We are ecstatic to see two PENTATONE releases selected among the 20 Best Classical Albums of 2024 by The Times!
Schubert: Ländler (Pierre-Laurent Aimard)
“An unusual album from a pianist often regarded as a contemporary specialist. Here he’s playing a healthy selection of Schubert’s Ländler: popular dance pieces so brief and simple that this 68-minute album contains 113 of them. Aimard shapes and shades the notes with poise and subtle inflections, yet nothing becomes precious or brittle. would happily have listened on for many more hours, even perhaps until the end of time.“
Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 ,9 (Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov)
“What could go wrong when Bychkov conducts three Dvorak symphonies, plus symphonic poems, with the Czech Philharmonic? Absolutely nothing. The vigorous rhythms, singing strings and woodwinds, the folksy tang: everything is as it should be when Czech musicians play Czech music with a conductor whose job is to encourage and enliven rather than get in the way. Overfamiliar music? Some of it. But with Bychkov and his orchestra, everything sounds delightfully fresh.”
