Coming to Reference Recordings: Dvorak Symphony No. 9 paired with Carlos Simon's Four Black American Dances.
22 May 2026
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra bring their Dvořák 9 to Reference Recordings, alongside the first commercial release of Carlos Simon's *Four Black American Dances*. Recorded live at Heinz Hall in February 2025. Out July 3rd.
I do not always open every press pack the same day it arrives. This one I did. The Pittsburgh Live! series has a strong track record, and Honeck's name on a Dvořák 9 is enough to pay attention.
But it is the Simon that has me most curious. Four Black American Dances draws on jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism, and this is its first commercial recording anywhere. Simon is no small figure either. Composer-in-Residence with the National Symphony Orchestra, inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Grammy-nominated in 2023 for Requiem for the Enslaved. That is a serious pairing on one disc.
Soundmirror recorded and mastered it, as they have the entire Pittsburgh Live! series. That matters. This is the seventeenth entry, and the series has Grammy wins in both 2018 and 2025 to show for it.
The release will be available in hi-res digital, Dolby Atmos, and Apple Spatial Audio alongside the hybrid SACD. My review will follow once it drops.
I think this one is going to be worth your time.