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. While Beethoven's sonatas reveal the gradual ascendancy of the cello as the proper solo instrument over the piano, Brahms opens a new chapter in the history of the cello sonata, realizing a glorious marriage of equals between the two instruments. This congenial relationship between cello and piano is further enhanced by Weilerstein and Barnatan, whose musical partnership (in addition to their thriving solo careers) has been a stable factor over the years.

Since signing an exclusive contract with PENTATONE, Alisa Weilerstein has released Transfigured Night (2018) as well as Bach's Cello Suites (2020), while also featuring on Old Souls (2019) and Inon Barnatan's Beethoven Piano Concertos Part 1 (2019), on which she performed the composer's Triple Concerto. This album was part of Inon Barnatan's complete Beethoven piano concertos recordings on PENTATONE, of which Part 2 appeared in 2020. 2021 saw the release of his solo album Time Traveler's Suite, while Rachmaninoff Reflections appeared in 2023, followed by Darknesse Visible in 2024. Brahms Cello Sonatas is the second PENTATONE album by Weilerstein and Barnatan. Their interpretation of Beethoven's complete Cello Sonatas appeared on the label in 2022.

Renowned pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s recording of Olivier Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux created a sensation when first released on PENTATONE in 2018, and now returns to the market in an attractively priced stereo reissue./p>

Aimard had intimate ties to the composer himself and his wife, Yvonne Loriod, for whom Messiaen wrote the Catalogue, a grand hymn to nature from a man who never ceased to marvel at the stupefying beauty of landscapes or the magic of birdsong. With his Catalogue, Messiaen tried – in his own words – “to render exactly the typical birdsong of a region, surrounded by its neighbours from the same habitat, as well as the form of song at different hours of the day and night,” suggesting an almost scientific approach to his subjects. The idea of ‘reproduction’ may have been central to Messiaen’s conception of the Catalogue d’Oiseaux, but in the finished work we hear a great composer at work, a master of innovative structures who finds an astonishing range of piano sonorities. Thanks to Aimard’s ability to evoke this colourful opus, his interpretation has turned into an absolute reference recording.>/p>

This first release within Aimard’s exclusive partnership with PENTATONE received many accolades, including a Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Since then, recordings of Beethoven (2021), Bartók (2023, with San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen), and Schubert (2024) have appeared on PENTATONE, as well as piano four hands albums with Tamara Stefanovich (Visions in 2022 and Nicolaou: Etudes & Frames in 2023).

Dvořák’s Legends and Slavonic Rhapsodies, recorded by Principal 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 that catapulted him to world fame, and they share their colorful orchestration and appealing folk dance melodies, even if the Rhapsodies have more expansive, ambitious forms. The Legends are at least as ingenious, with a smaller orchestra giving the pieces a more intimate, introspective quality. These lesser-known gems are now presented in a glorious idiomatic interpretation by the Czech Philharmonic, arguably the world’s best orchestra for this repertoire.

The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world’s orchestral gems, recognised for its rich tradition with the Czech masters as well as European repertoire. Together with their chief conductor and artistic director Semyon Bychkov, they have so far recorded for PENTATONE Mahler’s First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Symphonies (2022-2023), part of the complete Mahler cycle to be released by the label, as well as Smetana's Má vlast and Dvořák's Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Symphonies (2024). The Orchestra is also featured on the albums Folk Songs (2023) and Czech Songs (2024) recorded by Magdalena Kožená and Sir Simon Rattle. Principal Guest Conductor Tomáš Netopil makes his Pentatone debut.

"Tales of Song of Sadness" is a double tribute from the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Cappella Amsterdam, commemorating the demise of Frans Brüggen and Louis Andriessen, two giants of Dutch music culture. The album also documents the unique entanglement of early and contemporary music pioneers in post-war Netherlands, whose influence stretched far beyond national borders. The centerpiece of this program is Andriessen’s May, commissioned by the musicians of the orchestra to commemorate the death of Brüggen, eventually turning out to be that composer’s swan song as well. It is flanked by other Andriessen works for choir, orchestra, and recorder, respectively, as well as excursions into early music by Josquin des Prez, Thomas Preston, Jacob van Eyck, and Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Cappella Amsterdam and Daniel Reuss have released In Umbra Mortis (Rihm & de Wert, 2021, awarded an Edison Klassiek Award), David Lang’s The Writings (2022), and Schnittke’s Psalms of Repentance (2023) on PENTATONE. This is the first time that recordings of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Sour Cream, and Frans Brüggen appear on PENTATONE.

Star violinist Arabella Steinbacher presents Antonio Vivaldi’s world-famous Four Seasons alongside Astor Piazzolla’s Cuatro estaciones porteñas, creating a lively combination of baroque and tango. The enormous popularity of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons tends to make us forget the original and ground-breaking nature of these violin concertos. Coupling them with Piazzolla’s tango-inspired Four Seasons of Buenos Aires makes both pieces sound fresher than ever before, thanks to Steinbacher’s personal engagement with the repertoire and the inspired accompaniment of the Münchener Kammerorchester. Piazzolla’s music is performed here in a new arrangement for violin and string orchestra by Peter von Wienhardt, whose Strauss song arrangements on Steinbacher’s previous album Aber der Richtige ... (2018) were extensively praised by the press.

Arabella Steinbacher, a multiple award-winner with an extensive PENTATONE discography, is accompanied by the players of the Münchener Kammerorchester, who make their PENTATONE debut.

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REVIEW:

Both soloist and ensemble approach the contrasting styles – baroque energy and bluesy Latin passion – with supple mastery, bows biting into strings, rhythms accentuated, mood at times aggressive. Vivaldi’s Summer, with its rushing storms and prickly, insect-ridden heat, sounds more than usually wild, with Steinbacher fearless in the rapid, high-flying outbursts. What a player.

– Observer (UK)

Jacqueline is powerful, award-winning new opera that dives into the real-life struggle between famed cellist Jacqueline du Pre and the multiple sclerosis that ravaged her body, mind, and talent - robbing her of her identity, her breathtaking musical gift, and ultimately her life. The story is brought to life by celebrated American soprano Marnie Breckenridge (as Jacqueline) and former du Pre protege and world-renowned cellist Matt Haimovitz, playing the role of her constant companion: her cello. GRAMMY-nominated composer Luna Pearl Woolf and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Royce Vavrek chart the development of great prodigy and, ultimately, great tragedy. Told in four movements - I. Star Birth; II. Super Nova; III. Meteorite; IV. Impact - the opera references Haimovitz's personal recollections of du Pre herself. Colorful and at times funny, raw, joyful and audacious, the form of the work echoes du Pre's iconic interpretation of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, using the concerto's four-movement structure to navigate a prismatic and passionate, if all too short, life in music.

This stereo re-issue brings Jurowski's acclaimed Nutcracker back on the market in an affordable edition. After the tremendous success of Swan Lake, Vladimir Jurowski and the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov" continue their Tchaikovksy ballet series on PENTATONE with this recording of The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky's enchanting masterpiece is an absolute audience favourite, thanks to hits such as the Waltz of the Flowers, Trepak and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, but also due to the composer's ability to evoke a sense of wonder in listeners both young and old. Vladimir Jurowski and his players tell this story about the power of fantasy with unprecedented zeal, demonstrating the symphonic refinement and orchestral brilliance of Tchaikovsky's score. The Nutcracker offers the third PENTATONE release of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov" together with it's Artistic Director Vladimir Jurowski, after Prokofiev Symphonies 2 & 3 (2017) and Swan Lake (2018). Jurowski has recorded extensively for PENTATONE and is generally seen as one of the most prominent conductors of his generation.

Renowned bass-baritone Adam Plachetka celebrates the Year of Czech Music with an anthology of Czech evening songs by Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, Zdenek Fibich and Josef Suk. All based on love poems for Vitezslav Halek's Vecerni pisne (Evening Songs), these songs provide a panorama of great Czech music, also zooming in on lesser-known repertoire. Plachetka performs them together with pianist David svec. Bass-baritone Adam Plachetka frequents the world's most prestigious opera houses, and is a MET regular, equally at home in dramatic and comic repertoire. He returns to PENTATONE after having released Molieri, combining opera arias by Mozart and Salieri, in 2022.

The Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin continues it's 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 written an essay on the basset clarinet for the album booklet that includes a rare historical image showing the original shape of the instrument used in the years after the concerto's premiere. The first release of this series was longlisted for the Preis der deutschen Schalllplattenkritik. The Akademie fur Alte Musik is generally seen as one of the best period-instruments ensembles of today, and has a substantial Pentatone discography, including CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018), Handel's Concerti grossi Op. 3 and 6 (released in 2019 and 2020), Telemann's Miriways (2020), Handel's Messiah (2020), Haydn's L'isola disabitata (2021), La Passione with Christina Landshamer (2022), a recording of Mozart's Paris and Haffner symphonies and Oboe Concerto with Xenia Loffler (2023), and Telemann's Ino (2024).

Around Gershwin is star accordionist Richard Galliano's tribute to George Gershwin, in-terweaving his music with works by early twentieth-century composers such as Debus-sy, Rachmaninoff, Satie, Ravel and Faure, as well as new compositions of his own. Seen through the lense of Galliano's masterful musicianship, these pieces create the sensa-tion of a sonic odyssey.

The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Antonín Dvořák's Symphonies 7, 8, and 9, coupled with the composer's concert overtures In Nature's Realm, Carnival, and Othello.

The album is part of the 2024 Year of Czech Music. Dvořák's final three symphonies show him at the peak of his compositional power and international fame, and exhibit an astonishing range of style and expression. The three concert overtures were initially conceived as the Nature, Life, and Love trilogy, but eventually published separately. They share Dvořák's audible love for nature and fascination for human life and passion. Presenting this core Czech repertoire allows the orchestra and maestro to once more demonstrate their congenial collaboration and full command of Dvorak's abundant sound world.

The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world's orchestral gems, recognized for it's rich tradition with the Czech masters as well as European repertoire. Semyon Bychkov, who is internationally renowned for his interpretations of the core repertoire, began his tenure with the orchestra at the start of the 2018/19 season. Together, they have so far recorded for PENTATONE Mahler's First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Symphonies, part of the complete Mahler cycle to be released by the label. The Orchestra is also featured on the albums Folk Songs (2023) and Czech Songs (2024), recorded by Magdalena Kožená and Simon Rattle.

Holland Baroque presents Bachs K�nigin, an album full of masterful organ works by J.S. Bach, transcribed for the orchestra by Judith and Tineke Steenbrink. These creative interpretations add unique colours and a fresh spirit to baroque monuments. Here is yet another chance to enjoy Bach's genius. Holland Baroque is an original and innovative baroque orchestra that approaches baroque repertoire through a fresh and contemporary approach, with a focus on improvisation and collaborations with outstanding artists from different traditions. Minne is their fifth Pentatone album, after having released Minne (2022) Brabant 1653, Polonoise (both 2021) and Silk Baroque (2019) with the label.

Quartetto Italiano presents this brilliant album of Schubert's String Quartets Nos. 13 and 10. Recorded at the Musica Theatre, La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland in January 1976, it has been digitally remastered for optimum sound quality. Quartetto Italiano is Paulo Borciani, Elisa Pegreffi, Piero Farulli, and Franco Rossi.

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.