In this outstanding performance of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, Manfred Honeck draws a wonderfully rich, almost Central European string sound from the Pittsburgh Symphony, matched by equally mellifluous and wonderfully blended colours from the woodwind and horns.

Honeck is meticulous about every expressive gesture he makes, but what stands out is that his Brahms Fourth is so seamless, with each movement forming a continuous arc...I can’t imagine anyone who is in sympathy with Furtwängler’s deeply felt Brahms not being moved by what Honeck expresses here.

The main work transmits an impression of interpretative renewal. Though capable of cushioned ‘European’ warmth, the Pittsburgh Symphony has a cleaner, brighter edge than traditionally associated with big-band Brahms.