...The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra play with tremendous collective virtuosity in the Venusburg music, while the resplendent grandeur of the brass in the Pilgrims' hymn is quite magnificent... The recording, made at the orchestra's home, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, is certainly less overwhelming in its effect than the earlier Telarc disc, but if anything, its resourceful stage-management of spatial effects offers much more to interest the ear than mere bombast! This quality is readily apparent with the thrilling entry of the off-stage trumpets as they summon the nobles into the Hall of Song at the Wartburg in readiness for the great contest in Act 2. All the majesty of the playing is brilliantly captured on this recording, and the Pittsburgh orchestra can certainly stand comparison with the great Wagnerian orchestras in the sumptuous Teutonic nobility of their playing. Wolfram's famous aria from the Third Act, "Oh star of Eve", has been recast for solo cello, and the principal player of the Pittsburgh Symphony deserves credit for a liquid and touching evocation of this memorable passage...

-- Gramophone [4/1992]