Don’t Look Down is an accidental diary of having lived through the worst pandemic of the last hundred years. When I started writing this piece in February 2020, it would be inconceivable to imagine the world we live in now. The one thing that kept me sane during this period was clocking into work—that is, working on this piece. ...
Composer: Christopher Cerrone (1984)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Modern Composition
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 & Ode to the End of the War
Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony is extraordinary music, but typical of the composer in its blend of lyric and rhythmic elements. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski grasps all facets of the Russian composer's music, and the fine Russian National Orchestra responds to his direction splendidly. The flittering rhythms of the second movement ...
Composer: Sergej Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Mozart: March & Serenade "Haffner"
If you step out of Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg, turn right along Getreidegasse to the next corner and then turn right again, you will find yourself in Sigmund-Haffner-Gasse. It commemorates a wealthy Salzburg merchant and mayor whose son, also called Sigmund, ‘smuggled’ the name Haffner into the history ...
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
The Cappella Amsterdam and its principal conductor Daniel Reuss present a complete recording of Orlando di Lasso's Penitential Psalms. Following on from their highly acclaimed recording of Alfred Schnittke's Penitential Psalms, this release explores new levels of the ‘penitential’ theme and marks a return to the Renaissance repertoire after their ...
Composer: Orlando di Lasso (Lassus) (1532-1594)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Choral
Based on the beloved 1934 novella Goodbye, Mr. Chips and other stories by James Hilton, the opera tells the heart-warming story of a teacher at Brookfield, an English boarding school for boys, to which “Chips” devotes most of his adult life. The opera chronicles Chips’ story of love, loss and ...
Composer: Gordon Getty (1933)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Organist and pianist James McVinnie makes his PENTATONE debut with Dreamcatcher, an intimate sequence of contemporary classical music centred around the act of imagining. The recording features the organ of St Albans Cathedral—an epoch-making instrument closely associated with legendary organists Peter Hurford and Ralph Downes.
Composer: Gabriella Smith (1991), Nico Muhly (1981), Laurie Spiegel (1945), Meredith Monk (1943), Marcos Balter (1974), John Adams (1947), Giles Swayne (1946), Bryce Dessner (1976)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan present Brahms‘ two Cello Sonatas, alongside their arrangement of his Violin Sonata in G Major on the cello. This Brahms portrait is a logical next step after the duo’s acclaimed interpretation of Beethoven’s complete Cello Sonatas, released in 2022. ...
Composer: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
An Idiomatic Interpretation Of Orchestral Dvořák Gems. Dvořák’s Legends and Slavonic Rhapsodies, recorded by regular guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Tomáš Netopil, marks the orchestra’s fourth recording featuring Czech composers in 2024’s Year of Czech Music. Dvořák wrote his Slavonic Rhapsodies just before the Slavonic Dances ...
Composer: Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Mandolinist Alon Sariel presents arrangements of Schubert’s Ave Maria, Ständchen, Der Leiermann and an excerpt from his Moments musicaux, together with harpist Anne-Sophie Bertrand. Thanks to a famous painting of Schubert playing the guitar, it is generally assumed that the composer was a seasoned guitarist too. ...
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Renowned bass-baritone Adam Plachetka celebrates the Year of Czech Music with an anthology of Czech evening songs by Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Zdeněk Fibich and Josef Suk. All based on love poems for Vítězslav Hálek’s Večerní písně (Evening Songs), these songs provide a panorama of great Czech music, also zooming in on lesser-known repertoire. ...
Composer: Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884), Zdenek Fibich (1850-1900), Josef Suk (1874-1935)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Jacqueline is a powerful, award-winning new opera that dives into the real-life struggle between famed cellist Jacqueline du Pré and the multiple sclerosis that ravaged her body, mind, and talent – robbing her of her identity, her breathtaking musical gift, and ultimately her life. ...
Composer: Luna Pearl Woolf (1973)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande & Verklärte Nacht
The Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and its Music Director Rafael Payare celebrate Arnold Schoenberg's 150th birthday with a recording of two of his late-Romantic masterworks: Verklarte Nacht and Pelleas und Melisande. Both pieces are based on stories evolving around love, jealousy, acceptance and forgiveness, and showcase Schoenberg's expressive harmonic language ...
Composer: Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Full Circle: Reflections on My Journey
Baritone Lester Lynch presents a highly personal collection of songs from Schubert, Brahms, and Mussorgsky. Full Circle: Reflections on my Journey is a musical voyage through the echoes of resilience - a beacon of hope amidst suffering and despair. These melodies are a reminder of how music can transform ...
Composer: Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Grace: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas
In celebration of his 80th birthday, this four-disc set spans more than five decades of Michael Tilson Thomas' compositional career. It features 18 works, from premiere recordings to remastered archival recordings available for the first time. The deluxe collection also includes an extensive booklet containing composer's notes, ...
Composer: Michael Tilson Thomas (1944)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Mari Kodama celebrates the Bruckner bicentenary year with a collection of piano works, most of which are rarely heard. While some of them, such as the Fantasie, Erinnerung and Stille Betrachtung, reveal the serious symphonist and church composer, the many dances included on this album illuminate a lighter side of the composer. In general, hearing his ...
Composer: Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Fourteen years after her victory at the XVI International Chopin Piano Competition, Yulianna Avdeeva documents her journey with the music of Frédéric Chopin. Voyage focuses on his late works, all composed while surrounded by nature, and Avdeeva has recorded them at the rustic Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana, against ...
Composer: Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Around Gershwin is a tribute by star accordionist Richard Galliano to George Gershwin, in which he interweaves his music with works by early 20th century composers such as Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Satie, Ravel and Fauré, as well as new compositions of his own. Seen through the lens of Galliano's masterful musicality, these pieces ...
Composer: George Gershwin (1898-1937), Sergej Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), Richard Galliano (1950), Erik Satie (1866-1925), Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Mozart Symphonies Nos. 29 & 33, Clarinet Concerto
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin continues its PENTATONE Mozart series with the composer’s 29th and 33rd symphonies. These works are coupled with his ravishingly beautiful Clarinet Concerto, performed by Ernst Schlader in the original edition for basset clarinet. Schlader, a specialist in historical instruments, has ...
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Bruckner & Klose: String Quartets
Quatuor Diotima celebrates the bicentennial anniversary of Anton Bruckner with a recording of his String Quartet in C Minor, Rondo in C Minor and Theme with Variations in E-Flat Major, alongside the String Quartet in E-Flat Major from his pupil Friedrich Klose. Bruckner wrote these pieces as ...
Composer: Anton Bruckner (1824–1896), Friedrich Klose (1862–1942)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
