First Light: Nico Muhly & Philip Glass
Two New Yorkers in A Nordic Light: Violinist Pekka Kuusisto and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra present First Light, the first fruit of Kuusisto’s tenure as the ensemble’s Artistic Director, on which two eminent New York composers are cast in a Nordic light. The album offers the world premiere recording ...
Composer: Nico Muhly (1981), Philip Glass (1937)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
La Nuova Musica and its artistic director David Bates present Henry Purcell's most widely admired work Dido and Aeneas. With Nathum Tate's libretto based on Virgil's Aeneid Book IV, Dido and Aeneas is a miniature opera, as well as the only all-sung opera Purcell ever composed. ...
Composer: Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard joins forces with the San Francisco Symphony and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen for a recording of Bartók’s complete piano concertos. A pianist himself, Bartók imbued his three concertos with multiple aspects of his compositional ...
Composer: Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
John Corigliano: The Lord of Cries
A Tale of Ecstasy and Ruin: Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Gil Rose present the world-premiere recording of The Lord of Cries, a breathtaking opera by John Corigliano and Mark Adamo. Telling the story of Euripides’s The Bacchae with the characters of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the piece explores the power of sexual desire ...
Composer: John Corigliano (1938)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
The Czech Philharmonic and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, continue their acclaimed Mahler cycle with the composer's First Symphony, one of the most evocative and colourful symphonic debuts in the history of the genre. Mahler once famously said that "a symphony should be like the world, it should encompass everything." ...
Composer: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
Liszt: Piano Sonata & Transcendental Etudes
Pianist Francesco Piemontesi presents Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes and Sonata in B Minor, two of the highest mountains to climb within the piano repertoire. The metaphor of climbing a mountain not only applies to the technical demands placed on the player, but also to the sublime nature of these works: colourful, poetic, lyrical, ...
Composer: Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky: Romances
Star tenor Piotr Beczala presents a selection of romances by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, together with the acclaimed lied accompanist Helmut Deutsch. The romance was the most popular musical genre in nineteenth-and early-twentieth-century Russia, practised by professionals as well as amateurs. ...
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Schubert: Unfinished and Great Symphony
Multiple prize-winning conductor René Jacobs and the B'Rock Orchestra complete their Schubert cycle on Pentatone with the composer's two most famous symphonies, the Unfinished and Great. In his extensive liner notes, Jacobs develops a theory that the B Minor Symphony did not remain "unfinished", but was deliberately left unfinished, ...
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
In Loving Memory of La Voce D’angelo: Melody Moore pays tribute to the legendary soprano Renata Tebaldi, presenting a selection of arias and scenes by Rossini, Verdi, Boito, Catalani, Puccini, Mascagni, Giordano, Cilea and Alessandro Scarlatti, documenting the most important stages in the ...
Composer: Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868), Arrigo Boito (1842-1918), Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), Umberto Giordano (1867-1948), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893), Francesco Cilea (1866-1950), Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Folk, Gypsy and Hungarian influences are very evident in these exuberant compositions. Appropriately, Lawrence Foster was decorated by the Romanian President for services to Romanian Music in 2003. This is a live performance by the Gulbenkian Orchestra. ...
Composer: Béla Bartók (1881–1945), Zoltan Kodály (1882-1967), György Ligeti (1923–2006)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Schubert: 6 Moments musicaux & Piano Sonata
This is Martin Helmchen’s first solo recital album on PentaTone. His recording of Mozart Concertos received excellent reviews and his ever increasing amount of concert performances are securing this talented young pianists reputation. ...
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
"All of these Mozart recordings featuring the remarkable young violinist Julia Fischer have been favorably reviewed on this site and elsewhere. Now Pentatone is issuing them in this boxed set that also includes a DVD of excerpts from recording sessions for Violin Concerto No. 2 and the Sinfonia Concertante. ...
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 –1791)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn & Symphony No. 1
A live recording from the Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, March 2007. "Well, rather than mincing my words and having to hold you in suspense while you read the entire paragraph, I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that this has become not only my favourite performance of the Haydn Variations, but I’m having a hard time thinking about any other performance of the Brahms 1st ...
Composer: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
This remarkable album marks the recording debut of German violinist Julia Fischer as well as the beginning of her extraordinary partnership with Russian-born conductor Yakov Kreizberg, which would result in numerous PENTATONE releases before the conductor’s untimely death in 2011. Together they tackle three ...
Composer: Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978), Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel, EHWV 93.3 (Live)
Is it possible to administer at too early an age the intoxicating and gloriously sweet poison of opera, especially in an era of constant muzak? The clear answer is “No!”. In a splendidly moving new recording of Engelbert Humperdinck’s one-hit wonder Hansel and Gretel, Maestro Marek Janowski ...
Composer: Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
This is the 6th installment of PentaTone’s successful Wagner Edition. It is the first time in the recording history that a label records all major Wagner opera’s with the same orchestra, choir and conductor. This makes the PentaTone Wagner Edition a great collector’s item. After this release follows Der Ring des Nibelungen. ...
Composer: Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Opera
Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Part III
Francesco Corti and il pomo d’oro continue their acclaimed series of Bach harpsichord concertos, now moving to the works for two harpsichords, BWV 1060-1062, together with Andrea Buccarella. Compared to the previous two instalments, the accompanying ensemble is small, allowing for maximal transparency and focus on the soloists. The greatest ...
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Multiple prize-winning conductor René Jacobs and the B’Rock Orchestra present the third instalment of their Schubert cycle on PENTATONE with a recording of the composer’s Fourth and Fifth Symphony. Just as with the Second and Third, Jacobs approaches these works as a symphonic pair, revealing contrasting aspects of Schubert’s personality and ...
Composer: Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Rafael Payare make their Pentatone debut with Mahler’s 5th Symphony. The album is also the first recording under Payare’s tenure, and the beginning of a longer recording relationship with the label. For Payare, the Fifth is the last symphony that shows Mahler ...
Composer: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
B’Rock is sparkling more than ever! As the court composer, Handel arranged a majestic water festival with scintillating sounds on the Thames. His Water Music is musical pomp and circumstance in three high-spirited suites. Handel also displayed his most festive side in his Music for the Royal Fireworks. Blaring brass and ...
Composer: George Friedrich Handel (1685-1759)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Orchestral
