the Far East and South America-the Pittsburgh Symphony continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world's greatest orchestras.

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 70 Grammy nominations and awards! Soundmirror has recorded for every major classical record label, now including Reference Recordings.

FRESH! is part of Reference Recordings' mission to encourage outstanding artists and give them a strong platform for promotion and sales nationally and internationally.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recordings are made possible with generous support from BNY Mellon. "Bruckner 4" will be available atpittsburghsymphony.org and at Heinz Hall.