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
Marek Janowski, the Dresdner Philharmonie and the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir present Haydn’s oratorio Die Schöpfung (1798), together with soprano Christiane Karg, tenor Benjamin Bruns and bass Tareq Nazmi. During his London sojourns, the aging Haydn was astounded by the audience engagement at performances of Handel’s oratorios, ...
Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Bernstein: Serenade - Williams: Violin Concerto No. 1
The St. Louis Symphony and their music director Stéphane Denève present a wonderful program featuring two of the most accomplished American composers in history: Leonard Bernstein with his Serenade and John Williams with his Concerto for violin and orchestra, both performed by star James Ehnes, one of the most ...
Composer: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), John Williams (1932)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
World Premiere Recording: Horror Opera and Human Drama - Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents the world-premiere recording of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s opera The Shining (2016). Based on the novel by Stephen King, this opera “elevates the tale from horror story to a human drama” (The Wall Street Journal) thanks to Moravec’s ...
Composer: Paul Moravec (1957)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
The Singapore Symphony and its music director Hans Graf present a recording of Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, together with the Singapore Symphony Chorus & Youth Choir, as well as a quartet of outstanding soloists: Olga Peretyatko (soprano), Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano), Boris Stepanov (tenor) and Christoph Seidl (bass). ...
Composer: Jozef Kozlowski (1759-1798)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Marek Janowski presents Schumann: Complete Symphonies, a comprehensive collection recorded together with the Dresdner Philharmonie. After a fruitful decade as a composer for piano and voice, Schumann then began writing symphonic works in 1841, marking a new phase in his life. Recorded between 2021 and 2023, Janowski interprets ...
Composer: Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater - Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus
A Profound and Deeply Relatable Interpretation of Two Baroque Masterworks: PRJCT Amsterdam and its artistic director Maarten Engeltjes present two of the greatest vocal works of the baroque era: Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus. While Vivaldi’s virtuosic piece contemplates the helplessness of people when God does not support their efforts, Pergolesi’s ...
Composer: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736), Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben - Mahler: Rückert-Lieder
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Rafael Payare extend their Pentatone discography with a recording of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben and Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, sung by superstar soprano Sonya Yoncheva. The pairing of works may seem odd at first, with Strauss at his most exuberant and ...
Composer: Richard Strauss (1864-1949), Gustav Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and soprano Christina Landshamer present a Telemann monography, consisting of his cantata Ino and instrumental works composed in the same period. Despite, or perhaps actually thanks to, Telemann’s use of just one singer, Ino is highly dramatic, depicting a desperate ...
Composer: Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Musical contemplation on the meaning of home: The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Bedřich Smetana’s masterpiece Má vlast (My Homeland). The album celebrates both the bicentenary of Smetana’s birth and, the start of 2024’s Year of Czech Music which has been celebrated every ...
Composer: Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Tiffany Poon, “classical pianist of the new generation”, who makes her Pentatone debut with her album Diaries: Schumann. Through her vivid interpretation of Robert Schumann’s masterpieces, Tiffany invites us on a journey through her musical diary. ...
Composer: Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Youth presents piano works by contemporary composer Edmund Finnis, performed by Clare Hammond. The EP opens with Youth, a set of brief pieces reminiscing an image, sensation of place, significant encounter or a moment of vivid perception. Each musical image is conveyed as clearly and directly as possible, written for the piano in a focused, uncluttered, personal way. ...
Composer: Edmund Finnis (1984)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre return to Handel with a complete recording of his opera Alcina. The title role is interpreted by Magdalena Kožená, who reunites with Les Musiciens and maestro Minkowski after a series of acclaimed baroque recordings. She is joined by an excellent cast of ...
Composer: Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
Mandolinist Alon Sariel continues his series of Bach transcriptions with Plucked Bach II. On his first Plucked Bach album, Sariel played the Cello Suites on a wide range of plucked instruments. Yet in this new recording, he performs works for the lute, organ and violin - all performed on ...
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Eugene Ysaye (1858-1931)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
On his second Pentatone album Sogno, tenor Javier Camarena pays tribute to Francesco Paolo Tosti, together with pianist Ángel Rodríguez. Camarena and Rodríguez have curated a collection of Tosti’s songs that not only include some of his greatest hits but also highlight lesser-known works, including songs in French and English. ...
Composer: Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846-1916)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Georg Friedrich Händel was one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period. Opera dominated Handel’s career, yet he was better known for his oratorios and instrumental works for several centuries. He forged a personal idiom by taking Italian traditions and adding elements of German counterpoint and dance forms from France. The result was a uniquely cosmopolitan style which, when Handel took it to ...
Composer: Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Compilations
PRIMAVERA IV the heart is the fourth of six albums in a momentous series encompassing 81 world premieres for solo cello. A collaboration between cellist Matt Haimovitz, artist Charline von Heyl, and director Jeffrianne Young, THE PRIMAVERA PROJECT is inviting 81 composers to respond to two paintings, Sandro Botticelli’s ...
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and conductor Carlo Montanaro present a powerful interpretation of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, together with a cast of soloists including Melody Moore (Tosca), Ștefan Pop (Cavaradossi) and Lester Lynch (Scarpia). Tosca has been an audience favourite from the onset. Premiered in 1900, it marks the beginning of twentieth- ...
Composer: Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
Sean Shibe returns to the classical guitar on Profesión, bringing together works by Agustín Barrios, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Alberto Ginastera. The album derives its name from Barrios’s “Profesión de Fe” (profession of faith), a poem which he often used as a preface to his concerts. The poem references indigenous ...
Composer: Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), Agustin Barrios Mangore (1885-1944), Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)
Genre: Guitar
Subgenre: Classical Guitar
Inon Barnatan presents Rachmaninoff Reflections, offering some of the composer’s most cherished piano works, including his Moments musicaux, Prelude in G-Sharp Minor and Barnatan’s own arrangement of the Vocalise. The centerpiece of this project is Barnatan’s breathtaking new piano arrangement of the Symphonic Dances. ...
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
