Mephistopheles & Other Bad Guys
In opera, specific voice types are often associated with certain types of characters. Numerous and diverse associations exist also for the bass voice, who can be a father, a villain, an elderly man, a religious figure, a comic character- or, indeed, a combination of the above. ...
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
R. Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, TrV 233
With its epic sweep and grandeur and compelling drama, there has rarely been such a spine-tingling and vivid depiction of nature as found in Richard Strauss’s magnificent tone poem, An Alpine Symphony. Calling for gargantuan orchestral forces, this lavishly ...
Composer: Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10
Fear, Loathing and Redemption in the Troubled Symphonies of Shostakovich: The spirit of Gustav Mahler looms over the pages of Shostakovich’s turbulent, sprawling and enigmatic Symphony No. 4, a work so uncompromising that for many years he suppressed its performance, fearing public censure. ...
Composer: Dmitri Schostakowitsch (1906–1975)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Mendelssohn: Symphonies No. 1 & 3
Inspired by his visits to Scotland and the Hebrides and the romantic novels of Sir Walter Scott, his outstanding Symphony No. 3 in A minor (Scottish) is a colourful reminiscence of its rugged landscapes steeped in history, and an affectionate homage ...
Composer: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring & The Firebird
All Igor Stravinsky needed to establish his worldwide reputation were three ballet works, composed in Paris between 1910 and 1913: L’Oiseau de Feu, Petrushka and Le Sacre du Printemps. It was in this period that the impresario Serge Diaghilev brought his Ballets ...
Composer: Igor Strawinsky (1882-1971)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190 & Macbeth, Op. 23, TrV 163
The celebrated young Colombian maestro Andrés Orozco-Estrada continues his critically acclaimed series of recordings for PENTATONE with this release of the evocative tone poems Macbeth and Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss, performed here with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. ...
Composer: Richard Strauss (1864-1949
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Mozart & Mysliveček: Flute Concertos
With sensuous melodies and elegant virtuosity, Mozart’s Flute Concertos in G major (K. 313) and D major (K. 314) are the most cherished pieces composed for the instrument. Here they are brought together with the recently rediscovered Flute Concerto in D major by Josef Mysliveček, ...
Composer: Matěje Myslivečka (1697-1749), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Tippet Rise OPUS 2017: Daydreams
Tippet Rise OPUS 2017 is the second compilation album to emerge from the summer music season at Montana’s Tippet Rise Arts Center, which features performance spaces of acoustic perfection amidst a sculpture-laden terrain of awe-inspiring beauty, nestled against a backdrop of the Beartooth ...
Composer: John Luther Adams (1953-), Yevgeny Sudbin, Frédéric Chopin, George Enescu (1881-1955), EUGÈNE BOZZA (1905-1991), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Aaron Jay Kernis, Samuel A. Ward, Jeffrey Kahane
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Mason Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
In their astounding new opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell explore the spiritual evolution of one of the most influential men of modern times as he creates a revolutionary new world of technological empowerment, then ...
Composer: Mason Bates (1977)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
Haydn’s stupendous, joyous and uplifting oratorio Die Schöpfung (The Creation) is thrillingly brought to life in this recording with Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducting the Houston Symphony, with the Houston Symphony Chorus and the acclaimed operatic soloists Nicole Heaston, Toby Spence and Peter Rose. ...
Composer: Joseph Haydn
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Choral
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A18 "Lobgesang"
With its combination of three instrumental movements, followed by a cantata with three soloists and chorus, Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony “Lobgesang [Hymn of Praise]” is highly original from a conceptual point of view. The piece is a milestone in the history of the symphonic ...
Composer: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1909-1847)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Bartók & Kodály: Concertos for Orchestra
Exuberant, colourful and edgy concertos for orchestra by Bartók and Kodály are brought together in spirited and vivid performances from the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the podium sensation Jakub Hrůša on this PENTATONE release. ...
Composer: Béla Bartók (1881-1945), Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
The prologue is a unique feature of early baroque opera: an opening scene where an allegorical figure enters the stage to prepare the audience for the musical drama to come. Thus Prologue is the musical introduction of Italian star soprano Francesca Aspromonte and her exclusive, long term ...
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Bizet: Les pêcheurs de perles, WD 13
Les Pêcheurs de perles is best known for its glorious duet, but Georges Bizet’s opera has much more to offer. This live recording more than ever brings out the brilliance of this oriental story about love, duty and friendship. In the last 150 years, Bizet’s piece has mainly been heard in ...
Composer: Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
The exceptional nature and musicality of Emily Dickinson’s poetry has attracted many composers. A Certain Slant of Light features musical settings of Dickinson poems by four outstanding American composers: Aaron Copland, Gordon Getty, Jake Heggie and Michael Tilson ...
Composer: Aaron Copland (1900-1990), Gordon Getty (1933-), Jake Heggie (1961), Michael Tilson Thomas
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Ravel & Gershwin: Piano Concertos
“Technically flawless, Kozhukhin combines wisely the brilliance and power of his playing with a masterful sense of form, maturity, and a very unique sensitivity.” Exuberant high spirits, pulsating rhythms and breathless virtuosity jostle with urbane sophistication ...
Composer: George Gershwin (1898-1937), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
This release reunites the Kodama sisters in the studio following their scintillating recording of Tchaikovsky ballet suites for PENTATONE. In a review of a public performance of the Martinů Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, the Ziebline journal wrote “Mari and Momoyo Kodama are ...
Composer: Bohuslav Martinů
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Calefax is an internationally acclaimed ensemble of reed players renowned for performing their own arrangements and newly commissioned compositions for the unique combination of oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet and bassoon. Switching genres and periods with consummate ease, ...
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Renowned French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard kicks off his exclusive engagement to PENTATONE with a recording of Olivier Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux (1956-1958). The pianist had intimate ties to the composer himself and his wife, Yvonne Loriod, for whom Messiaen wrote the Catalogue. ...
Composer: Olivier Messiaen (1930)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
This album contains a selection of solo cantatas, both secular and sacred, from the Italian, German, and English traditions. Including works by Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach in settings large and small, with obbligato instruments ranging ...
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759), Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), Georg Melchior Hoffmann (1679-1715)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
