A must for brass fans.

The National Brass Ensemble (NBE) and conductor Eun Sun Kim present Deified, an album containing music by Wagner and Strauss, as well as world premiere recordings of pieces by Jonathan Bingham and Arturo Sandoval. Bingham won the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and San Francisco Symphony's Emerging Black Composers Project competition with his cinematic composition Deified, while composer/trumpet player Sandoval is a legend in the brass world. The longest piece on this album is Timothy Higgins’s The Ring, a virtuosic recomposition of Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen scored for brass ensemble. Together, these pieces showcase the exceptional coloristic and expressive range of brass music. Consisting of some of the best players from leading U.S. orchestras, the National Brass Ensemble is one of the greatest brass groups of our times. Eun Sun Kim is Caroline H. Hume Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, and frequents the most important opera houses and concert halls of the world. The NBE and Kim both make their Pentatone debut.

REVIEW:

The unusually large brass ensemble format, 31 players in all, allows for an unusually large palette of sounds and textures. This is especially effective in the work that takes up the whole second CD and second part of the program, The Ring, a condensation of Wagner's entire Ring cycle by Timothy Higgins. This hits many of the familiar pieces from those four operas, which of course, contain a great deal of writing for brass in the first place. There are other unfamiliar and intriguing pieces: a rare fanfare by Richard Strauss, the title work by Jonathan Bingham, which is palindromic in several respects, and a pleasing, lightly Latin-accented Brass Fantasy of Arturo Sandoval. Conductor Eun Sun Kim's direction is crisp, and the virtuosity of several of the players is notable although the cohesion of a well-drilled chamber group is impossible. There have been several other instrumental "summaries" of the Ring, but this one is both unusual and engaging. A must for brass fans.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

In Dialogos, Holland Baroque and Constantinople embark on a musical journey inspired by one of history's most remarkable encounters: the meeting between Saint Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade in 1219. Eight centuries later, their gesture of openness and mutual respect becomes the creative spark for this collaboration - a meeting not of faiths or institutions, but of human voices and mutual respect. Drawing from ancient sources such as the Laudario di Cortona and the works of the 17th-century Polish musician Ali Ufki (Wojciech Bobowski), the ensembles weave new compositions where Persian, Ottoman, and early Western Baroque traditions intertwine. Under the artistic direction of Kiya Tabassian, and Judith and Tineke Steenbrink, the music becomes a living dialogue - a conversation of timbres and histories that celebrates listening over division, and resonance over conflict. Each note reflects a crossing of cultures where the old inspires the new, and where peace begins in sound. Known for their inventive reimagining of the Baroque repertoire and intercultural encounters, Holland Baroque and the Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople both thrive on collaboration and stylistic exploration. Their meeting in Dialogos continues a creative lineage that has made Holland Baroque a long-standing PENTATONE partner, following Silk Baroque, Telemann Polonoise & Brabant 1653 (2021), Minne (2022), Bachs K�nigin (2023), and the EP Metamorphosis (2024). Here, as in those projects, the ensemble transforms history into a contemporary message: that music is dialogue itself.

Star tenor Javier Camarena makes his Pentatone debut with Signor Gaetano, together with Gli Originali under the baton of Italian opera specialist Riccardo Frizza, presenting a carefully-curated exploration of Donizetti’s greatest tenor arias. Besides famous excerpts from L’elisir d’amore, Don Pasquale and Roberto Devereux, this project focuses on hidden gems from rarely-recorded works such as Betly, Maria de Rudenz and Il giovedì grasso. Camarena and Frizza’s exceptional sense of style is enhanced by the period instrument playing of Gli Originali. The recording took place at the Teatro Donizetti in the composer’s hometown Bergamo, as part of the yearly Donizetti Festival, of which Frizza is the musical director.

Javier Camarena is one of the most in-demand tenors of his generation, and one of the world’s leading bel canto specialists. Riccardo Frizza frequents major opera houses, was awarded the Best Conductor prize at the International Opera XXI Awards, and returns to Pentatone after having featured on The Three Queens (Donizetti) with Sondra Radvanovsky and Lyric Opera Chicago (2022). Gli Originali was founded within the context of the Bergamo Donizetti Festival, and aims to revive the sound world of early nineteenth-century opera with period instruments and a historically-informed approach.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents The Three Queens, a program that brings together the finales of Gaetano Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, showcasing three of the most fascinating heroines of opera history. These extraordinary women are interpreted by soprano star Sondra Radvanovsky, who performs them together with an excellent ensemble of soloists under the baton of Donizetti specialist Riccardo Frizza. Singing these three breathtaking roles on one night is an enormous challenge for any soprano, and this live recording captures all the excitement of this exceptional achievement.

Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious opera houses. Riccardo Frizza is among the most sought-after conductors for nineteenth-century Italian opera, while Sondra Radvanovsky is one of the most in-demand singers of her generation on both sides of the Atlantic. All three make their PENTATONE debut with The Three Queens.

REVIEWS:

This document may be the finest work I’ve ever heard of Radvanovsky, in what may be her crowning achievement. It is evident that she has not only put in the hard work and constant refining to achieve this, but it should be noted that the soprano is 50 here, and the voice is still in its prime, full, unblemished, and more secure than ever.

A few minor quibbles aside, the Mad Scene from Anna Bolena shows Radvanovsky consummately responsive to the shifting moods in the recitative, with a splendid high C on ‘infiorato,” and with more rhythmic impetus to the emotions of the text than I heard in the past.

The “Al dolce guidami” is gorgeous, long-lined, and exquisitely shaded, and she fines down the tone most impressively without it turning white and core-less.

Here also is one of the best performances of Maria Stuarda’s last half hour on record. Radvanovsky has the true dramatic soprano and grandeur of tone to fill out the Scottish queen’s 3 scenas: the prayer “Deh! Tu di un’umile preghiera—beautifully poignant, with some lines excitingly raised; the penitent “Di un cor che muore,” and most of all the concluding “Ah, se un giorno ritorte,” where the soprano effortlessly unleashes the fullness of her voice, which abets Maria’s mounting urgency with awesome, majestic power.

The conductor, Riccardo Frizza, leading the Lyric Opera of Chicago forces, is a true ally to his star soprano: he accompanies and accentuates her singing in the most positive of ways, providing Radvanovsky with unerring support.

The gatefold, 2 CD set is truly luxurious packaging. The overtures to all three of the operas and choral introductions are included, which may not interest everyone, but it does capture the sense of a complete evening occasion. The booklet contains a welcoming introduction by the general director Anthony Freud, and a very warm, sincere one by Radvanovsky herself; and Roger Pines provides an engaging, fascinating history of the operas. Full texts and translations are provided.

Highly recommended. Radvanovsky is very special here!

-- Parterre.com (Niel Rishoi)

Sondra Radvanovsky is essentially a lyric-spinto soprano, but one capable of summoning the lung power for the kind of long-lined legato singing required to effectively deliver in Roberto Devereux the aria Vivi, ingrato and the many messa-di-voce demanded throughout the role’s range. On the other hand, she can surmount climactic moments with total aplomb. Her coloratura technique is inexhaustible. Her musicality, her elegant phrasing, her intelligent choice of embellishments, her idiomatic understanding and delivery of the text define Sondra Radvanovsky as one of the great singers of our time.

-- Rafael's Music Notes

Organist and pianist James McVinnie makes his PENTATONE debut with Dreamcatcher, an intimate sequence of contemporary classical music centred around the act of imagining. The recording features the organ of St Albans Cathedral—an epoch-making instrument closely associated with legendary organists Peter Hurford and Ralph Downes. The piano segments of the album were recorded on a Steinway D of exceptional beauty at Studio Richter Mahr, co-founded by composer Max Richter and visual artist Yulia Mahr. A mesmerising sonic trip, Dreamcatcher reflects the unique artistic persona of McVinnie, whose mastery of core organ repertoire extends to an extensive body of work written for him by leading contemporary classical composers, as well as collaborations in the world of electronic and experimental music. The album features works by Nico Muhly, Meredith Monk, Laurie Spiegel, John Adams, inti figgis-vizeuta, Gabriella Smith, Giles Swayne, Bryce Dessner & Marcos Balter. The album's title is taken from Marcos Balter’s work of the same name, written in response to the child separation crisis at the US-Mexico border in 2018—“dreamers” being the name given to children separated from their families by the Trump administration’s immigration policy. This record also presents the first ever recording of Giles Swayne's Riff-raff made on the St Albans organ for which the work was written in 1983—McVinnie’s rendition embodying a perfect synergy between the piece’s minimalist roots and the modernist tonal philosophy of this instrument. Through his boundless approach to music making, innovative programming and captivating musicianship, James McVinnie has carved out a unique career as an organist and keyboard player. “McVinnie's Dreamcatcher is a smartly curated album, where a thoughtful artist challenges us — with extraordinary results — to think of the pipe organ as an instrument of our time.” – Tom Huizenga, NPR All Things Considered

German-Canadian international soloist Johannes Moser recently signed an exclusive recording contract with Pentatone. For his debut Pentatone recording, he chose to record the pinnacle of repertoire for cello and orchestra, Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor. In this monumental work Dvorak explores the entire spectrum of human emotion, very much inspired by his own experiences, ranging from exhilarating bursts of life in New York City to the devastating tragedy of his unfulfilled love. Moser completes his debut album with the Cello Concerto by Edouard Lalo. It is a work of great verve that fully embodies Spanish flair combined with romantic spirit.

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.

A celebration of Bohemian spirit and rhythmic brilliance, Antonin Dvorak's Slavonic Dances come to life in a vibrant new recording by the Czech Philharmonic, led by the masterful Sir Simon Rattle. These vivid orchestral gems, full of rhythmic vitality, folkloric color, and lyrical charm, are central to Dvorak's legacy and pivotal in defining a Czech national sound. Composed at a turning point in the composer's career, the Slavonic Dances radiate with joy, invention, and national character qualities that captivated audiences across Europe and beyond. As Principal Guest Conductor: Rafael Kubelik Chair, Sir Simon Rattle has already graced the label alongside the orchestra and Magdalena Ko�ena with Czech Songs (2024) and Folk Songs (2023). This release continues the exclusive collaboration between PENTATONE and the Czech Philharmonic (awarded Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year in 2024), committed to bringing Czech music to life on a global stage. It follows the acclaimed recordings of Dvorak's Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 & 9 (2024) and, 2025's winner of the BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Award, Smetana's Ma Vlast with Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, as well as Dvorak's Legends and Rhapsodies with Tomas Netopil.

The Dresdner Philharmonie and Marek Janowski present a recording of Antonin Dvorak's Stabat Mater, together with the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir, Hanna-Elisabeth Muller (soprano), Roxana Constantinescu (mezzo-soprano), Christian Elsner (tenor) and Tareq Nazmi (bass). In terms of scope and duration, Dvorak's Stabat Mater is the largest setting of this sacred text to date. Likely inspired by the tragic death of all his three children - in the timespan of just two years - the work is heartrending, yet establishes a gradual path from darkness to light, from despair to peace and hope; ascetic and restrained, yet full of suspense. This recording, made in connection to a live performance commemorating the bombing of Dresden, offers a rendition that never drags, avoids excessive sentimentality, and is all the more moving as a result. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our time and has a vast PENTATONE discography, chiefly consisting of German operas and symphonic works. From 2019 to 2023 he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresdner Philharmonie. Dvorak's Stabat Mater is his seventh PENTATONE recording with this orchestra, with whom he recently released Schubert's Unfinished and Great Symphonies (2023), Schumann's complete symphonies (2024), as well as Haydn's Die Schopfung (2024). The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir also appeared on that recording, has frequently featured on other PENTATONE recordings and starred on Bruckner Haydn Motets (2021) and Mendelssohn Choral Works (2023). Hanna-Elisabeth Muller released Reine de coeur (2018) and Sinnbild; Strauss Songs (2022) on PENTATONE. Roxana Constantinescu featured on PENTATONE recordings of Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Puccini's Il tabarro (both 2020), as well as Kodaly & Bartok (2023). Christian Elsner also has a longstanding relationship with the label, including his solo recording of Schubert Lieder (2015). Tareq Nazmi appeared on the beforementioned recording of Die Schopfung.

Antonin Dvorak’s Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8 are presented here, masterfully performed by the Houston Symphony. Music Director Andres Orozco-Estrada wonderfully interprets these works, exploring a myriad of emotions from tragedy, to quiet reflection, to grandeur and triumph. This recording was made in Houston, TX at the Jess H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in April of 2014 (Symphony No. 7) and March of 2015 (Symphony No. 8).

Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6 in D major was composed for the Vienna Philharmonic, and dedicated to its principal conductor at the time, Hans Richter. Following the Symphony No. 6, this programme includes Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance Op. 72, No. 3, and Slavonic Dance Op. 46, No. 8. Performing these outstanding works is the Houston Symphony, conducted by Andres Orozco-Estrada. Colombian violinist and conductor Andres Orozco-Estrada began taking conducting classes in 1992, and in 1997 he began studying conducting at the Hochschule fur Musik und darstellende Kunst, Wien, under such teachers as Uros Lajovic. He has been Music Director of the Houston Symphony since 2014.

REVIEW:

Orozco-Estrada and his musicians play with great warmth and energy, and this live multichannel recording brings out all the rich colors and textures of Dvorák’s symphonic score. The two Slavonic Dances are welcome choices for their close thematic resemblance to the symphony and jubilant feeling, bringing the program of this hybrid SACD to a lively close.

-- AllMusic.com (Blair Sanderson)

Gentle and haunting spirits from distant spheres meet in a surging world of dreams and lullabies in 'The Girl and the Angel, a musical narrative'. This work interweaves a new story by bestselling author Cornelia Funke with expressive new compositions by Luna Pearl Woolf and familiar and popular songs by Irving Berlin, Lennon / McCartney, Jake Heggie, Engelbert Humperdinck, Gordon Getty and others. Cornelia Funke herself captures her story with rousing songs by Frederica von Stade, Daniel Taylor, Lisa Delan and Zhen Cao, accompanied by the lush cellos of Matt Haimovitz and his Uccello ensemble. Exquisite images from the award-winning creative studio Mirada visually shine the story. The Girl and the Angel was originally released in 2013 under the title Angel Heart with accompanying concerts in Los Angeles and New York's Carnegie Hall, first released internationally in 2018, and now appears in a German-language version. The New York Times described The Girl and the Angel as 'a story that penetrates directly into the imagination of young people, with the simplicity and dark pull of a fairytale.'

Johannes Moser's acclaimed interpretation of Elgar's profoundly elegiac and lyrical Cello Concerto and of Tchaikovsky's elegant Rococo Variations returns to the market in an affordable stereo edition. The programme also contains Tchaikovsky's Nocturne and Morceau de Concert for Cello and Orchestra, as well as an arrangement of the famous Andante cantabile from his First String Quartet. Performed together with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under the baton of Andrew Manze, Moser's rendition was praised by Gramophone as "one of the finest we've had in years."

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

It takes an impressive performance for Elgar to come alive for me, as he does in this recording by Edo de Waart and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, both subtle and fiery. The First Symphony, in particular, burns under a surface sheen, and “The Dream of Gerontius” is intensely played and firmly sung.

– New York Times

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kirill Karabits, joined by an outstanding cast led by Corinne Winters, present the world premiere recording of Thomas de Hartmann's lost opera Esther. Often written by candlelight during the Nazi occupation of Paris, Esther was composed as de Hartmann-a non-Jewish Ukrainian expatriate-lived through the unfolding horrors of the Holocaust. He perceived profound parallels between those events and the Biblical story of Esther as dramatized in Jean Racine's play, from whose text he adapted the libretto. Esther is perhaps the only major musical work composed contemporaneously as a direct artistic response to the Holocaust. Bringing this long-neglected work to life has been a rewarding undertaking, involving extensive engagement with the composer's handwritten score and the preparation of a new modern performing edition. This process required close study of de Hartmann's orchestral writing and stylistic language. Esther is a distinctive work that bridges opera and oratorio, it's dramatic momentum shaped through extended monologues, choral commentary, and a triumphant final ensemble. Richly orchestrated, it reflects the full breadth of de Hartmann's artistic development-from his early training in Saint Petersburg and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, and Taneyev, to later creative periods in Munich and France, and his search for a deeply personal musical language. Esther, the composer's largest and most ambitious later work, stands as a summation of his eclectic, polystylistic approach and a compelling rediscovery for today's performers and listeners. This album marks the next chapter of the Thomas de Hartmann Project, bringing the composer's music back to the listening audience.

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.

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

Thrilling flights of fancy abound from violinist Arabella Steinbacher in Fantasies, Rhapsodies and Daydreams Spectacular virtuoso playing, bravura passagework and show-stopping melodies are balanced with wistful lyricism and sublime tone painting in this irresistible programme of perennial favourites, played with elan by the violinist Arabella Steinbacher with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, conducted by Lawrence Foster in this new release from Pentatone.

From the high jinks and outrageous showmanship of Franz Waxman's Carmen Fantasie and Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, to the fearsome technical demands of Ravel's Tzigane and the exquisite refinement of Saint-Saens' Havanaise and Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, this album harks back to an earlier era of violin playing.

REVIEW:

Were someone to ask me to suggest a disc to introduce them to the violin, I might well steer them in the direction of this one. I rather like the way she pushes on in the central section of The Lark Ascending, and it cleverly elides into the beginning of Saint-Saens's Havanaise. This, the Introduction and Rondo capriccio, and Ravel's Tzigane are given excellent performances. The standout performance comes with the Meditation from Massanet's Thais, done with breathtaking beauty, a turn-on for any newcomer to the violin.

– Gramophone

German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser and Irish pianist Alasdair Beatson present a moving portrait of the Mendelssohn family with this recording of pieces by the siblings Felix and Fanny. Once composed for the popular Sunday Sessions at the Berlin Mendelssohn family house, these works fit into the typically nineteenth-century tradition of domestic music-making, albeit at the highest thinkable level. Beatson plays an 1837 Erard fortepiano, identical to the instrument that belonged to the Mendelssohn household when these pieces were composed. Besides Felix Mendelssohns two sonatas for cello and piano, his Variations concertantes, op. 17, Lied ohne Worte, op. 109 and Albumblatt in B Minor are featured. Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohns Fantasia in G Minor and Capriccio in A-flat Major show what could have become of this talented female composer if societal conventions had not restricted her musical activities to the private salon. This is Mosers fifth album as an exclusive PENTATONE artist, after releases with the cello concertos of Dvorak and Lalo (2015), Elgar and Tchaikovsky (2017), works for cello and piano by Rachmaninov and Prokofiev (2016, awarded with a diapason dor and ECHO Klassik 2017), and cello concertos by Lutoslawski and Dutilleux (2018). He records for the first time with Alasdair Beatson, who makes his PENTATONE debut.

Violinist Pekka Kuusisto and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra present First Light, the first fruit of Kuusistos tenure as the ensembles Artistic Director, on which two eminent New York composers are cast in a Nordic light. The album offers the world premiere recording of Nico Muhlys Shrink (Concerto for Violin and Strings), a unique, remotely-recorded rendition of Philip Glass The Orchard by Kuusisto and Muhly, and Kuusistos new string orchestra arrangement of Glass Mishima String Quartet No. 3. Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is renowned for his artistic freedom and flair in directing ensembles. Since its formation in 1977 the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra has established itself as one of the foremost chamber orchestras on the international classical music scene today. Nico Muhly is one of the most-performed composers of his generation, and appears as pianist on this album. Kuusisto, the NCO and Muhly all make their PENTATONE debut.

First Light (Pentatone), the first collaboration on disc between the Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, of which he is artistic director, presents works by Nico Muhly and Philip Glass: two New York composers of different generations united in friendship. Muhly’s Shrink (2019), a glittering, jittery, mischievous violin concerto written for Kuusisto, is here given its world premiere recording. The work reflects its title, contracting and intensifying as it progresses, a perfect mirror of the word “shrink” and a platform for Kuusisto in hyperactive, virtuosic mode.

Glass’s The Orchard (from The Screens), in comparison, is a work of slow, long-breathed elegy. Muhly is the pianist, with Kuusisto beautifully lyrical and tender – a track you immediately want to share. The violinist has arranged Glass’s String Quartet No 3 “Mishima” for string orchestra, played here with energy and finesse, bringing alive those mid-1980s surging symmetries that first made Glass a cult figure.

REVIEWS:

Kuusisto's approach to these works is unusually lively. The pairing of Muhly and Glass is fresh and intelligent. The opening Shrink, with its three movements titled "Ninths," "Sixths," and "Turns," repeats figures and intervals in a very Glass-like way, even as the nervous mode of expression is different. Kuusisto contributes his own orchestration of the Glass String Quartet No. 3, which works very well in orchestral guise. As an entr'acte, there is a short piece by Glass, "The Orchard," performed remotely in 2020 by Kuusisto (violin) and Glass (piano) during the coronavirus pandemic. An enjoyable release of music by two American composers whose popularity in Europe seems only to be increasing.

– AllMusicGuide.com

Muhly's Shrink is an energetic, driven concerto, played with intensity by Kuusisto on violin. Although not dissonant in character, it is not a piece that lingers over lilting melodies. Then comes Glass's The Orchard, performed here as a duet for piano and violin, and the mood completely changes, becoming soothing and almost therapeutic. Following the frenetic forward motion of Shrink, to arrive in such a pleasant, peaceful, musical grove is a refreshing respite. The arrangement for string orchestra of Glass's String Quartet No. 3, "Mishima" that closes the program adds some weight and texture to Glass's minimalist creation. With excellent engineering and informative liner notes, this is a solid release of contemporary music from Pentatone.

– Classical Candor

Magdalena Kožená’s fourth Pentatone album Folk Songs brings together folk-inspired song cycles from across the globe. Ranging from Berio’s Folk Songs to sets by Bartók, Ravel and Montsalvatge, this collection provides a kaleidoscope of twentieth-century orchestral song composition. Kožená performs them together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle.

REVIEW:

Kožená is on gleaming form in music that largely suits her voice well, and the orchestra plays fabulously for Rattle.

-- The Guardian (U.K.)

Violinist Arabella Steinbacher and pianist Robert Kulek continue their vital collaboration together with a new Pentatone release: César Franck’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in A coupled with Richard Strauss’ Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-flat, Op. 18. While Franck’s violin sonata is epic in character, Strauss’ work is full of jovial energy, hope and anticipation, a stimulating fusion of elements for these musicians. Both artists possess superb technique. Ms. Steinbacher often demonstrates a delicate yet fiery touch in her playing, while Mr. Kulek’s resolute intonation, steadfast tempi and broad dynamics are his trademarks. As has often been heard in their recital performances, this synergistic duo is a partnership of equals at the service of the music they play.

The Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and its Music Director Gustavo Gimeno present a composer portrait of César Franck. The album features the famous Symphony in D Minor, as well as the lesser known, but equally enchanting Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra, with Denis Kozhukhin as soloist. Born in Liege but raised in Paris, Franck synthesized Wagnerism with French musical traditions, resulting in a fine equilibrium between a voluptuous orchestral sound and audacious harmonies on the one hand, and lucidity and graceful charm on the other. While the three-movement symphony follows a from-darkness-to-light trajectory, the delightful Variations oscillate between symphonic poem and miniature piano concerto. The OPL and Gustavo Gimeno continue their acclaimed PENTATONE series of composer portraits that already featured monographs of Shostakovich, Bruckner, Ravel, Mahler, Stravinsky, Debussy and Rossini. Denis Kozhukhin adds another release to his extensive PENTATONE discography that already contains Grieg/Mendelssohn (2019), Strauss’s Burleske (2018), Piano Concertos by Ravel and Gershwin (2018), Tchaikovsky and Grieg (2016), as well as a Brahms solo recital (2017).

A New Yorker Notable Recording of 2022!

On her second solo album Lisette Oropesa has combined two of her greatest loves, the French language and Italian bel canto. This recording with the Dresdner Philharmonie under the baton of Corrado Rovaris showcases the variety of lesser-known and more popular works by Rossini and Donizetti, featuring arias that contain coloratura, lyricism, drama, heightened emotion, and even comedy. Star soprano Lisette Oropesa made her Pentatone debut with Ombra Compagna, Mozart Concert Arias in 2021, and sung the title heroine in a complete recording of Verdi’s La Traviata, also released on the label in 2022. The Dresdner Philharmonie was involved in that same recording, and has also participated in several other recordings released by Pentatone, such as Weber’s Der Freischütz (2019), Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Puccini’s Il Tabarro (both 2020) and Beethoven’s Fidelio (2021). Conductor Corrado Rovaris particularly excels in bel canto and verismo repertoire, and makes his Pentatone debut.

REVIEW:

Oropesa's very first notes here, from Le Siège de Corinthe, are warm and pleading, the tone round and full–and utterly beautiful. As the voice rises, it doesn’t lose texture. The coloratura is close to flawless, as is her pitch. The roulades and runs are so fierce in the Rossini selections that, let’s face it, a touch of hesitation is to be expected and it is just that–a touch.

This is very difficult music–just think of how few recital CDs have included these two scenes. The necessary legato, the sadness, the darkening of the tone, and the purposeful use of vibrato are rare indeed; there is a true musician in the house.

Mathilde’s aria from Guillaume Tell is sure-fire. She manages it beautifully, the start of each phrase knowing full well the direction in which it’s going, the breath control natural. “Salut à la France” is divine: carefree, joyous, full of perfect downward scales and staccatos, and capped with a fine E-flat.

More than anything else, you come away from this recital with the realization that Oropesa and, indeed, the Dresden Philharmonic and conductor Corrado Rovaris, have fashioned a warmhearted, stylistically impeccable look at French bel canto, frequently overlooked. There’s nothing hackneyed here, and no ear fatigue listening to a high solo voice for 65 minutes...what a fine disc!

-- ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

Andres Gabetta (violin & direction), Veronica Cangemi, Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi (bandoneon and accordion), and the Gabetta Consort present From Venice to Buenos Aires, a remarkable journey from 18th-century Venice to the streets of Buenos Aires. Anchored by Vivaldi's dazzling concertos and the fiery passion of Astor Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires, the album traces Italian music across centuries and continents. Luca Salvadori's inventive compositions, including the commissioned Overture: Tango-Baroque and Mater Maria, weave Baroque structures with Nuevo Tango rhythms, creating a breathtaking dialogue between old and new. The album is a tribute to women, with Maria as a common thread. From the violin concerto dedicated to Anna Maria, to Piazzolla's arias written for female voices, to the evocative works by Salvadori, the album celebrates feminine presence, strength, and artistry across time and styles. The recording also features operatic gems by Bononcini and Vinci, alongside Piazzolla's expressive arias, from the defiant "Yo soy Maria" to a tender Ave Maria arranged for violin, bandoneon, and soprano. From Venice to Buenos Aires is a vibrant, immersive exploration of music's power to tell stories across worlds - where sacred and secular, past and present meet in melodies both timeless and exhilarating.

On Future Horizons, Francois Leleux, one of the most distinguished oboists of our time, presents a collection of works for oboe by renowned living composers Nicolas Bacri, Michael Jarrell, and Thierry Escaich, expanding the instrument's repertoire to new artistic possibilities. The album's title, Future Horizons, explores new musical frontiers, reflecting Leleux's commitment to pushing the boundaries of classical music through contemporary works. In Bacri's Notturno, Leleux takes on the role of both soloist and conductor, leading the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. In Jarrell's Aquateinte and Escaich' Double Concerto for Oboe, Violin & Orchestra, in which we can also hear Lisa Batiashvili, recognised for her incredible virtuosity, the orchestra joins him under the baton of Andres Orozco-Estrada. Each work on this album is a world premiere recording, with all the pieces written especially for these artists. Andres Orozco-Estrada, together with Frankfurt Radio Symphony, has a wide discography on PENTATONE, while Francois Leleux and Lisa Batiashvili make their label debut.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop present a live recording with highlights of Gershwin’s self-proclaimed American “Folk Opera” Porgy and Bess, together with a stellar cast and the Morgan State University Choir.

Since its premiere in 1935, Porgy and Bess has been one of the most significant early attempts to create American classical music inspired by African American styles such as jazz, Spirituals, and the blues. The hard-knock life at a Charleston waterfront tenement is presented here by an outstanding cast including Lester Lynch (Porgy), Angel Blue (Bess, Clara, and Serena), Chauncey Packer (Sportin’ Life) and Kevin Short (Crown and Jake).

Marin Alsop is one of today’s most acclaimed conductors, and the first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria and Britain. The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the world’s preeminent orchestras. Multi-award-winning soprano Angel Blue is one of the most promising voices of her generation, while Chauncey Packer is arguably one of the greatest and sought-after Sportin’ Life interpreters today. Lester Lynch and Kevin Short each enjoy a flourishing stage career, as well as a vast PENTATONE discography.

REVIEW:

Soprano Angel Blue has already shown she can meet—and exceed—the vocal and dramatic demands of playing Bess in the recent Metropolitan Opera production, and so it's not surprising that her lovely voice is the highlight of this disc of excerpts from George Gershwin's emotionally powerful opera. Not only does Blue own Bess' classic songs but she also sings Clara's "Summertime" and Serena's "My Man's Gone Now" with equal parts power and finesse and an ability to grab the listener from the get-go. Lester Lynch's Porgy and Chauncey Packer's Sportin' Life provide superb vocal support and Marin Alsop conducts an expertly-chosen group of excerpts, strongly performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Morgan State University Choir.

-- The Flip Side

PENTATONE releases Gordon Getty's fourth opera, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, in a new studio recording featuring Nathan Granner, Melody Moore, Lester Lynch, and Kevin Short, as well as the San Francisco Boys Choir and Barbary Coast Orchestra, under the baton of Dennis Doubin. Based on the popular 1934 novella Goodbye, Mr. Chips and other stories by James Hilton, Goodbye, Mr. Chips tells the heart-warming story of a teacher at Brookfield, an all-boys English boarding school to which "Chips" dedicates most of his adult life. The opera chronicles Chips' story of love, loss and learning over his decades-long tenure at Brookfield. Along the way, we're reminded of the difference one good teacher can make as we watch Chips and his children, "thousands of them, and all boys," enrich each other's lives. Writing both the music and libretto of his opera, Getty has shaped Hilton's cherished story into a memory play, in which the protagonist looks back on important episodes of his life. The score encapsulates the intimacy of the plot and the nuances of it's characters. Just like Chips, Getty treats each personality with a profound understanding of-and love for-the human spirit, with all it's strengths and flaws. After decades of fascination with the character and story of Mr. Chips, the completion of this opera is the realization of a long-held dream. Gordon Getty is a PENTATONE artist with a vast discography. Goodbye, Mr. Chips is his fourth opera recording on the label, after Plump Jack (2012), Usher House (2013) and The Canterville Ghost (2015). Melody Moore, Nathan Granner, Lester Lynch and Kevin Short have featured on many PENTATONE recordings. Conductor Dennis Doubin and the San Francisco Boys Chorus make their label debut.

Performed by 2012 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Conrad Tao, who was also included on Forbes' 30 Under 30: The Youngest Stars In The Music Business list (the only classical musician on the list!), this album comprises of works for piano solo composed by internationally acclaimed American composer Gordon Getty.

PentaTone presents the World Premiere recording of Gordon Getty's 'Plump Jack'. Following the pattern of literary inspiration in his song cycle 'White Election' which features the poetry of Emily Dickenson, Getty now uses as his muse Shakespeare's beloved character, Falstaff.

GETTY Usher House • Lawrence Foster, cond; Christian Elsner ( Poe ); Etienne Dupuis ( Roderick Usher ); Philip Ens ( Dr. Primus ); Lisa Delan ( Madeline Usher ); Gulbenkian O • PENTATONE 5186451(SACD: 67:05 Text and Translation)


I wanted to review this CD because I am enough of a Gordon Getty fan that I like to hear everything he has written, and I knew that this Poe story was famous for its atmosphere and that even Debussy was setting it to music when he died.


Imagine my surprise, then, to open the booklet and discover that Getty rewrote Poe’s story. The unnamed narrator/protagonist who visits Roderick Usher is now Poe himself. Roderick’s painful reaction to light and noise is downplayed. Madeline, who only appears in the hallway as a semi-ghostly apparition in the story, is now an “agent of redemption,” though she only moans and groans and doesn’t have any lines. The evil agent is now Dr. Primus, a character only spoken of (not by name) but never seen or heard in the Poe story.


Just so I could get a handle on this new adaptation, I went online and read Poe’s original story, which I had not seen before. As Getty points out, it is mostly mood: the first five of its 12 pages describe the bleakness and desolation of Usher house, its servants and inhabitants, before anything much ever happens. The original story’s plot is as follows:


The unnamed narrator rides on horseback to visit his old childhood friend Roderick Usher (no trains come near the place). Roderick is emaciated and nervous. Light of any kind annoys him, as well as sounds, with the sole exception of his own guitar playing, to which he accompanies himself with rotten old poems sung to his own made-up melodies. Apparently the House of Usher is somewhat but not entirely inbred, and both Roddy and his sister Madeline (fraternal twins) are the sole surviving heirs. Maddy, too, suffers from the nervous disorder, but not being as strong as Roddy her end seems a bit closer. The narrator only sees Maddy once, walking through the hallway. A few days later, and Roddy announces her demise. He has her placed in a coffin in the basement but doesn’t want to embalm or bury her right away, as he feels the family quack might be able to perform an autopsy and discover the cause of the nervous condition. A few days later, a dark and terrible storm engulfs the house. The narrator/Poe tries to calm Roddy down by reading him a story about a knight named Ethelred who barges into the domain of an old hermit, who appears to be protected by a dragon on his doorstep. Every noise mentioned in the story—the clang of sword on breastplate and the death throes of the dragon—seems to be heard by him from somewhere inside the house. Eventually Roddy tells the narrator that they had accidentally buried Maddy alive, that he has heard her trying to get out of the basement for a few days but that he didn’t have the nerve to go down and let her out. She finally appears at the doorway, bloody and emaciated, and falls on her brother before expiring. The shock makes Roddy expire too. Bye-bye to the House of Usher.


Aside from the plot changes, Usher House is now more than just a place where dusty old people read dusty old books. It has now become a repository of learning, a place where the family has “brought together tracts, monographs, manuscripts of the greatest interest and rarity,” with pride of place belonging “to our mediaeval archives….The whole house is designed for learning.” This is, indeed, a major change from the original story.


Unlike Plump Jack, Getty’s music here can stand on its own as a listening experience without the need to see the action. It is tonal but not “obviously” melodic; as the late Moondog (Louis Hardin) might have said, “I am considered avant-garde in rhythm but old-fashioned in harmony,” but Getty uses neighboring tonalities in a very creative manner, whereas Moondog did not. Moreover, the music morphs and develops in interesting ways.


Elsner, the tenor singing Poe, has a nice timbre but a persistent wobble, and his diction is only intermittently clear. Dupuis, our Usher, has a more solid voice but only slightly clearer diction. Both, however, present their characters well and they are fine musicians. There is a certain strophic character about the sung lines in the first scene, and the orchestration is exceedingly clever, supporting the voices or commenting on the drama in turn. When Roderick suggests having a ball, for instance, the rhythm changes to 3/4 time and a quirky waltz melody arises; when he talks of the landscape around the house as being desolate, the orchestra reflects this in both its melodic and timbral treatment. This sort of thing continues throughout the opera, the sign of an assured composer who understands his art and knows exactly how to morph and change the music, not only in such a way that it supports or echoes the drama but also to keep the listener on the edge of the seat. This is first-class music.


Then comes the first of several major deviations from Poe: Roderick refers to a book called Exon Domesday which is not in the original story. In this book, King Edward the Confessor ordered that Usher House be destroyed “stone from stone, and the stones cast in Usher Tarn.” Roderick’s father bought back the land, drained it, exhumed the stones, and brought them over to America to rebuild the house. (This does, however, seem like a lot of work when you could buy limestone cheaper over here. I doubt if there was any intuitive “learning” in the original stones.) Nevertheless, Getty’s ability to set text to music is indeed remarkable. Absolutely none of the libretto is written in what one would call musical meters, no rhyming or other poetic devices are consciously used, yet the music has a wonderful lilt to it that carries the words with perfect equanimity.


The mood changes of the orchestra continue as Madeline is introduced: a lighter, headier sound, created by a few high percussion instruments such as a glockenspiel. Dr. Primus insists that Madeleine take her medicine, as “She is getting so much better.” Shades of Dr. Miracle from Les Contes d’Hoffmann ! Poe then sings a song that he recalls Roddy having written and Maddy having sung when they were children at school. The song has exactly the kind of odd, quirky sound that one might expect a modern composer to use to re-imagine Renaissance music. (This song is recorded with the tenor at a bit of a distance and in an echo chamber; not too surprisingly, the wobble dissipates somewhat at a distance, and Elsner sings a lovely pianissimo high G that floats beautifully.)


And here is where Getty ties in his fictional doctor with Usher’s fictional “medical archives:” Roderick firmly believes that these ancient books will help the doctor cure her of her illness. (Apparently, no one ever told him how pathetic and ignorant the medical profession was back in the bad old alchemy days.) Yet almost immediately after saying this, he begs Poe to leave the next morning and take Maddy with him to put into a clinic, surrounded by “the best doctors,” which Roddy will pay for. Suddenly, the attendant (a speaking role) introduces the “guests” for the ball, Roderick’s relatives and ancestors. When Maddy enters, the guests shrink from her presence as “vampires from a crucifix.” The music then rises to a loud and rather grotesque dance rhythm for a short bit before settling back into a minuet. This minuet then becomes grotesque as Madeline dances, dazed, and then falls. Dr. Primus indicates that she is dead; Roddy collapses in grief, and Poe comforts him.


The next scene, then, represents a clean break in time and mood from the previous portion of the opera. Maddy is being buried in the family crypt; the coffin is sealed as the mourners leave. Dr. Primus suggests that since the line of Ushers seems to be coming to an end, Poe might wish to join them in the observatory (non-existent in the original story) the following night to discuss who might take the valuable collection of knowledge in the house. Oddly enough, by this point in the recording, Elsner’s voice has become firmer and less wobbly—probably a different day of recording.


The next scene is in the observatory. Philip Ens, the singer performing Dr. Primus, is a well-known bass specializing in modern music who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera (Tiresias in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, among other roles), but his voice has picked up a loose vibrato by the time of this recording. Dr. Primus tells Poe that much of the knowledge housed by the Ushers was real knowledge of the kind opposed by Roman law and then by the Catholic Church, that Madeline refused to learn it, but that he (Primus) wishes to pass it on lest it be lost forever. The suggestion is, then, very strong, that Poe is the one to continue the knowledge of Usher House. Primus suggests that they meet again in three nights, when the “haze of miasma that rises from the tarn and enfolds this house” will be lifted at that time by an “illumination” that will come with a storm.


Poe and Roderick are in the latter’s apartments three nights later. Poe confesses to Roddy that Primus wants to make him heir to the Usher knowledge. Roderick says that he expected as much, but warns him to beware of Primus. Poe tells Roderick what Primus told him, of the storm and the illumination. Roderick mentions that this is All-Hallows’ Eve (again, a detail different from the original story). Roderick suggests that “Dr. Primus” is an ancient ancestor of his, who must find a vessel to continue “the covenant with the Elders” made 14 centuries earlier. And Roderick also suggests that there is another dread, something frightful, that he fears, and has obsessed him for hours, but he cannot put it all into words. Poe offers to withdraw, but Roddy begs him to stay, to see it through and help him if he can. And, yes, Poe reads the “Mad Tryst” of Sir Launcelot Channing and his knight Ethelred, as in the original story. The sounds described elsewhere are heard, and intrude on their mood, but Roderick has a different explanation for them. In this version, Primus has confronted Madeline in the armory below, but the sister—who, as in the original story, was not yet dead—has thrown him aside “like an empty sack,” thus destroying the evil of Primus and the elders. (At long last, the voice of Madeline is heard, singing a wordless line or two from far away.) Eventually, Madeline appears at the doorway of the parlor, runs to Roderick, embraces him, and they both fall dead. According to the libretto’s instructions, “The house is heard more than seen to collapse … in the darkness except for quick flashes of light.” Poe then returns to the role of narrator, saying that he “fled aghast” from that chamber and the mansion. Usher House is done with.


While Getty’s rewriting of this fictional story for dramatic purposes is imaginative and creative, my personal feeling is that an already somewhat incredulous tale has been taken to the level of Gothic fiction, of undead ancestors and “forces of evil” that border on vampire and ghoul stories. Yet the opera is highly entertaining, and I was entranced by Getty’s spectacular ability to create such a wonderful atmosphere and sustain it for 67 minutes. This is a real tour de force, certainly the best and most sustained musical creation of his I have heard, and as such I recommend your listening to it.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley