The Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Clausen Trio, and Jean Thorel present Symbiosis - Tribute to Bill Evans, a remarkable album celebrating the enduring legacy of one of jazz's greatest pianists. Featuring three extraordinary works, the album opens with Palle Mikkelborg's Bill Evans Suite (1969), reimagining Evans' classics such as "Waltz for Debby" and "Time Remembered". Thomas Clausen's deeply personal For Pi follows, a tender jazz ballad infused with the spirit of Evans, orchestrated for strings and trio with Anders Malta's lyrical trumpet adding poignant beauty, and Claus Ogerman's Symbiosis, reconstructed here for the first full live concert performance. Recorded live with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Symbiosis - Tribute to Bill Evans offers a vivid, contemporary perspective on Evans' timeless influence, blending intimacy, sophistication, and orchestral grandeur. This album continues the orchestra's extensive collaboration with PENTATONE, complementing the acclaimed Mozart: Violin Concertos (2025), Butterfly Lovers & Paganini (2024), Kozlowski: Requiem (2024), and Vivaldi: Four Seasons & Locatelli: Harmonic Labyrinth (2023).

SYMPHONY NO. 40: SYMPHONY NO.

"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.

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



TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4. Romeo and Juliet • Mikhail Pletnev, cond; Russian Natl O • PENTATONE 5186 384 (SACD: 60:19)


This is not a reissue from the mid-1990s cycle on DG (recently repackaged in a bargain box), but a brand new recording. I don’t know if it portends a second complete cycle from Pletnev, but on this evidence that would be most welcome.


His overall conception of the symphony has not changed radically since DG in 1995, with many of the same distinctive interpretive touches. But everything is now in sharper focus, more acutely characterized, more subtle in nuance. Tempos are significantly faster in all four movements, and the DG now leaves a comparatively flat, bland impression.


Having said that, the reading will still not be to all tastes—Karajanesque in its extreme refinement, with legato suaveness of style, smoothed-out attacks, and rounding of staccato articulations. At the same time there is a balletic grace and an aristocratic quality reminiscent of Mravinsky. To a surprising degree, Pletnev’s conception of the first movement minimizes contrast between the first and second themes—the former phrased with wondrous subtlety, the latter taken very fast and smoothly. In the B-Major third theme the dead-center tuning of the soft timpani is a real (and rare) pleasure. The development is played for transparency, the buildup into the recapitulation tightly controlled, but projecting a remarkable sense of simmering power under the surface. The coda has an extraordinary feathery beauty, sinuously shaped even in the fff affirmations of the last page. Of the Old School Russian sound there is barely any hint, though a subtle trace of the old trademark horn vibrato remains in the recapitulation of the second theme. In Pletnev’s hands the Andante is a cool study in understated blue-grays; the pizzicato scherzo velvet in tone, shaped with exquisite subtlety. In the finale he radically downplays the bombast, with light, transparent balancing of the massive textures, and graceful, shapely phrasing.


Cool transparency is again the watchword in the slow introduction to Romeo and Juliet —though for all the avoidance of old-style Russian excess, the players’ national ancestry still seems to come through in an intensely characterful, nasal quality to the string sound at bars 11 ff. The Allegro giusto memorably combines silky refinement and rhythmic snap; the love theme has an icy tonal purity to the strings, with a concentrated, highly individual shaping of the line that really is quite special. The theme’s climactic reprise similarly demonstrates a remarkable balance of aristocratic poise and impulsive surge, again with a suggestive hint (but no more) of old-style Russian brass vibrato.


The recording balances a realistic concert hall perspective with exemplary sharp focus of detail (I can’t comment on the surround sound). Altogether superbly distinctive, and well worth adding to your collection even if you already own the DG versions.


FANFARE: Boyd Pomeroy

Tchaikovsky has dedicated some of his finest music to the violin, but this new album expands the instrument’s repertoire even further. Inspired by greats such as Sarasate, Heifetz, Kreisler and Joachim, violinist Guy Braunstein reanimates a tradition of violin and orchestra rhapsodies with new arrangements of famous excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Swan Lake. Together with the extraordinary Violin Concerto, Valse Scherzo and Sérénade mélancolique, they constitute a collection of glittering Tchaikovsky Treasures. On this first PENTATONE album, Braunstein plays with the renowned BBC Symphony Orchestra, led by maestro Kirill Karabits. Violinist Guy Braunstein was born in Tel Aviv and studied under the guidance of Chaim Taub and later in New York with Glenn Dicterow and Pinchas Zuckerman. He started performing as an international soloist and a chamber musician at a young age and has since performed with many of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors. His chamber music collaborations have included projects with Issac Stern, András Schiff, Zubin Mehta, Maurizio Pollini, Yefim Bronfman, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Mitsuko Uchida and Angelika Kirschlager to name a few. He was the youngest person ever to be appointed concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2000, a position he held for twelve years before leaving to pursue his solo career.

Tchaikovsky Ballet Suites was enormously successful when released in 2016, and now reappears in a stereo re-issue. The album had the sisters Mari and Momo Kodama together for the first time in the recording studio, on scintillating form in lively arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker. In another first, the release contains the first ever recording of Arensky's transcription of the timeless Nutcracker together with notable arrangements by Debussy and Rachmaninoff. The sisters Mari and Momo Kodama both pursue busy international careers. Momo specialises in French and Japanese composers and 20th century and contemporary composers; she has been widely praised for her 'attractive, lyrical tone' and 'technical brilliance'. Mari has established an international reputation for profound musicality and articulate virtuosity; she has recorded extensively for Pentatone. This album, which has been a huge streaming success on multiple DSPs, will now become available in Dolby Atmos as well, simultaneously to the physical stereo reissue.

Dazzling keyboard artistry from the Kodama sisters in rare arrangements of Tchaikovsky's evergreen ballets. Together for the first time in the recording studio, the sisters Mari and Momo Kodama are on scintillating form in these lively arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker. In another first, the release contains the first ever recording of Arensky's transcription of the timeless Nutrcracker together with notable arrangements by Debussy and Rachmaninov. "Tchaikovsky was really the first composer to combine a broad sweep of ballet music with a great story," the Kodama sisters write in their introduction to the release, "before that, it more resembled a compilation of pieces...in all three works there is folkloric and popular music. He has the great skill to make scuh vivid colors and textures on a large canvas...This makes his orchestral works very special." The sisters Mari and Momo Kodama both pursue busy international careers. Momo specializes in French and Japanese composers and 20th century and contemporary composers - she has been widely praised for her "attractive, lyrical tone" and "technical brilliance". Mari has established an international reputation for profound musicality and articulate virtuosity - she has recorded extensively for Pentatone, including an acclaimed cycle of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas

Classical Music

The young players of the Swiss string ensemble Camerata du Léman make their recording debut with energetic performances of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, in a new arrangement by concertmaster Simon Bouveret. The Camerata realize an ensemble sound that is both homogenic and soloistic, and are driven by a shared desire for adventure and a common passion for chamber music. Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence is a tribute to the Italian city where the composer spent a winter, and simultaneously a declaration of love to Italian lyricism. The ensemble’s new rendition of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition revives the nineteenth-century transcription practice, while also demonstrating the inexhaustible musical richness of this timeless masterpiece.

REVIEW:

There is plenty of fine playing and recorded sound here to give this release a firm recommendation if you’re interested in this repertory in versions for string orchestra. Camerata Léman proves to be a most impressive ensemble.

-- Fanfare

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

Mikhail Pletnev is an artist whose genius as pianist, conductor and composer enchants and amazes audiences around the globe. His musicianship encompasses a dazzling technical power and provocative emotional range, and a searching interpretation that fuses instinct with intellect. Under his leadership, in a few short years the Russian National Orchestra achieved towering stature among the world's orchestras. They now present Tchaikovsky's stunning Symphony No. 1 and his Slavonic March, Op. 31.

"Pletnev is a most caring and thoughtful shaper of moods as the First Symphony shows. The playing is finely nuanced to match the strong balletic character. Indeed it made me think of Nutcracker more than once." - MusicWeb International, (Referring to original DG release now reissued on Pentatone.)

With the Symphony No. 3, popularly referred to as the “Polish,” Mikhail Pletnev here completes his second cycle of the composer’s symphonies with the Russian National Orchestra. An earlier cycle dating from the 1990s with the same orchestra is still readily available on Deutsche Grammophon. Pletnev’s new cycle has much to recommend it. For starters, it’s all of a piece, by which I mean all six symphonies are performed by the same forces, for the same label (PentaTone), and they’re all in multichannel SACD format. As is true of most cycles, Pletnev’s is uneven. I raved about the conductor’s “Pathétique” in 35:3 and, having depleted my repertoire of adjectival superlatives on it, I was hard-pressed to express my even stronger endorsement of his “Little Russian” (No. 2) in 36:2. But my recommendations came with a caution that Pletnev’s approach to Tchaikovsky was super-charged and hyper-romantic.

Subjected to the scrutiny of others, not all of Pletnev’s releases in this new cycle have received unstinting praise. Colleague Boyd Pomeroy wondered if the conductor’s Fourth wasn’t too refined in a Karajanesque manner, while Peter J. Rabinowitz generally approved of Pletnev’s Fifth but noted some balance problems and a trace of the old Soviet vibrato. And even yours truly, after waxing ecstatic over Pletnev’s “Pathétique,” was not entirely convinced by the conductor’s follow-up “Winter Daydreams” (No. 1) in 35:6.

With this No. 3, we have the final curtain call for Pletnev’s PentaTone cycle and, as cycles go, I’d have to give this one an overall outstanding rating. Personally, I can’t get too excited about Tchaikovsky’s Third Symphony. As I said in my review of Pletnev’s Second, between the Second and Third, it’s a tossup as to which is the weakest of Tchaikovsky’s six numbered symphonies. The Third Symphony was composed in fairly short order between June and August 1875, and there’s little evidence that Tchaikovsky fretted over it or kept tweaking it as he did with his First Symphony. For the neurotic and generally insecure composer, it seems that he was satisfied with the completed score and called it done. His only complaint was that the first performance could have gone better had there been more rehearsals. The work is unique among Tchaikovsky’s symphonies in that it’s the only one in five movements, and, unless one counts the composer’s abandoned Seventh Symphony in E?-Major, it’s the only one among the standard six that’s in a major key. It seems I’m not alone in my opinion of the work. Critical commentary has been mixed at best. Musicologist David Brown rated the Third, “the most inconsistent and least satisfactory of the symphonies and badly flawed” ( Tchaikovsky: The Crisis Years, 1874–1878 , and Tchaikovsky: The Final Years, 1855–1893 ). And to that I would add the least consequential.

If the score is one you find appealing, I can think of no better proponent of it than Pletnev. As with all previous releases in this cycle, Pletnev has the Russian National Orchestra playing in top form, and he finds many felicities in the piece, like the coquettish wind asides in the Alla tedesca movement that delight the ear and give Tchaikovsky’s note-spinning a serenade-like gracefulness.

The Coronation March that fills out the disc—or, to give its full title, Festival Coronation March —is one of those potboiler pieces composers are often called upon to provide for political events or ceremonies of state. In this case, the ceremony was the coronation of Tsar Alexander III in 1883. Tchaikovsky received the commission to write the piece from Moscow’s mayor—it was more of an order than it was an offer—while he was in Paris working on his opera Mazeppa , and he was royally roiled, writing to Nadezhda von Meck, “My plans have been upset by two unexpected and very burdensome tasks foisted upon me. The city of Moscow has commissioned from me a ceremonial march to be played at the festivities which are to be organized for the Sovereign at the Sokol’nikii. Hardly had I managed to reconcile myself to the thought that I must tear myself away from the opera for the march, when suddenly I received a letter from the festival committee about a cantata. Both works, especially the cantata, have to be ready very soon, a prospect which fills me with dread.” If he’d put as much time and effort into working on the assignments as he did kvetching to von Meck about them, he might have produced something more worthy of his reputation. Still, in the end, Tchaikovsky seems to have thought highly enough of his march to make a piano transcription of it. Shades of the 1812 Overture come to mind, but without the cannon, carillon, or La Marseillaise , and all condensed down to less than seven minutes. It’s not very good, but at least it’s loud.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

First released in 2006, Julia Fischer’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, alongside other gems by this composer has proven to be a reference recording. It not only highlights Fischer’s exceptional skill, but also her unique congeniality with the late Yakov Kreizberg, who leads the Russian National Orchestra and accompanies her on the piano on Souvenir d’un lieu cher. After having been re-released in 2016, as well as on vinyl in 2019, this legendary recording now returns in a more affordable Stereo version. One of the world's leading violinists, Julia Fischer is a versatile musician also known for her extraordinary abilities as a concert pianist, a chamber musician and a violin teacher. Julia Fischer holds numerous awards including the Federal Cross of Merit, the Bavarian Maximilian Order, the Gramophone Award and the German Culture Prize. She plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1742) as well as an instrument made by Phillipp Augustin (2018).

Elephant House Quartet invites the listener for a stroll through the colourful oeuvre of Telemann — himself a gardening enthusiast — presenting a bouquet of chamber-musical jewels. Telemann’s Garden ranges from excerpts of solo fantasias for violin, flute and harpsichord to a sonata for viola da gamba and basso continuo, a trio sonata for violin, recorder and basso continuo, a suite for violin, flute and basso continuo, as well as one of the quartets Telemann wrote during his Paris sojourns. These pieces together constitute a fascinating portrait of one of the most prolific and successful composers of the Baroque era. Elephant House Quartet is a Baroque ensemble featuring virtuosos on each instrument in wonderful interaction, consisting of recorder player Bolette Roed, violinist Aureliusz Golinski, gambist Reiko Ichise and harpsichordist Allan Rasmussen. Telemann’s Garden marks their PENTATONE debut.

REVIEW:

The Elephant House Quartet use period instruments or modern copies. One cannot fault the quality of the playing. It is exquisite, executed with style and eloquent lyricism. I love the way the passages are shaped with exemplary skill and control. One senses a close connection between the four players, who demonstrate a firm grip on the formal and artistic structure of the works with a sense of total engagement. Calm and meditative in the slow movements, buoyant in the faster movements – these are performances to cherish, with striking unity and intonation of the instruments that make a gorgeous sound. Allan Rasmussen’s harpsichord, a modern copy after Harrass (c. 1710), is one of the finest I have heard.

– MusicWeb International

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 woman trying to save herself and her son from her husband turned mad, eventually throwing herself off a cliff and then transformed into a goddess. Telemann composed it two years before his death, and the score is exceptionally rich and colorful. The cantata is combined with his Overture in D Major, Divertimento in E-flat Major, and Sinfonia melodica, each underlining the exceptional liveliness of this composer well into the ninth decade of his prolific life.

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin 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) and Mozart Symphonies (2023). Christina Landshamer collaborated with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin on La Passione (2022), and also featured as Marzelline on Beethoven’s Fidelio (2021).

PENTATONE presents Telemann’s rarely-performed opera Miriways (1728) with a stellar cast and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin conducted by Bernard Labadie. Star vocalists such as Andre Morsch (Miriways), Robin Johannsen (Sophi), Sophie Karthäuser (Bemira), Lydia Teuscher (Nisibis) and Michael Nagy (Murzah) offer a string of beautiful baroque arias and scenes in this German-language opera. Miriways is a piece about love, duty and truthfulness, and was based on recent political events in Afghanistan and Persia that actually made headlines in European newspapers, demonstrating the eighteenth-century fascination for the Orient. The opera was recorded live during the Telemann Festival Hamburg in 2017. The Akademie für 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), as well as Handel’s Concerti grossi op. 6 (released in 2019 and 2020). Robin Johannsen featured on Handel’s Parnasso in festa (2017). Andre Morsch, Sophie Karthäuser, Lydia Teuscher, Michael Nagy and Bernard Labadie make their PENTATONE debut.

The players of Holland Baroque continue their PENTATONE journey with Telemann Polonoise. Together with violinist Aisslinn Nosky, they take the listener on a journey to the wild nature and lively folk culture of Poland, viewed through the lens of Georg Philipp Telemann, whose Polish travels left a profound mark on his compositional style. Arranged by the ensemble’s artistic leaders Judith and Tineke Steenbrink, Telemann’s Polish concertos and dances sound brisker than ever before. 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. Telemann Polonoise is their second PENTATONE release, after their well-received Silk Baroque (2019), together with Wu Wei. Aisslin Nosky, one of the most pioneering and adventurous early music violinists of our age, makes her PENTATONE debut.

Washington National Opera presents Blue, a contemporary opera on racial injustice in the US today, with a libretto by Tazewell Thompson set to music by Jeanine Tesori. Blue tells the tragic story of an African-American police officer whose son is killed by a fellow officer during a protest. Strongly resonating with the Black Lives Matter movement, the piece is equally groundbreaking thanks to its intimate and layered portrayal of African-American family life on the operatic stage. Historically and musically, Blue compassionately tells a story that is at once painful and identifiable to so many of us.

The Music Critics Association of America named Blue the “Best New Opera” of 2020, while the Financial Times praised it as “an exceptionally strong new opera about race in America”, and hailed Tesori’s music as “eclectic, but assuredly so, full of beauty and eloquence.” The piece is sung by an excellent cast of vocalists, including Kenneth Kellogg as The Father, Briana Hunter as The Mother, and Aaron Crouch as The Son, while The Washington National Opera Orchestra is led by rising star conductor Roderick Cox. Jeanine Tesori is one of the most important American composers of today, with a diverse catalog for musical theatre, opera, film, and television. Tazewell Thompson is an internationally acclaimed director, playwright, teacher, and actor. Washington National Opera is among the leading US opera houses, and has the mission to present stories that reflect the America of today.

REVIEWS:

The libretto is...strong, compact, of-the-moment, and true to racial realities...Tesori’s score is moving in the best way. The recording boasts the same five principal artists as the first productions: bass Kenneth Kellogg (the Father), mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter (the Mother), tenor Aaron Crouch (the Son), baritone Gordon Hawkins (the Reverend), and soprano Ariana Wehr (Girlfriend 1/Congregant 1/Nurse).

Blue embodies the essence of great opera: It unites a deeply moving story with music that stirs the passions and touches the heart. There’s no filler, no moment where composer or librettist lingers too long or self-indulges. It’s a stunning achievement that deserves a permanent place in the repertory.

--San Francisco Classical Voice (Jason Victor Serinus)

If opera can be the barometer of the present, Blue is the opera for our times. Jeanine Tesori’s harmony and natural lyricism afford tension and release — a natural fit for Tazewell Thompson’s tragic storytelling that is occasionally tempered by lighthearted relief. The score, which never devolves to fodder for a sung play, serves as a vehicle of sweeping lyrical expression for the singers, each channeling the pain, anger, and uncertainty the libretto puts them through.

--I Care If You Listen (Esteban Meneses)

A Textura Top 20 Classical Album of 2022!

In a historically and culturally significant confluence of events, three ‘Black' operas premiered in the summer of 2019: Anthony Davis and Richard Wesley's The Central Park Five (at the Long Beach Opera), Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons's Fire Shut Up in My Bones (at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis), and Blue (at The Glimmerglass Festival), the latter the creation of librettist Tazewell Thompson and composer Jeanine Tesori...awarded the Music Critics Association of North America 2020 Award for Best New Opera, [Blue] is the first of the three to be available in a physical form...

Vocal and instrumental forces come together eloquently in this superb realization by the Washington National Opera. Thompson's libretto is moving and panoramic, and Tesori's music is stylistically diverse yet always pointedly connected to the text. With his stentorian delivery, bass Kenneth Kellogg brings the father vividly to life, as do mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter as the mother and tenor Aaron Crouch the son. Fleshing out the vocal parts memorably are baritone Gordon Hawkins as the reverend, and three pairs of female (Ariana Wehr, Katerina Burton, Rehanna Thelwell) and male (Joshua Blue, Martin Luther Clark, Christian Simmons) singers as girlfriends and police officers; finally, the Washington National Opera Orchestra under the direction of conductor Roderick Cox supports the singers with deeply engaged playing. Recorded in June 2021 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Opera House, Blue boasts exceptional sound quality.

Pentatone honours Tesori and Thompson's two-act creation with a handsome physical presentation that houses two CDs and in-depth booklet (containing commentaries and libretto) within a sturdy six-panel package. The label's catalogue includes stellar releases of repertory works, but Pentatone demonstrates admirable advocacy for contemporary work in its programming too, Blue a prime illustration.

Blue is polyphonic, expressive, and timely but above all multi-dimensional... The full spectrum of human experience—despair, romance, joy, redemption, forgiveness, etc.—is encompassed by this thought-provoking, life-affirming creation. It's an opera that in a perfect world would be on every major opera company's short-list of works under consideration for future presentation.

--Textura

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month

This SACD from Pentatone showcases the Aeolian Op. 1785 of Duke University Chapel, built between 1931 and 1932. It boasts four manuals, 81 stops, 102 ranks and, as Mike Foley points out in his absorbing booklet essay, some of the largest-scaled pipes ever to leave the firm’s factory in Garwood, New Jersey. This was Aeolian’s last independent project – they were taken over by rivals Skinner in 1932 – but the Op. 1785 saga doesn’t end there. Thanks to a public outcry the organ was saved from replacement in the 1980s and restored by Foley-Baker Inc. in 2008.

Listening to this disc I can only say it would have been a tragedy to lose an instrument of this calibre. It’s played here by Christopher Jacobson FRCO, chapel organist and a widely travelled recitalist. The recording is by Soundmirror, the Boston-based company that’s become something of a byword for engineering excellence. Among their high-profile projects are the Rachmaninov All-Night Vigil with Charles Bruffy and his fine choirs (Chandos) and several well-reviewed recordings with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony (Reference Recordings). John Newton is the recording engineer on this release, with Mark Donahue responsible for mixing and mastering.

There’s no better curtain raiser than Finlandia, Sibelius’s stirring hymn to nascent nationhood. It’s given here in an arrangement by H. A. Fricker, who took over from William Spark as Civic Organist at Leeds Town Hall in 1898. He gave twice-weekly recitals on the hall’s Gray & Davison – free downstairs, 6d in the gallery – which, if his arrangement of this Sibelian showstopper is anything to go by, must have been hugely entertaining.

Jacobson’s account of the piece is huge too, but his playing is very well judged in terms of scale, articulation, rhythm and colour. As for the sound of this mighty beast it’s simply stupendous; the pedals – skull and rafter rattling – are probably as close to ‘being there’ as one’s ever likely to get, and the rest of the instrument’s range is just as well caught. Happily there’s no detail-obscuring echo and the wide, deep soundstage avoids the fatiguing ‘wall of sound’ that afflicts so many organ recordings. In any event this is a demonstration-quality track that’s will give your woofers a workout, impress your friends and annoy the neighbours.

That’s all very well, but albums such as this work best when the programme is varied in terms of scale, mood and style, each piece illuminating a different aspect of the organ’s character. The glorious surge and swell of Howells’ Rhapsody has never sounded so thrilling, its quieter passages so radiant. Then again this organ speaks with a warm, honest voice that suits this music very nicely. The ensuing excerpt from French composer-organist André Fleury’s Organ Symphony No. 2 shows just how clean-limbed this Aeolian is. What a delightful performance, brimming with quiet brilliance and firm but gentle rhythms.

The British composer-organist Edwin Lemare is probably best known for his transcriptions. Among the most popular and poignant of these is the Irish Tune from County Derry, immortalised as Danny Boy. My go-to version of the piece is on Warner-EMI’s Unforgettable Organ Classics, with Noel Rawsthorne at the organ of Coventry Cathedral. Poised, cleanly articulated and not at all sentimentalised that performance is hard to beat. As it happens heartfelt playing, apt registrations and a superb recording make Jacobson’s version very special too.

The most substantial work on this disc are the Trois Préludes et Fugues by the great French composer, organist and improviser Marcel Dupré. I’m more used to hearing these virtuoso pieces on a Cavaillé-Coll, but this awesome Aeolian certainly gives M. Aristide’s behemoths a run for their money. The contrapuntal writing is clear and well focused, as are those magnificent panoplies of sound. Perhaps others play the Op. 7 with a little more panache – daring, even – but Jacobson’s steady, thoughtful progress has its own rewards. Most important, perhaps, is that he scales and paces this music with great authority and skill.

After all that showmanship the lovely cadences of Vaughan Williams’ Rhosymedre (Lovely), based on a Welsh hymn tune by John David Edwards (1805-1885), find the organ at its full, open-hearted best. What a lovely, embraceable instrument this is, and how impeccably behaved. Even in ceremonial mode, as in Gloucester Cathedral organist and composer Herbert Brewer’s Marche Héroïque, this Aeolian processes with a quiet dignity that’s so utterly British. Once again the recording team capture all the fanfare and unfettered dynamics of this extraordinary instrument.

That’s followed by something very different: Jesus Loves Me, US composer William Bolcom’s spare but rather affecting take on the well-known children’s hymn. But this recital ends as it began with a guaranteed crowd-pleaser; it’s the French master Eugène Gigout’s Grand Chœur Dialogué in Scott McIntosh’s bold, bracing arrangement for organ and brass. The steel and sting of the Amalgam Ensemble makes for a thrilling contrast with the warm, weighty organ. What a knock-out; indeed, if an audience were present this spirited sign-off would surely elicit a spontaneous roar of approbation.

Goodness, I haven’t enjoyed an organ recital so much since Reference Recordings’ Organ Polychrome. A fabulous instrument, superbly played and recorded; an absolute must for organ fans.

– MusicWeb International (Dan Morgan)

Howard Blake, a living composer best known for his film scores (a.o. Snowman), presents his new classical compositions, all world premiere recordings. Sir Neville Marriner conducts.

GRAMMY-winning flutist Brandon Patrick George and pianist Bryan Wagorn present The Deep Has Always Known Me, an album inspired by the myth of Undine - her emergence from the depths, her experience of love, and her transformation into human form. The title, an original idea by the artists, reflects the mystery and emotional intensity at the core of the programme. Developed since 2022 and rooted in one of the duo's first post-pandemic performances, the project grew from a desire to create something meaningful after a long period of separation, centred on themes of love, loss, and solace. Romantic repertoire forms the album's foundation, with works by Franz Schubert and Carl Reinecke exploring longing and devotion through literary narratives and nature-infused sound worlds. Music by Lili Boulanger, Florence Price, and William Grant Still expands this expressive journey with warmth, intimacy, and richness of color. United by close listening and deep musical trust, George and Wagorn shape a recording that offers reflection, connection, and quiet emotional depth.

The Romantic Room is an expansive six-volume set exploring the rich and often overlooked chamber music of Louis Spohr, brought vividly to life by the Wdr Sinfonieorchester Chamber Players. Once hailed as the "German Paganini" and revered across Europe, Spohr was a pivotal figure of early Romanticism - an innovator who shaped the transition from Classical refinement to Romantic expression. This collection showcases his elegant string quintets and sextets, daring double quartets, and characterful potpourri, offering a portrait of a composer whose expressive range and artistic integrity remain strikingly relevant today. Spohr's chamber works are richly crafted and musically intricate, offering both technical challenges and expressive depth. These performances reveal a composer deeply rooted in tradition yet unafraid to experiment, blending lyrical intimacy with bold structural ideas. Following the highly acclaimed Brahms: String Sextets (Diapason d'Or) and String Quintets, the The Romantic Room: Chamber Works by Spohr box set is the Wdr Sinfonieorchester Chamber Players' third release on PENTATONE. The WDR Symphony Orchestra has also released an extensive discography with the label.

The Netherlands Radio Choir and Benjamin Goodson present The Voice of the Beloved, a powerful collection of 20th-century sacred choral works by Frank Martin, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, and Olivier Messiaen. At it's heart is Martin's Mass for Double Choir, a deeply personal expression of faith composed in 1922 and kept private for decades. It's austere beauty and luminous harmonies make it one of the most moving sacred works of the last century. Daniel-Lesur's Le Cantique des cantiques transforms the Song of Songs into a sensual and spiritual choral tapestry, weaving up to twelve voices into a radiant soundscape. Messiaen's O sacrum convivium, a brief but transcendent motet, completes the program with shimmering reverence. Following their acclaimed 2023 release Rheinberger & Mendelssohn: Choral Works, the choir returns with a recording that reveals the sacred not only in worship, but in the raw, expressive power of the human voice.

This album brings the glowing, cinematic Violin and Cello Concertos of Ukrainian com-poser 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.

The Violin Concerto was recorded in Warsaw with Joshua Bell as soloist and Dalia Stasevska conducting the INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra, managing to temporarily leave their besieged country.

The Cello Concerto is presented by Matt Haimovitz and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies. This album is made possible by the dedication and generous support of the Thomas de Hartmann Project, aimed to reintroduce his colorful and compelling music.

REVIEW:

There is a remarkable line-up of artists for this album with the violin and cello concertos by Ukrainian composer Thomas de Hartmann (1884-1956), who was highly regarded during his lifetime and had a successful career in France. After his death (in the USA), his music fell into oblivion and has only recently been revived. Apart from private releases on LP by the composer’s wife, these are the first recordings of the two concertos.

It is incredible that such a magnificent work has not been played for decades. It is a masterpiece, incredibly original and gripping from the first to the last note. It may be that a number of hitherto little-known works that are recorded today do not necessarily belong in the standard repertoire, but this one is of such quality that it should stand on an equal footing with many other important concertos of the 20th century.

— Pizzicato

On his third PENTATONE album Time Traveler’s Suite, pianist Inon Barnatan redefines our notions of the suite by taking us on a journey through time and space, from Baroque pieces by Bach, Handel, Rameau and Couperin to more recent works by Ravel, Barber, Adès and Ligeti. The program culminates in Brahms’s ingenious Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. Inon Barnatan is one of the most admired pianists of his generation (New York Times). His complete recordings of Beethoven’s piano concertos together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Alan Gilbert were released on PENTATONE in 2019 and 2020.

REVIEW:

The Time Traveler's Suite is a suite of a sort. One might call it a meta-suite, collecting short pieces that each reveal some new aspect of a coherent set that runs from the Baroque to the contemporary era and starts back again. This is the kind of program that can easily fly out of control, but Barnatan maintains a grip on it, both steely and thoughtful. It's an entirely original concept that is compellingly realized from beginning to end, and PentaTone's engineering work conveys the listener into the pianist's thoughts.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

Transfigured Night brings together two outstanding composers associated with Vienna: Joseph Haydn and Arnold Schoenberg. The former is often seen as the oldest representative of the “First Viennese School”, whereas the latter founded the “Second Viennese School”, using the classicism of his predecessors to explore new, atonal musical paths into the twentieth century. By combining Haydn’s two cello concertos (in C-major and D-major) and Schoenberg’s symphonic poem Verklärte Nacht – in the 1943 edition for string orchestra – this album sheds a new, fascinating light on both Viennese masters. The connection between the stylistically contrasting pieces on this album is further enhanced by the inspired playing of American cellist Alisa Weilerstein and the Trondheim Soloists. For Weilerstein, this album is not only a fascinating exploration of the rich Viennese musical heritage, but just as much a confrontation with the dark history of a city her grandparents had to flee in 1938. Transfigured Night is Weilerstein’s first album as an exclusive PENTATONE artist, as well as the first album recorded with the Trondheim Soloists since her appointment as Artistic Partner of the ensemble in 2017.

REVIEW:

You’d go far to find performances of the Haydn concertos that match Alisa Weilerstein’s mix of stylistic sensitivity, verve, and spontaneous delight in discovery, and for a performance of the Schoenberg that combines chamber-musical intimacy, transparency of detail, and urgent human expressiveness, you won’t do better than this.

– Gramophone

Acclaimed for their adventurous and wide-ranging recording projects – from Beethoven Sonatas on period instruments to genre-bending arrangements of Radiohead and Arcade Fire – the endlessly inventive duo of cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley returns to explore music of the Slavic soul. Anchored by the cello sonatas of the iconic triumvirate of Russian composers –Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich – and inspired by the subversive irony of Shostakovich’s Sonata, TROIKA also delves into more recently-written, unexpected, and popular works. Whether subtle or blatantly rebellious, each work potently reveals the strength of the artistic voice in the face of political repression in mother Russia.

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REVIEW:

Haimovitz and O’Riley really go to town—specifically, Moscow. The ‘Troika’ of their stylishly presented double-disc set comprises the three cello sonatas by Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev, as well as a dizzying transcription of the eponymous lollipop from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé—one of a series of spectacular virtuoso transcriptions that range from Shostakovich’s now ubiquitous Waltz No 2 to explosive versions of songs by Pussy Riot and The Beatles (‘Back in the USSR’, naturally).

Apparently there’s a political thesis behind these choices, but what really speaks is Haimovitz and O’Riley’s playing in the three sonatas. These are emotionally charged readings on the grandest scale. Haimovitz in particular plays with an articulate, vibrato-rich tone that he can refine down to an almost viola-like mellowness in, say, the Andante of the Rachmaninov, or send soaring and swooping (no shortage of portamento here) round O’Riley’s mountains of piano sound.

– Gramophone

Twilight is the third album of tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Giorgini, dedicated to Robert Schumann song cycles, all written in the miraculously productive year of 1840. The album title and cover photography were inspired by the song Zwielicht, which together with Mondnacht from the same Op. 39 cycle is often considered to be the epitome of German nineteenth-century Romanticism. It is also a fitting metaphor for Schumann's troubled soul, constantly oscillating between light and dark, between hope and despair. Shedding a fascinating light on Schumann's dark inner world, the recorded songs are both an expression of his profound love for his wife Clara and of euphoria after having overcome a period of severe mental disturbance. It is hard to think of better ambassadors for this repertoire than Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini, whose acclaimed partnership has made them seasoned champions of the German lied. Ian Bostridge is one of the most celebrated tenors and lied interpreters of his generation. His PENTATONE recording of Schubert's Winterreise (2019) was crowned with the ICMA Vocal Music Award 2020. Bostridge has since released Schwanengesang (2022), The Folly of Desire (2023) as well as Die schone Mullerin (2020) and Respighi Songs (2021), both together with Saskia Giorgini, on the label. Giorgini's Liszt recordings Harmonies poetiques et religieuses (2021) and Consolations (2023), as well as her Debussy recital album Images (2024), have all received extensive praise.

American star tenor Michael Fabiano presents a spectacular set of scenes taken from late Donizetti and middle Verdi operas, revealing the strong ties between these two composers. The album documents a paradigmatic shift in Italian opera, from the beautiful lines and crispness of belcanto to a richer, more dramatic musical universe. The historical line stretches from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Poliuto and Maria di Rohan to mature Verdi operas such as Rigoletto and Un ballo in maschera. In many cases, Fabiano has selected original, rarely-heard versions, including the thunderous ‘Qual sangue sparsi’ from the original St. Petersburg edition of La Forza del Destino. Together, these arias and scenes constitute a world full of heartfelt tenderness and fire-laden drama. After numerous successes on the opera stage, this is Michael Fabiano’s debut album on PENTATONE. He is accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Voices, conducted by Enrique Mazzola.

REVIEW:

Fabiano is at his best in those great Verdian oaths of vengeance such as ‘Sprezzo la vita’ from Ernani. For complicated reasons it is usually cut in performance, but Fabiano shows us just what we are missing as his lashing phrases unite with the fervent crowd (sung by the London Voices) and the brilliant, searing sounds of the London Philharmonic Orchestra…Still, what happens on a recording is of course only half the story: Fabiano’s acclaimed impact on stage needs to be experienced in the theatre.

– BBC Music Magazine

Featured in the New York Times' "5 Classical Albums You Can Listen To Right Now"

The Dresdener Philharmonie, Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and conductor Daniel Oren present Verdi’s masterpiece La Traviata, together with a stellar cast including René Barbera as Alfredo, Lester Lynch as Germont, and world star soprano Lisette Oropesa as Violetta. Verdi’s opera from 1853 was revolutionary in the sense that it presented a subject of its own time, rather than the usual historically-remote stories. Interestingly enough, this tragic story of a woman sacrificing her love to save the honor of her beloved’s family still feels as fresh and topical as ever before, explaining its unrelenting popularity. La Travatia is an endless outpour of memorable melodies with a gripping dramatic pace, as well as a tale that is both heartrending and provocative. The main soprano role gradually shifts from coloratura virtuosity to a more lyrical, dramatic idiom when the tragedy progresses, and this performance shows Oropesa’s fluency in both styles. After having sung the title role in the greatest opera houses worldwide, this studio recording captures her unparalleled interpretation for generations to come. Star soprano Lisette Oropesa made her PENTATONE debut with Ombra Compagna; Mozart Concert Arias in 2021. Lester Lynch has a vast PENTATONE discography, including Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West (both 2021) and Il Tabarro (2020), as well as Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana (2020) and Verdi’s Otello (2017). The Dresdener Philharmonie featured on those recordings of Puccini’s Il Tabarro and Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, while also releasing acclaimed recordings of Beethoven’s Fidelio (2021) and Weber’s Der Freischütz (2019) on PENTATONE. Daniel Oren and René Barbera, who both enjoy a thriving career on the operatic stage, make their PENTATONE debut.

REVIEW:

Daniel Oren, now in his mid-sixties, has had an important international career since he won first prize in the first Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition in 1975. He knows how to build up the prelude from an atmospheric murmuring of the strings to the caressing love theme and then back to a soft end, but as the curtain opens, he shifts gear to a swift, exuberant party mood where everyone is in high spirits. Maybe the rhythms are too accentuated, too rustic for a Parisian upper-class festivity, but one feels the pulsating fervour.

Alfredo sings his Brindisi with his light lyric tenor and Violetta responds with easy effortless tones. Un di, felice is soft, almost dreamlike and very sensitively nuanced, and then comes Violetta’s grand aria: È strano, sensitively, almost hesitatingly, stunned by the sudden feeling of love she has never experienced before; Ah! fors'è lui, beautifully sung and filled with expectations; then she has second thoughts: Follie – This is madness – Sempre libera – Free and aimless I shall flutter. But when she repeats this stanza, she hears Alfredo echo her words from earlier, and even though she adheres to her decision we know that love is going to win...It was a long time since I was so spellbound by this scene.

The playing of the orchestra cannot be faulted and Pentatone’s sound staff deliver an expert recording. Lisette Oropesa...should be heard by every lover of this opera.

-- MusicWeb International

Lisette Oropesa makes for a lovely Violetta, with a quick, touchingly fragile vibrato and a jewel-like voice that catches light in beautiful ways. She can dash off high D flats as a steely, love-averse courtesan in Act I, and move a solo oboe to tears in “Addio del passato” come Act III.

Daniel Oren, more interested in small gestures than gleaming sound, begins the first scene with bumptious brasses and a breakneck tempo that make the room spin, spelling disaster for Verdi’s hard-partying demimondaine. Unwritten flourishes — a crescendo here, some rubato there — add to the impetuous atmosphere.

“La Traviata” rises or falls on the strength of its heroine, and this one soars.

-- New York Times (Oussama Zahr)

Maestro Marek Janowski, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir present Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (1859), together with a stellar cast consisting of Freddie De Tommaso (Riccardo), Lester Lynch (Renato) and Saioa Hernández (Amelia). Un ballo in maschera is Verdi’s tragicomic masterpiece, in which the composer skilfully switches gears between the light and tragic, as well as between his earlier and more mature style. As such, it is both an entertaining and highly sophisticated work. The three main soloists are all seasoned Verdi interpreters, while Janowski approaches this ingenuous score with his eye for symphonic architecture, resulting in a performance that is lively and balanced.

Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our time, and has a vast Pentatone discography, mostly consisting of German operas and symphonic works. After Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), this is his third Italian opera recording for the label. Lester Lynch also has a longstanding relationship to Pentatone, and starred in many opera recordings, including Otello (2017), Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), as well as La Fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly (both 2021), and La Traviata (2022). The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir has featured on several opera recordings, while the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo appeared on Arabella Steinbacher’s Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams (2016). Freddie De Tommaso and Saioa Hernández make their Pentatone debut.

REVIEWS:

The Transylvanian choir is in fine fettle, and as always with Pentatone the quality of the recording is beyond reproach. The prerequisites for a successful performance are, in other words, favourable.

No opera performance stands or falls completely with the singing and acting of one specific soloist, but...[tenor Freddie De Tommaso's] entrance [as Riccardo,] Amici miei… Soldati…ai deputati (CD 1 track 3) is like a fresh summer wind: lyric beautiful tone, elegant phrasing and that special Italian warmth and youthfulness. This is a happy governor and just a minute or so later he intones that wonderful love theme, which we first encountered in the prelude and which also returns in the last act, La rivedrà nell’estasi. He never forces, he never distorts the phrases with lachrymose gulps in the Gigli manner. He is tasteful and full of life. Di’ tu se fedele (CD 1 track 14) in the Ulrica scene is again elegant, sung with appropriate swagger and he takes that giant downward leap to the bass register with confidence. In the long duet with Amelia on the gallows hill he is palpably in love with her; his tone glows, and the whole scene becomes the highpoint it should be. Forse la soglia attinse – Ma se m’è forza perderti in the last act also glows and Ella è pura is so tender. The recording is worth its price for De Tommaso’s achievement alone – but there are further reasons for acquisition as well.

Saioa Hernández’ Amelia is one. In both her arias as well as the duet on the gallows hill she sings with feeling. Her horror in Ecco l’orrido campo – Ma dall’arido stelo (CD 1 track 20) when the bell rings at midnight is moving, and so is the prayer that rounds off the aria proper. Her second aria Morrò, ma prima in grazia (CD 2 track 4) is even more heartrending. She has the voice also for the more dramatic outbursts, maybe with a certain hardness of tone at fortissimo, but there is a thrill in her singing.

Annika Gerhards’ Oscar is charming and glittering and Elisabeth Kulman’s Ulrica impresses greatly. Here is a contralto of the old school with solid chest notes (CD 1 track 9). The basses Samuel and Tom are also forces to be reckoned with, in particular Kevin Short’s Samuel. Jean-Luc Ballestra is also an expressive Silvano in the Ulrica scene.

And how does this production stand the test against existing competitors? Very well, I would say. Leinsdorf-Bergonzi will never be redundant, but this Janowski-De Tommaso recording is an admirable newcomer that should be heard by all admirers of Verdi.

-- MusicWeb International