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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 Arabella Steinbacher (violin) / Festival Strings Lucerne, Daniel Dodds [ Pentatone / CD - released 1/Oct/2021 ] After having recorded Mozart's last three violin concertos in 2014, Arabella Steinbacher, the Festival Strings Lucerne and its leader Daniel Dodds now complete the cycle by presenting Mozart's less well-known, but equally enchanting Violin Concertos... |
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BEDRICH SMETANA
Smetana: Má Vlast Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov [ Pentatone / CD - released 1/Mar/2024 ] "I think it's Bychkov's ability to relate phrasing to sound that is at the heart of his success here. He plainly relishes the orchestra's natural blend while celebrating the beauty of its soloists." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Orchestral |
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ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: String Quartets Emerson String Quartet [ Pentatone / CD - released 23/Oct/2020 ] "This is also, hand on heart, the first time that I've really grasped these three works as a cycle. Listen to them in one sitting if you can: it's wonderfully illuminating and moving.' BBC Music Chamber Choice of the Month Feb 2021 |
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OTTORINO RESPIGHI
Respighi: Songs Ian Bostridge (tenor), Saskia Georgini (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 3/Sep/2021 ] After their acclaimed recording of Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin, Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini present a programme of rarely-recorded songs by Ottorino Respighi. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera) Lisette Oropesa, René Barbera, Lester Lynch / Dresdner Philharmonie, Daniel Oren [ Pentatone / 2 CD Box Set - released 27/May/2022 ] The Dresdner Philharmonie, Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and conductor Daniel Oren present Verdi's masterpiece La Traviata, together with a stellar cast including Lester Lynch as Germont, and world star soprano Lisette Oropesa as Violetta. |
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BELA BARTOK / LUCIANO BERIO / MAURICE RAVEL / XAVIER MONTSALVATGE
Kozená: Folk Songs Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano), Czech Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle [ Pentatone / CD - released 16/Feb/2024 ] Magdalena Kozena'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 Bartok, Ravel and Montsalvatge, this collection provides a kaleidoscope of... |
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BELA BARTOK / JOHANNES BRAHMS / MODEST MUSSORGSKY
Magdalena Kožená - Nostalgia Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano) Yefim Bronfman (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 10/Sep/2021 ] "The Czech mezzo is in prime form in songs that could have been written for her. She catches every mood and inflection with spontaneous immediacy." Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Song |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare [ Pentatone / CD - released 21/Jul/2023 ] The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Rafael Payare make their Pentatone debut with Mahler's 5th Symphony. The album is also the first recording under Payare's tenure, and the beginning of a longer recording relationship with... |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59 Nos. 2 & 3 "Razumovsky" Quartetto Italiano [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Aug/2009 ] The Quartetto Italiano was founded in 1945 and their complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets were famous recordings. This is a remastered Quadro recording. |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: String Quartets: Op 59 No. 1 ['Rasumovsky' No. 1] & Op 18 No. 6 Quartetto Italiano [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] "Razor-wire intonation, fierce attacks, rhythmic propulsion, and a steadiness of inner pulsation made this foursome the multiplied version to strings what Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli had achieved for the keyboard." (AudAud.com Feb 2009) |
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FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Symphonies 4 & 5 René Jacobs, B'Rock Orchestra [ Pentatone / CD - released 27/Aug/2021 ] Multiple prize-winning conductor René Jacobs and the B'Rock Orchestra present the third instalment of their Schubert cycle on PENTATONE with a recording of the composer's Fourth and Fifth Symphony. Just as with the Second and Third, Jacobs approaches... |
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MAURICE RAVEL / MANUEL DE FALLA / ERIK SATIE / FRANCIS POULENC
Camino Sean Shibe (guitar) [ Pentatone / CD - released 20/Aug/2021 ] "Vivid, beguiling and intensely intimate" BBC Music Recording of the Month Oct 2021 |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Sean Shibe - Lost & Found Sean Shibe (electric guitar) [ Pentatone / CD - released 26/Aug/2022 ] Sean Shibe's second Pentatone album Lost & Found is an ecstatic journey containing music by outsiders, mystics, visionaries, who often have more than one identity and lay claim to various artistic traditions, genres, or audiences. |
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HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS / AGUSTIN BARRIOS MANGORE / ALBERTO GINASTERA
Profesión Sean Shibe (guitar) [ Pentatone / CD - released 17/Nov/2023 ] "It's an extraordinary account [of the Villa-Lobos], bursting with nuance and personality and easily rivalling Julian Bream's classic from 1978." Gramophone Award Nomination 2024 - Instrumental |
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MASON BATES
Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (complete opera) Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson, Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones / Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Michael Christie [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 25/Feb/2019 ] "Christie conducts with plenty of energy and verve, and the playing and choral singing are exemplary in their precision" Gramophone |
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FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: L'isola disabitata André Morsch, Anett Fritsch, Krystian Adam, Sunhae Im, Bernhard Forck [ Pentatone / CD - released 6/Aug/2021 ] After their acclaimed recording of Telemann's Miriways, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin returns to PENTATONE with Joseph Haydn's opera L'isola disabitata, together with an excellent quartet of vocalists. Officially called an azione teatrale,... |
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GIACOMELLI / GIANGUIR / ALBINONI / POPORA / etc
Ann Hallenberg - Carnevale 1729 Ann Hallenberg (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Stefano Montanari [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 23/Jun/2017 ] BBC Music Magazine September 2017 Disc of the month |
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J.S. BACH / ARVO PART
Bach & Pärt Arabella Steinbacher, Stuttgarter Kamerorchester [ Pentatone / CD - released 10/Feb/2023 ] "Steinbacher weaves in and out of Bach's contrapuntal textures, occasionally reducing her tone to a radiant pianissimo to allow the orchestral lines through." BBC Music Concerto Choice April 2023 |
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BARTOK
The Two Violin Concertos Arabella Steinbacher (violin) Marek Janowski (piano) [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Oct/2010 ] "Steinbacher's impeccable playing captures the Hungarian flavor of both concertos with vivid accompaniment from Janowski and the Swiss orchestra. Sonic quality is exemplary." (ClassicalCDReview.com) |
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VIVALDI / PIAZZOLLA
Vivaldi & Piazzolla: The Four Seasons Arabella Steinbacher (violin), Munich Chamber Orchestra [ Pentatone / CD - released 24/Jul/2020 ] Star violinist Arabella Steinbacher presents Antonio Vivaldi's world-famous Four Seasons alongside Astor Piazzolla's Cuatro estaciones porteñas, creating a lively combination of baroque and tango. The enormous popularity of Vivaldi's Four Seasons... |
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JOSEPH HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: 9 Piano Trios Beaux Arts Trio [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 20/Jun/2009 ] "PentaTone's DSD remastering of the four-channel original for SACD shows what fine recordings these always were; the sound is quite simply beautiful." (Five Stars AudAud.com) |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 Chen Reiss (soprano), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov [ Pentatone / CD - released 13/Jan/2023 ] The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Mahler's Fourth Symphony, laying the foundation of a complete Mahler symphonies cycle to appear on PENTATONE. It will be the label's first... |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 5 'Emperor' Christoph Eschenbach (piano) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa / London Symphony Orchestra, Hans Werner Henze [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Feb/2017 ] The seeds were planted in the early 1970s when Deutsche Grammophon realised what amazing results could be achieved by recording the multi-channel tapes, with either four or eight channels. Yet, due to a few restrictions, they never fully blossomed.... |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: Symphony No 3 'Organ' (with Moussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition) Daniel Chorzempa (organ) / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Edo de Waart [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2009 ] "In the finale, the organ - played by Daniel Chorzempa - rises majestically to the occasion as part of one of the great final movements in the symphonic literature." Classik Reviews |
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GRIEG / MENDELSSOHN
Grieg: Lyric Pieces / Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte Denis Kozhukhin (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 28/Jun/2019 ] "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." Gramophone Editor's Choice September 2019 |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler - Symphony No 3 Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano) / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boys of the Breda Sacrament Choir & Rijnmond Boys' Choir, Mariss Jansons [ RCO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 25/Apr/2011 ] "the RCO brass and string majesty remains a thing of wonder. Bernarda Fink brings real gravitas and weight to the Nietzsche text and, with the finale on the horizon, Jansons keeps it simple: let the music do the work." (ClassicFM) |
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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Anime Immortali | Mozart Arias Franco Fagioli (counter-tenor), Kammerorchester Basel, Daniel Bard [ Pentatone / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] Countertenor Franco Fagioli makes his Pentatone debut with Anime Immortali, together with the Kammerorchester Basel, exploring the music that Mozart composed for castratos. Ranging from opera to sacred music and culminating in Exsultate, jubilate,... |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (complete opera) Freddie de Tommaso, Saioa Hernández, Lester Lynch, Elisabeth Kulman / [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 23/Jun/2023 ] "De Tommaso turns out to be the real deal, singing with a confidence and ease that seem astonishing for a singer who was only 28 at the time of the recording, His is a real *spinto* tenor: bright yet intensely masculine." BBC Music Opera Choice |
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FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Schwanengesang Ian Bostridge (tenor), Lars Vogt (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 30/Sep/2022 ] Tenor Ian Bostridge completes his Pentatone trilogy of Schubert song cycles with a rendition of Schwanengesang, together with the renowned pianist Lars Vogt. Schwanengesang was compiled and published after Schubert's death, and the pieces are... |
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FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Winterriese Ian Bostridge (tenor), Thomas Adès (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 13/Sep/2019 ] "If any audience is present here, they leave no audible sign. Maybe listeners were immobilised by wonder, struck dumb by the impact and wide range of Bostridge's voice - beautiful, ugly, anguished, tender, robust, bleached." The Times |
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CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan, Rebecca Bottone / La Nuova Musica, Davis Bates [ Pentatone / CD - released 4/Oct/2019 ] "High praise, then, for David Bates and his ensemble." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Opera |
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BOHUSLAV MARTINU
Martinů: Cello Sonatas Johannes Moser (cello) & Andrei Korobeinikov (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] Cellist Johannes Moser and pianist Andrei Korobeinikov present Bohuslav Martinů's complete cello sonatas. These works belong to the most significant twentieth-century repertoire for cello and piano. Reflecting Martinů's troubled existence, defined by... |
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FELIX & FANNY MENDELSSOHN
Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn: Works for Cello and Piano Johannes Moser (cello), Alasdair Beatson (piano) [ Pentatone / CD - released 9/Aug/2019 ] German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser and Scottish 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... |
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GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) [complete opera] Julie Fuchs, Cyrille Dubois, Florian Sempey, Luc Bertin-Hugaul / Orchestre National de Lille, Alexandre Bloch [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] Les Pêcheurs de Perles is best known for its glorious duet, but Georges Bizet's opera has much more to offer. This live recording more than ever brings out the brilliance of this oriental story about love, duty and friendship. In the last 150 years,... |
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DOWLAND / HARVEY / CACCINI / BRITTEN / TRADITIONAL / etc
Broken Branches Karim Sulayman (tenor), Sean Shibe (guitar) [ Pentatone / CD - released 5/May/2023 ] Nominee - Best Classical Solo Vocal Album Grammy Awards 66th Awards (2024) Nominee - Best Classical Solo Vocal Album |
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CARL MARIA von WEBER
Weber: Der Freischütz Lise Davidsen (Agathe), Andreas Schager (Max), Sofia Fomina (Ännchen), Alan Held (Kaspar), Markus Eiche (Ottokar), Franz-Josef Selig (Eremit) [ Pentatone / 2 CD - released 25/Oct/2019 ] Maestro Marek Janowski leads a sensational cast - including star vocalists Lise Davidsen and Andreas Schager - on this new recording of Der Freischütz, the German Romantic opera par excellence. |
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GIOACCHINIO ROSSINI / GAETANO DONIZETTI
Lisette Oropesa - French Bel Canto Arias Lisette Oropesa (soprano) / Sachsischer Staatsopernchor, Dresdner Philharmonie, Corrado Rovaris, with Kristina Fuchs, Frank Blümel, & others [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 14/Oct/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... |
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W. A. MOZART
Ombra Compagna - Mozart Concert Arias Lisette Oropesa (soprano) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Antonello Manacorda [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 7/May/2021 ] "Oropesa sings with exquisite emotional restraint, subtly shading her vibrato and colouring her mezzo range with a Schwarzkopf-like radiance and intensity." BBC Music |
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MARCELLO / LEO / GASPARINI / G. F. HANDEL etc
Magdalena Kožená - Il Giardino dei Sospiri Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Collegium 1704, Václav Luks [ Pentatone SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 17/May/2019 ] "I was expecting something good, but not extraordinary. But, even among all the Baroque vocal music recordings of every size and shape and concept occupying the catalog lists, this-and especially Kožená-truly is extraordinary." 10/10 ClassicsToday |
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ANTON DVORAK / BOHUSLAV MARTINU / HANS KRASA / GIDEON KLEIN
Czech Songs Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ Pentatone / CD - released 16/Aug/2024 ] Magdalena Kožená presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village... |