Pentatone presents a new album full of world-premiere recordings of orchestral songs by Hans Sommer, sung by an excellent quartet of soloists – Mojca Erdmann, Anke Vondung, Mauro Peter and Benjamin Appl – together with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the baton of Guillermo García Calvo. Sommer was a Liszt student whose operas were performed and praised by Richard Strauss, but sunk into relative oblivion due to his unusual career path and independence from major publishers. The songs were discovered recently and can finally be presented to the world.

Focusing mostly on Goethe poetry, combining high Romanticism with folk styles, Sommer’s songs are colorfully orchestrated, harmonically audacious, and often highly dramatic and evocative. This album release, commemorating Sommer’s 100-year death anniversary, sheds light on a fascinating chapter in music history, and will hopefully contribute to a renaissance of this unsung hero. The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin has a vast Pentatone discography, including Wagner’s complete operas, symphonic works by Mahler and Strauss, as well as multiple concerto recordings with renowned soloists. Mojca Erdmann, Anke Vondung, Mauro Peter, Benjamin Appl and Guillermo García Calvo all make their Pentatone debut.