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.
Douglas Moore's opera Giants in the Earth receives it's world premiere recording with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra under the music direction of Delta David Gier. Set on the stark, uninhabited Dakota plains, the drama follows Beret and Per Hansa, whose deep love is tested by isolation and the harsh realities of pioneer life. Moore's text-driven vocal lines flow with natural expression, weaving short, expressive ariosos into a seamless melodic tapestry. Central to the story, Beret's ornate Norwegian chest serves as altar, refuge, and symbol of home, underscoring the opera's themes of memory, tradition, and human longing. Moore's tonal score contrasts strength and fragility through vocal ranges, building tension toward Beret's fateful choices amid blizzards and loss. Every nuance is vividly realized, from intimate lyrical passages to the opera's devastating climax. This landmark recording illuminates the emotional intensity, psychological depth, and lyrical beauty of a work long awaited in full, making it an essential addition for lovers of American opera. The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra excavated, engraved, and revived the opera in Sioux Falls on April 26, 2025.
The Miro Quartet, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, presents an album featuring the complete string quartets of Alberto Ginastera, one of the most influential Latin American composers of the 20th century. A master of vivid contrasts and emotional depth, Ginastera infused his music with the spirit of Argentine folk traditions, bold modernist language, and a profound sense of expression. These three quartets span the entirety of his creative development, tracing a fascinating journey across three distinct stylistic periods. The first two quartets are considered undiscovered masterpieces, often performed live to great reception but rarely recorded in their entirety alongside the third. The vibrant rhythmic energy and folkloric colours of the first quartet, the introspective lyricism of the second, and the haunting intensity of the third each reflect Ginastera's unique fusion of influences, drawing from composers like Bartok and Stravinsky to create a sound full of emotional rawness and storytelling. Together, these quartets form a powerful cycle, showcasing Ginastera's ability to create distinct narratives within each piece, while also weaving them into a larger, cohesive musical story. This is the Miro Quartet's third album on PENTATONE, following the recording of Beethoven's Complete String Quartets (2019) and Home (2024).
Organist Lukas Hasler presents Gold, a radiant debut album featuring his own transcriptions and arrangements for organ. What began five years ago with a fascination for Mozart's G major Sonata in Edvard Grieg's two-piano version grew into an artistic journey into the transformative world of transcription. Hasler discovered in the organ an instrument capable not only of recreating orchestral and pianistic textures, but of reshaping them into something entirely new. To capture this vision, he turned to the iconic Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, whose expressive possibilities and glowing acoustics inspired both the selection of repertoire and the album's title. Gold offers a rich spectrum of colours and styles, from the jubilant brilliance of Bach's Sinfonia (in Dupré's vibrant transcription) to the tender intimacy of Schumann's Romance, recorded here for the first time on organ. Hasler brings theatrical flair to Lemare's arrangement of Carmen Fantasy, profound stillness to Beethoven's "Moonlight" Adagio, and symphonic vitality to Bruckner's Nullte Scherzo, while Mozart's G major Sonata - filtered through Grieg's imagination and Hasler's own artistry - bridges Classical clarity and Romantic warmth. Rachmaninoff's stormy Prelude, Lefébure-Wély's sparkling Boléro, and the playful, genre-bending Vienna Calling complete a programme that celebrates invention, personality, and the golden richness of the Viennese organ sound.
This captivating new release from PENTATONE celebrates the glittering world of 19th-century opera and the timeless beauty of the golden age of bel canto. Featuring music by Gaetano Donizetti, Gioacchino Rossini, Georges Bizet, Leo Delibes, and Giuseppe Verdi, the album showcases soprano Erin Morley and tenor Lawrence Brownlee two of today's most exciting voices joined by the Munchner Rundfunkorchester under the baton of conductor Ivan Repusic. Together, they bring fresh brilliance to the French and Italian repertoire with performances that balance vocal agility, lyrical finesse, and emotional power. This carefully curated collection of operatic gems highlights iconic duets and arias that continue to resonate with modern audiences through their passion, beauty, and dramatic flair. It marks an exciting PENTATONE debut for both Lawrence Brownlee and Ivan Repusic, while Erin Morley returns following her acclaimed performance in the label's recording of Handel's Alcina (2024). The Munchner Rundfunkorchester also makes a welcome return, having previously appeared on PENTATONE's release of Gordon Getty's Plump Jack (2012).
Gordon: The House Without A Christmas Tree / Moore, Houston Grand Opera
PENTATONE
SACD
$21.99Sep 21, 2018
Precocious Addie Mills is smart and energetic, just like the mother she never knew. Addie has no idea why her father resents the holidays so intensely, refusing even to allow a Christmas tree in the house. But when she brings home a tree she won in a school contest, it paves the way for a miracle of sorts—her father’s broken soul is transformed. The House without a Christmas Tree, a new opera by Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek that premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2017, is based on the book by Gail Rock and the beloved 1972 television movie of the same name. Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1956 in Oceanside, NY) studied piano, composition and acting, at Carnegie Mellon University. After moving to New York City, he quickly emerged as a leading writer of vocal music that spans art song, opera, and musical theater. Mr. Gordon’s songs have been performed and or recorded by such internationally renowned singers as Renee Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Judy Collins, Kelli O’Hara, Audra MacDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Andrea Marcovicci, and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, among many others. Royce Vavrek is a Canada-born, Brooklyn-based librettist and lyricist who has been called “the indie Hofmannsthal” (The New Yorker) a “Metastasio of the downtown opera scene” (The Washington Post), “an exemplary creator of operatic prose” (The New York Times), and “one of the most celebrated and sought after librettists in the world” (CBC Radio). His opera “Angel’s Bone” with composer Du Yun was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Pianist Charlotte Hu presents Goyescas, an album featuring Granados' monumental Goyescas alongside two Spanish Dances. A cornerstone of Spanish piano literature, Goyescas was inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya and unfolds as a richly poetic suite where passion, tenderness, shadow, and light coexist across six vividly characterised movements. From the playful charm of "Los requiebros" to the lyrical intimacy of "La maja y el ruiseñor" and the profound emotional summit of "El amor y la muerte," Granados' masterwork reveals a world of dramatic contrasts and refined storytelling. Hu captures both the virtuosic brilliance and the deeply intimate narrative of the music, illuminating it's modern harmonic language and unmistakable Spanish spirit with freshness and reverence. Complementing the suite are two Spanish Dances: the hauntingly introspective No. 2, "Oriental," and the vibrant, guitar-inflected No. 5, "Andaluza." Together, they offer concentrated glimpses into Granados' expressive range - from quiet longing and poetic reflection to radiant joy and folkloric vitality. This release marks her second album on PENTATONE, following her debut, Liszt: Metamorphosis, released in 2024.
Grace - The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas (Luxury boxset)
PENTATONE
CD
$49.99Oct 04, 2024
In celebration of his 80th birthday, this four-disc set spans more than five decades of Michael Tilson Thomas' compositional career. It features 18 works, from premiere recordings to remastered archival recordings available for the first time. The deluxe collection also includes an extensive booklet containing composer's notes, original essays, and a timeline of archival photos chronicling MTT's life as a pianist, conductor, composer, recording artist, and teacher. All proceeds from GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas will be donated to brain cancer research at the University of California, San Francisco Brain Tumor Center.
Grieg: Lyric Pieces - Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte / Kozhukhin
PENTATONE
SACD
$21.99Jun 28, 2019
On his new solo album, Russian star pianist Denis Kozhukhin presents a personal and colourful collection of character pieces taken from Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte and Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces. Combing these miniature gems by two outstanding poets of music, Kozhukhin provides a shining example of how disarmingly touching and penetrating a simple song or a vision of nature captured in sound can be. The programme features classics such as Mendelssohn’s Venetian Gondola Song and Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, as well as less famous but equally enchanting pieces. Kozhukhin lifts out the noble simplicity of these works with his delicate playing. Denis Kozhukhin has established himself as one of the greatest pianists of his generation. He now presents the fifth chapter to his exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE, after albums with the piano concertos of Grieg and Tchaikovsky (2016), Brahms Ballades and Fantasies (2017), Ravel and Gershwin piano concertos, as well as Richard Strauss’ Burleske (both 2018).
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REVIEW:
Once in a while a piano recording comes along that really plucks at the heart-strings. Denis Kozhukhin's compilation of miniatures by Mendelssohn and Grieg is one such. He brings to the table a perfect balance between spontaneity and control, teamed with infinite variety of touch and timbre. Every phrase is imbued with sensitivity and luminous beauty.
PENTATONE's release of the Czech Philharmonic's complete Mahler Cycle under Bychkov brings together one of Europe's most historically resonant orchestras with a conductor internationally recognised for his structural command and interpretive integrity. The orchestra occupies a distinctive place within Mahler's geographical and cultural landscape - Mahler was born and brought up in Bohemia and completed his First Symphony shortly after spending a year in Prague. Mahler symphonies have been central to Bychkov's programming with the Czech Philharmonic since 2018, when he opened his tenure as Chief Conductor and Music Director with performances of Mahler Symphony No. 2. Symphonies Nos. 1-5, released by PENTATONE beginning in April 2022, have received universal acclaim. The recordings have been selected as Gramophone Editor's Choice and BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month. As The Sunday Times writes, "This is turning out to be one of the truly great Mahler sets."
Handel: Alcina / Kožená, Morley, Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre
PENTATONE
CD
$35.99Mar 01, 2024
Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre return to Handel with a complete recording of his opera Alcina. The title role is interpreted by Magdalena Kožená, who reunites with Les Musiciens and maestro Minkowski after a series of acclaimed baroque recordings. She is joined by an excellent casts of soloists, consisting of Erin Morley (Morgana), Anna Bonitatibus (Ruggiero), Elzabeth DeShong (Bradamante), Alois Muhlbacher (Oberto), Valerio Contaldo (Oronte) and Alex Rosen (Melisso). This studio recording transports the listener to Alcina’s enchanted island, and shows Handel at the peak of his power: the score is dramatic, lush and colourful as well as introspective and profound where the story requires it. Since its foundation in 1982, and under the baton of its founder and musical director Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre have developed into one of the world’s best period-instrument ensembles, with a vast discography. The ensemble returns to Pentatone after having presented Mozart’s Mass in C Minor in 2020. Alcina is star mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožena’s fifth album as part of her exclusive collaboration with Pentatone, after having presented the baroque cantatas recital album Il giardino dei sospiri and the songs in chamber-musical setting project Soiree in 2019, as well as Nostalgia together with Yefim Bronfman (2021) and Folk Songs with the Czech Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (2023). The other soloists all make their Pentatone debut.
REVIEW:
There are relatively few recordings of Alcina out there, even though Handel’s Tempest-like opera of infatuation, rescue and enchantment is one of his most popular on stage. This new one scores highly, partly for the dramatic relish with which the conductor Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre dispatch the music, but principally for a tour de force performance in the title role from the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená.
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 Nos. 7-12 / Forck, Ancient Music Academy Berlin
PENTATONE
SACD
$21.99Jan 17, 2020
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin continue their Handel trilogy with this recording of the last six concerti grossi of the composer’s Op. 6. Originally designed as attractive interludes to English oratorio performances, Handel’s concerti grossi soon gained fame as some of the most appealing orchestral music of the baroque era. With these pieces, written in London towards the end of his career, Handel paid tribute to the immensely popular concerti grossi of Corelli while simultaneously proving his mastery, incorporating all musical styles of his times into his work. The players of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, led by their concertmaster Bernhard Forck, demonstrate why many consider them the best baroque ensemble of today. The concerti grossi Op. 6 are concluded with this second instalment, and a recording of the concerti grossi Op. 3 will complete the trilogy. The ensemble’s first PENTATONE album, Cantata (2018) with countertenor Bejun Mehta, won a Diapason d’or. Their 2019 recording of the first six Op. 6 concerti grossi was hailed as “immaculately played … free of fashionable eccentricities” by The Sunday Times, while Klassik praised the ensemble’s playing as “eloquent”.
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REVIEW:
The group, by the standards of 2020, is large, but the ensemble is precise and quite impressive in the fugues and the other contrapuntal movements in which Handel attempted to outdo Corelli, his model in these works. These pieces are to Corelli what Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are to Vivaldi: dense yet brilliant takes of the form. These performances succeed on their own terms, and there is still plenty of life in this approach.
Handel: Messiah / Doyle, Berlin Academy for Ancient Music
PENTATONE
CD
$29.99Oct 16, 2020
The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin and its chief conductor Justin Doyle present Handel’s Messiah, together with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and an all-British quartet of outstanding soloists, consisting of Julia Doyle (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor) and Roderick Williams (bass). Messiah is not only Handel’s most famous work, but equally one of the cornerstones of British choral culture. Soon after the work’s premiere, a tradition of mass performances full of pomp and circumstance took root, with the Hallelujah as a showstopper. This new period-instruments recording, however, aims to bring the piece back to the size and intimacy of the 1742 premiere in Dublin. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has a substantial PENTATONE discography, including Handel’s Concerti grossi Op. 6 and Op. 3, (released in 2019 and 2020), Telemann’s opera Miriways (2019) and CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018). The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Justin Doyle, Julia Doyle, Tim Mead, Thomas Hobbs and Roderick Williams all make their PENTATONE debut.
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REVIEW:
The list of solid performances of Handel's Messiah, HWV 56, from outside Britain is growing longer, and this one, released in 2020 just in time for sacred music season, is a case in point. All four soloists and the conductor are indeed anglophones, and they offer much to enjoy. Veteran baritone Roderick Williams is in fine voice, and the silvery soprano of Julia Doyle has a classic Handelian sound with a nice bloom at the top, but Messiah succeeds or fails on its chorus, and the work of the RIAS Kammerchor is as impressive as that of the soloists. The historical instruments of the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin add sharpness in the trumpets and drums. Listeners new to historical performance will find a satisfying and friendly instance of it here.
Soprano Francesca Aspromonte and violinist Boris Begelman present an all-Handel programme exploring the vicissitudes of love, together with Arsenale Sonoro. On Un’alma innamorata, Aspromonte urges us to take ownership of our amorous infatuations, rather than blaming it on Cupid’s arrows. The programme consists of several worldly cantatas with violino concertante - including the famous Mi palpita il cor and a world premiere recording of S'un dì m'appaga la mia crudele - interspersed with instrumental sonatas. The overall chamber-musical approach of Un’alma innamorata increases the emotional impact of the tragic heroines depicted by Aspromonte. Francesca Aspromonte presents her third Pentatone album, after having released Prologue (2018) and Maria & Maddalena (2021). Boris Begelman featured on the latter album, whereas Arsenale Sonoro makes its Pentatone debut.
Handel: Water & Fire / Sinkovsky, B'Rock Orchestra
PENTATONE
CD
$19.99Jul 14, 2023
With Water & Fire, B’Rock Orchestra and Dmitry Sinkovsky present Handel’s Water Music alongside his Music for the Royal Fireworks. Both works were written for royal open-air ceremonies, were likely substantially drowned out by the noise of fireworks and the waves of the Thames during their first performance, and were never played again during Handel’s lifetime. Since then, they have, however, become favourites of the public, and they contain some of the most appealing instrumental music of the baroque era. B’Rock performs these works with an ensemble that approaches the ca. 50 musicians that Handel originally employed, conveying the pomp and splendour while also highlighting the coloristic richness and refinement of Handel’s scores. B’Rock Orchestra is one of today’s most forward-thinking period orchestras with a desire for encounter and exchange. The ensemble returns to Pentatone after having released Schubert’s complete symphonies with conductor René Jacobs between 2018 and 2022, as well as Antwerp Requiem c. 1650 (2022). Dmitry Sinkovsky is in demand as a conductor, violinist and countertenor, and previously appeared on Pentatone with Monteverdi: Il delirio della passione (2021).
Avant-garde British composer and multi-disciplinary artist Klein presents her first PENTATONE album Harmattan, described by Fred Moten as "a soundtrack of epic revolt against beginnings and ends", which expands our notions of what classical music means today. Harmattan is a personal journey from childhood to now, titled after the West African season. Starting with jazz-inspired piano improvisations, the album gradually gains in ambient breadth, transforming classical musical inspirations into Klein's unique sound universe. Based in South London, Klein's work has been described as "grainy pop collages" (FACT) utilizing elements like manipulated audio samples, R&B inspired vocals, metallic drones, and pitch shifting effects.
Haydn: Die Schopfung / Janowski, Dresden Philharmonie
PENTATONE
SACD
$32.99May 03, 2024
Marek Janowski, the Dresdner Philharmonie, and the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir present Haydn’s oratorio "Die Schöpfung" (1798), together with soprano Christiane Karg, tenor Benjamin Bruns, and bass Tareq Nazmi. During his London sojourns, the aging Haydn was astounded by the audience engagement at performances of Handel’s oratorios, and he aimed to realize something similar in his own work. From the legendary breakthrough of light in the orchestral introduction all the way to the hymn to the almighty creator in the finale, Haydn offers a sweeping, colorful tableau of God’s creation of the world. As such, the work offers the apotheosis of the eighteenth-century oratorio while also serving as an inspiring example to nineteenth-century Romantic composers. Janowski and his forces realize both the Classical transparency and Romantic drive of this epoch-making piece.
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. "Die Schöpfung" is his sixth Pentatone recording with this orchestra, with whom he recently released Schubert’s Unfinished and Great Symphonies (2023), as well as Schumann’s complete symphonies (2024). The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir has frequently featured on Pentatone recordings and starred on "Bruckner Haydn Motets" (2021) and "Mendelssohn Choral Works" (2023). Christiane Karg, Benjamin Bruns, and Tareq Nazmi all make their Pentatone debut.
Haydn: L'isola disabitata / Forck, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
PENTATONE
CD
$19.99Aug 06, 2021
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin returns to PENTATONE with Joseph Haydn’s opera L’isola disabitata (The Desert Island), together with an excellent quartet of vocalists.
Officially called an azione teatrale, L’isola is a serious opera about love, loss and misunderstanding with a happy ending, set on an exotic deserted island. Special about this opera is that Haydn chose orchestral accompaniment for the entire work, with colourful and dramatic accompagnato recitatives. In Haydn’s printed score, many of the elaborate instrumental sections were deliberately cut, because he feared that they demanded too much from the players, and that some audiences may not have been cultured enough to fully appreciate them. Special about this recording is that these parts have all been reinstated, using a recent edition by Thomas Busse.
The seasoned players of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, led by Bernhard Forck, play this lavish score with fervour and swing, while Anett Fritsch (Costanza), Sunhae Im (Silvia), Krystian Adam (Gernando) and André Morsch (Enrico) offer an equally virtuosic vocal delivery.
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.
REVIEW:
Haydn's opera L'isola disabitata ("The Uninhabited Island") was premiered in 1779. In one act, it was termed an azione per musica, suggesting a more compact work than an opera seria, and it has just four voice parts. The quartet of singers is fine, led with pleasant lightness by mezzo-soprano Sunhae Im in the lead role of the abandoned Costanza. The main attraction, though, is the work of the venerable Akademie für alte Musik, which has kept itself vibrant and relevant since its days behind the Iron Curtain. With Bernhard Forck leading the group from the first violinist's chair, they completely avoid the mechanical quality that often infests Baroque groups that move into Classical repertory; they grasp the essential forward-moving trajectory of the music and don't linger too much on the serviceable but ordinary arias. A totally satisfying Haydn opera release.
Denis Kozhukhin presents a new album of Haydn: Sonatas, offering a fresh and illuminating journey through the composer's keyboard repertoire. Haydn's keyboard sonatas brim with invention, drama, and wit, matching the brilliance of his symphonies and quartets. Revisiting this repertoire, Kozhukhin reveals their expressive depth and sparkling originality in a recital of striking contrast and character. From the genial Allegro of the early D Major Sonata, Hob XVI:4, to the restless intensity of the C minor Sonata, Hob XVI:20, each work reflects Haydn's inexhaustible inventiveness and subtle mastery of keyboard textures. A prize-winner of prestigious competitions, including the Leeds International Piano Competition (2006) and the Queen Elizabeth Competition (2010), Denis Kozhukhin has established himself as one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation. He presents another chapter in his exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE, following albums such as Grieg and Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos (2016, Gramophone Editor's Choice), Brahms: Ballades and Fantasies (2017, 5 stars in Diapason), Ravel & Gershwin and Richard Strauss' Burleske (2018), Grieg: Lyric Pieces & Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte (2019, Gramophone Recording of the Month), Cesar Franck's Symphonic Variations (2020), and Somnia (2025, Gramophone Critic's Choice for 2025 Top Recordings).
Whether it's a confident swagger or a balletic grace, a beguiling folk-melody or a quicksilver rondo, there is always something new to discover in the endlessly inventive symphonies of Haydn, especially in these firm favorites played by the Oregon Symphony under Carlos Kalmar in this new release. While Haydn wrote only one "surprise" symphony, there are surprises to be enjoyed aplenty here. From the bewildering Largo in Symphony No. 64 with its unexpected turns and derailments, to the ceremonial elegance and ear-tickling melodies of Symphony No. 53 or the mock-heroics and propulsive rhythms of Symphony No. 96, Haydn's irrepressible and dazzling ingenuity constantly delights and astonishes. "There is no one who can do it all," wrote Mozart, "to joke and to terrify, to evoke laughter and profound sentiment - and all equally well, except Joseph Haydn." This is Carlos Kalmar's fourth album for Pentatone with the Oregon Symphony. Their album Music for a Time of War, earned two Grammy nominations and was widely praised by music critics. Gramophone said of their album This England "Kalmar's Oregon performance certainly pulls no punches...a total success, gripping in mood and hot on specific instrumental detail," adding, "sound-wise, you couldn't ask fo rmore; nor could anyone expect finer recording from Pentatone." And in 2016, their critically acclaimed album of 20th century American orchestral works The Spirit of the American Range earned a Grammy nomination for Best Orchestral Performance. Carlos Kalmar, a Uruguayan national, is in his fourteenth season as Music Director of the Oregon Symphony. He is also the artistic director and principal conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. His Carnegie Hall debut in May, 2011 with the Oregon Symphony, was noted by New York critic Alex Ross as "one of the most gripping events of the current season".
Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 1; Sinfonia Concertante in B Flat Major / Zukerman, LAPO
PENTATONE
SACD
$21.99Sep 11, 2015
This SACD contains Joseph Haydn’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in C major and his Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major. The pieces are performed by one of the 20th century’s leading violinists, Pinchas Zukerman, former Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Ronald Leonhard, oboist Barbara Winters and bassoonist David Breidenthal, together with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. These are outstanding performances of often neglected repertoire by the great Classical master, finally realised in the finest sound quality.
The Miro Quartet invites you to gather around the warmth of the holiday Hearth-a deeply personal and joy-filled album that celebrates the spirit of the season through the voices of today's most compelling composers. Whether your traditions include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply quiet reflection by the fire, this album captures the essence of holidays as a time of connection, memory, and hope. Featuring works by composers such as Anna Clyne, Clarice Assad, Gabriel Kahane, Reena Esmail, and Paola Prestini, each piece is a musical keepsake-an imaginative reworking of a holiday tune chosen by the composer and infused with personal meaning. From Renaissance hymns to familiar carols like Jingle Bells, and from West African rhythms to tender string lyricism, this vibrant collection reflects the rich diversity of how we celebrate, remember, and come together. Hearth follows the Miro Quartet's acclaimed PENTATONE release Ginastera String Quartets (2025), honoured as a Gramophone Editor's Choice, one of The New York Times' '5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now,' and recipient of Pizzicato's Supersonic distinction. Also available are the GRAMMY-nominated Home (2024) and Beethoven Complete String Quartets (2021). With this release, we are proud to share these musical stories - each one a gift, wrapped in sound, from our hearts to yours.
A 2021 GRAMMY Nominee for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album!
Star mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton presents a recital of songs by American composer Jake Heggie, with the composer at the piano. UNEXPECTED SHADOWS is a celebration in words and music of powerful, exceptional women. The program contains four song cycles, a single song, and an opera aria. The Work at Hand, set to poetry of the late Laura Morefield, contemplates on the brave fight against cancer that she, and millions with her, went through. Matt Haimovitz’ cello playing adds an extra layer to this profoundly moving song cycle. Iconic Legacies, on texts by Gene Scheer, offers four portraits of remarkable First Ladies. Scheer also wrote texts for Statuesque, inspired by five iconic sculptures of women and the deeply human stories within them. Of Gods & Cats, based on poetry by Gavin Dillard, offers playful parodies on religious allegories. Music, on a text by Sister Helen Prejean, addresses the transformative, healing, and humanizing power of music, while the so-called Ice Cube Aria from Heggie’s opera If I Were You, on a libretto by Gene Scheer, shows the female demon Brittomara reflecting on the delicious predictability of human nature. Multi-award-winning mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton makes her PENTATONE debut. Jake Heggie has a vast discography with the label, including the opera It’s a Wonderful Life (2017) and song recital albums by Melody Moore, Lisa Delan and Joyce DiDonato. The same applies to Matt Haimovitz, who has released several albums on PENTATONE, from contemporary classical and jazz and rock covers to Bach’s complete cello suites.
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REVIEWS:
Everyone is in peak form on this recording. Barton purrs, croons, divas, and screams her way through four complete song collections along with the song “Music” from The Breaking Waves collection to texts by Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking), and the short “Ice Cube Aria” from Heggie and Gene Scheer’s recent opera, If I Were You. Her huge range and power allies with a larger-than-life personality. Heggie, who was clearly encouraging Barton to perform at her best, holds his own with stellar pianism whose ferocious vitality must have kept Skywalker Studio’s piano tuner very busy. Unexpected Shadows makes the best possible case for the necessity and relevance of modern American classical song.
– San Francisco Classical Voice (sfcv.org)
Barton’s solo album is devoted to Heggie’s art songs and it’s a tribute to his output that he sustains the interest for over an hour with a variety that stands comparison with, say, Poulenc in the 20th century, lavishing sumptuous tone on the cycle written for Barton, The Work at Hand.
On her PENTATONE debut album, young German star soprano Anna Lucia Richter explores the heart-wrenching, timeless and universal feeling of Heimweh (homesickness) through a collection of extraordinary Schubert songs. Richter approaches the notion of Heimweh from several perspectives: from that of queens, young girls and shepherds to that of soldiers, dwarfs and gravediggers.
The repertoire consists of the original, German-language version of Ave Maria, three Mignon songs (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, Heiss micht nicht reden and So lasst mich scheinen), the sinister Der Zwerg, the expansive flower ballad Viola and many others. Richter is accompanied by pianist Gerold Huber, with whom she has formed a congenial Lieder tandem in the last years. They are joined by clarinetist Matthias Schorn on the final song of the program, the quasi concert aria Der Hirt auf dem Felsen.
REVIEWS:
The soprano Anna Lucia Richter has recorded a CD with a running time of almost eighty-one minutes. The program consists exclusively of songs by Franz Schubert. It begins with "To the Moon" and ends with "The Shepherd on the Rock". The CD was released by Pentatone (PTC 5186 839). On the beautifully rendered cover, the young singer falls from heaven like an angel from Tintoretto. It has become customary to place song productions under a specific theme; this time, it's about homesickness. A wide field, and Schubert and his lyricists promise a rich harvest. For the foreword in the booklet, the artist even consulted Grimm's dictionary and found out that the word homesickness entered general usage at the beginning of the 18th century. And she wonders if homesickness is "not actually the desire" to find something on the outside that can actually only be created on the inside.
The lyrical titles suit her better than the ballad-like “Zwerg”, in which the voice reaches its limits in the effort to colorfully embellish the dramatic events...the so-called flower ballad "Viola," based on a text by Schubert's friend Franz von Schober, consists of nineteen verses, which Richter joins together with a discreet design, so that the thirteen minutes fly by. This work is rarely heard and sounds like a major discovery in the context of the album. The singer, who impressively takes on a speaking part with the melodrama "Farewell from the Earth", elevates the entire recital.
On her Pentatone debut album, young German star soprano Anna Lucia Richter explores the heart-wrenching, timeless and universal feeling of Heimweh (homesickness) through a collection of extraordinary Schubert songs. Richter approaches the notion of Heimweh from several perspectives: from that of queens, young girls and shepherds to that of soldiers, dwarfs and gravediggers. The repertoire consists of the original, German-language version of Ave Maria, three Mignon songs (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, Heiss micht nicht reden and So lasst mich scheinen), the sinister Der Zwerg, the expansive flower ballad Viola and many others. Richter is accompanied by pianist Gerold Huber, with whom she has formed a congenial Lieder tandem in the last years. They are joined by clarinetist Matthias Schorn on the final song of the program, the quasi concert aria Der Hirt auf dem Felsen.
