We are ecstatic to see six PENTATONE releases selected among the Best Classical Albums of 2024 by Textura!
The Lord of Cries (John Corigliano & Mark Adamo)
“Artists of remarkable calibre pool their talents for The Lord of Cries by composer John Corigliano and librettist Mark Adamo. The collaborators benefit immensely from the involvement of conductor Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Odyssey Opera Chorus (OOC). The Grammy-nominated world premiere recording is also distinguished by the artistry of its singers, with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in the role of Dionysus leading the way. Of the recording, the composer states, “I’ve had the privilege of collaborating on many, many records of my music over my six-decade career, and this is, far and away, one of the very finest.” But a single listen supports his assessment.”
This Land (Lara Downes)
“In her inimitable fashion, pianist Lara Downes captures the soul of America in this embracing celebration of her homeland. This Land is kaleidoscopic in its breadth of ideas and musical material. On the one hand, there’s a quietly majestic treatment of Paul Simon’s “America,” on the other a set of variations on Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”; haunting settings by Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. and Jake Heggie frame a ruminative one by jazz trumpeter Arturo O’Farrill. Towering over the others, however, is Edmar Colón’s reimagining of Rhapsody in Blue. Over the course of twenty-eight minutes, Colón folds into Gershwin’s familiar fabric Afro-Caribbean rhythms and the strains of a Chinese orchestra, such gestures symbolizing the proud melting-pot that is America.”
Around Gershwin (Richard Galliano)
“Accordionist Richard Galliano needs no accompanists when an orchestra is at his fingertips. His rendition of Rhapsody in Blue, to cite one example, less plays like a single-instrument transcription than a dazzling re-creation of the orchestral score in all its glory. The release is, of course, a tribute to George Gershwin, but it’s also more than that when Galliano deftly weaves material by Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Satie, Ravel, and Fauré into the presentation. In dying at thirty-eight, Gerswhin left us at a criminally young age, and the mind reels at imagining what he might have produced had he lived longer. The magnificent material he did create, however, remains to dazzle us year in and year out, with Galliano’s tribute a terrific testament to the composer’s gifts.”
Butterfly Lovers & Paganini (Chloe Chua & Singapore Symphony Orchestra)
“To say that Chloe Chua’s star has risen rapidly hardly captures it. Born in January 2007, the Singaporean violin prodigy was eleven years old when she was awarded the joint first prize at the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. Her sophomore Pentatone release couples Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Chen Gang and He Zhanhao’s Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto and Gang’s Sunshine Over Tashkurgan. Partnering with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Chua possesses a staggering technical ability and intuitive emotional understanding far beyond her years. As she delivers one stunning turn after another, don’t be surprised if you’re awed by the amazing feats she accomplishes with seeming ease.”
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht and Pelleas und Melisande (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal & Rafael Payare)
“Earlier Pentatone releases saw the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Rafael Payare tackling Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, and now they take on Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Pelleas und Melisande. Both are enduring programmatic works of vast emotional scope that showcase his early harmonic language. The performances invite the listener to luxuriate in the engulfing textures of the music and be seduced by their rhapsodic lyricism. Schoenberg aficionados should come away well-pleased by these treatments and embrace them for their integrity, honesty, and faithfulness to the works’ spirit.“
Home (Miró Quartet)
