hr-Sinfonieorchester

A great programme, weighty and deeply immersed in the Romantic period: the ultimate masterpieces by Brahms and Bruckner, interpreted by artists who have studied these works more intensively than almost anyone else. Bruckner dedicated his last symphony to ‘the good Lord’ - it doesn't get any lower than that. The Austrian Manfred Honeck is one of the most important Bruckner conductors of our time. His recording of Bruckner's ‘Ninth’ with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra received three Grammy nominations in 2020; he simply finds the perfectly balanced approach to the grand symphonic architecture of this music. Leonidas Kavakos' recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto was no less acclaimed, and here too, balance is at the centre: his interpretation is “the best to appear on CD for years”, wrote the specialist magazine The Guardian. The violinist himself says that the Brahms concerto is not comparable with other violin concertos - the violin doesn't just have to sing beautifully and melodically here. ‘Here we have this really incredible connection with the orchestra. It has to sound as homogeneous as possible.’ (hr-Sinfonieorchester)