Thomas de Hartmann Rediscovered
This album brings the glowing, cinematic Violin and Cello Concertos of Ukrainian composer Thomas de Hartmann, an important compositional voice in his own time, back into the limelight. Using an international all-star cast, the recording not only aims to re-establish de Hartmann’s oeuvre, but also to bring musicians together in times of war. ...
Composer: Thomas de Hartmann (1884-1956)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Butterfly Lovers Concerto & Paganini
Rising star violinist Chloe Chua presents a recording combining Chen Gang and He Zhanhao’s Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with Niccolò Paganini’s First Violin Concerto, performed together with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Rodolfo Barráez and Mario Venzago. ...
Composer: Chen Gang (b. 1935), He Zhanhao (b. 1933), Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Pianist Charlotte Hu (formerly known as Ching-Yun Hu) presents Liszt: Metamorphosis, her debut album for PENTATONE. On it, Charlotte explores Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt’s chameleonic and evolving approach to composing – the metamorphosis of his music spanning from his early works inspired by Beethoven to the abstract tonality of his later works, as ...
Composer: Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
The music accompanies Pim Zwier’s extraordinary documentary (shown at IDFA in 2023), about German artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and her love of plants and insects. Her study of the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies not only produced beautiful prints and engravings of this process, it was also the foundation of ...
Composer: Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Saskia Giorgini presents Images, containing some of Claude Debussy’s most colourful piano works. Starting with tuneful early works such as the Danse (Tarantelle styrienne) and Deux arabesques, Giorgini gradually works towards later, more ambitious pieces such as the Estampes and the two sets of Images, from which the ...
Composer: Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Dutch National Opera presents Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Eine florentinische Tragödie (1917), with Marc Albrecht conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Ausrine Stundyte (Bianca), Nikolai Schukoff (Guido Bardi) and John Lundgren (Simone) as soloists. Eine florentinische Tragödie (1917) fully adheres to George Bernard Shaw’s famous dictum ...
Composer: Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
This release completes the cycle of Schumann Symphonies performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster. "The chief attraction of this release is the prospect of hearing the Czech Philharmonic play Schumann symphonies–but that great ensemble is hardly recognizable thanks to the murky recorded sound. Prague’s Dvorák Hall may be a difficult ...
Composer: Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Magdalena Kožená presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village pranks, but the selection on this album demonstrates that the imagination of Czech song composers ...
Composer: Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Hans Krása (1899-1944), Gideon Klein (1919-1945)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Dukas: L'apprenti sorcier - Ravel: Ma mère l'oye - Koechlin: Les bandar-log
Goethe's ballad "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was set to music by Paul Dukas in a symphonic scherzo. "Mother Goose" from the 17th century French fairy tale collection was initially a pianistic miniature by Maurice Ravel, which he transformed with dedication into a colourful, dazzling orchestral work. With Charles Koechlin, the "Bandarlog", the monkeys from the Jungle Book, are allowed to "ape" ...
Composer: Paul Dukas (1865-1935), Charles Koechlin (1867-1950), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Thomas Hampson's acclaimed portrayals of iconic roles in French operatic works have spanned the duration of his singular international career. A longtime champion of French repertoire, he has starred in the title roles of Chausson's Le roi Arthus at Opéra National de Paris; Massenet's Werther (baritone version) at the Metropolitan ...
Composer: Georges Bizet (1838-1875), Charles Gounod (1818-1893), Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), Ernest Chausson (1855-1899), Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921), Alberic Magnard (1865-1914)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Radiant, expansive, lyrical and utterly compelling, Brahmss richly rewarding string quintets are exuberantly unleashed by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne Chamber Players in this album. These technically demanding works contain everything one could wish for from the mature Brahms: searching melodies woven into glowing, luxuriant textures, lyrical introspection with subdued ...
Composer: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
The San Francisco-based Gordon Getty is most widely known to music lovers through his vocal works, perhaps not surprising for a composer who in his student years studied not only composition and piano but also voice. Most of his compositions have involved the voice, and his three previous recordings on PentaTone Classics have all ..
Composer: Gordon Getty (1933-)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
The same choir, Rundfunkchor Berlin, recently recorded this work for Deutsche Grammophon but was not satisfied with the result. This is probably the best choir for this repertoire in the world and it was keen on re-recording this work for PentaTone. Janowski proves how well he understands the repertoire. ...
Composer: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Strauss: Macbeth & Alpensinfonie
Technically speaking, Eine Alpensinfonie (= An Alpine Symphony) is not a symphony. For after 1911, Richard Strauss rejected his original plan to write a four-movement symphony based on the theme of a Tragedy of an Artist, and instead sat down to write a one-movement symphonic poem. He concentrated on the part he had first designated as the opening movement of the ...
Composer: Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Capriccio espagnol, Neapolitan Song
The Russian National Orchestra presents sumptuous performances of three works by Rimsky-Korsakov on this 2011 release, conducted by Carlo Ponti Jr., the son of Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren. The RNO is joined by remarkable violin soloists Tatiana Porshneva on the Scheherazade and Alexei Bruni on the Capriccio Espagnol. ...
Composer: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Schumann & Dvořák: Piano Concertos
Acclaimed young pianist Martin Helmchen is joined by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg under Marc Albrecht on these refreshingly inventive and innovative interpretations of piano concertos by Schumann and Dvořák. ...
Composer: Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Star pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard presents Ländler, a collection of delightful dances composed by Franz Schubert. Rustic and cheerful, these miniatures display a fascinating side of Schubert’s musical persona. Their simplicity is deceptive, as these dances are frequently shaken up by Schubert’s harmonic wandering soul, yet remaining lyrical, picturesque and ...
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Mozart & Poulenc: Double & Triple Piano Concertos
The pianists Mari Kodama, Momo Kodama, Karin Kei Nagano and conductor Kent Nagano present Double and Triple Piano Concertos by Mozart and Poulenc, together with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande on a new CD recording (Pentatone). Similar to Mozart’s own practice of making music with his family, the Nagano-Kodama family ...
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
The Miró Quartet presents Home, a new album that explores the many concepts of what the term “home” can mean. Its complexity is woven in a variety of ways into the music: the pieces, all composed by Americans past and present, invite you to feel, reflect, and engage in Miró’s world. ...
Composer: Kevin Puts (1972), George Walker (1922-2018), Caroline Shaw (1982), Samuel Barber (1910-1981), Harold Arlen (1905-1986)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Finnish cellist Max Lilja, one of the founders of Apocalyptica, takes us on an immersive journey across Johann Sebastian Bach’s life; through merging the iconic Cello Suites with an ambient composition, Lilja enlightens the space around the solitary voice. ...
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Classical Crossover
