PENTATONE releases Intimate Voices: Chamber Music of David Conte in August 2025
David Conte’s Intimate Voices presents a deeply personal journey through a decade of his chamber music, with works recorded between 2014 and 2024. Celebrating the composer’s 70th birthday, this album reflects his belief in the continuity of musical culture, shaped by his studies with the legendary pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. As one of her last students, Conte embraces her wisdom that “true personality in music is only revealed through the deep knowledge of the personalities of others.” His compositions resonate with this philosophy, drawing inspiration from past masters while forging his own expressive voice.
“Over the past three centuries, composers have turned to chamber ensembles such as those featured on this recording to express their most profound thoughts and emotions. From my years of study as one of the last students of the great French pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, I learned as a young man the value of imitating mastery over seeking singularity. As Mlle. Boulanger wisely remarked: “One is not original by choice. The root of originality lies in one’s origins, as true personality in music is only revealed through the deep knowledge of the personalities of others.”
For me, the joy of creating music is in affirming the continuity of musical culture as expressed through my own deep assimilation of those composers I most love and admire. I believe that any serious living composer has a vital relationship with one’s fellow composers past and present. In composing it is my intention to focus my full thought, feeling, and will in creating musical narratives that hold the performer’s and listener’s attention in such a way that they experience my compositions not just in chronological time, which is temporal, but in ontological time, which is eternal.”
David Conte
Performed by an ensemble of distinguished musicians including Samuel Vargas, Kevin Korth, Emil Miland, Miles Graber, Kevin Rivard, Jerome Simas, Eric Zivian, and Matthew Linaman, this album offers an essential listening experience for lovers of contemporary chamber music.
Digital Release Date: 15 AUGUST 2025
Physical Release Date: AUGUST 2025
Released physically on standard CD and digital formats for streaming and download.