“I am immensely proud that this project appeared on PENTATONE, and I warmly recommend all lovers of classical music to tread beyond the well-worn path, as well as to immerse themselves in this wonderful sound world of Hans Sommer.”
Our wonderful Head of Catalogue, Product and Curation – Kasper van Kooten – recommends Hans Sommer Orchestral Songs by Benjamin Appl, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Guillermo García Calvo (released in November 2022).
“I vividly remember the moment in the spring of 2022 when my colleague Renaud Loranger recommended me to listen to a tape he had received. I had no clue what it was, but I was enchanted from the very first second. German, turn-of-the-century orchestral songs, mostly famous Goethepoetry, set to music with tinges of Wagner, Mahler, Wolf, and even Brahms in its more folk-inspired moments. All glowingly orchestrated, and excellently sung and played. The composer turned out to be Hans Sommer, and the songs were interpreted by Mojca Erdman, Anke Vondung, Mauro Peter and Benjamin Appl, together with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the baton of Guillermo García Calvo.
I learned that Sommer had been a natural scientist composing in his spare time. Once championed by Richard Strauss, he fell into oblivion after his death, but thanks to the efforts of his great-grandson Hans-Christoph Mauruschat, his scores were rediscovered and now presented for thefirst time. How exciting it must be to browse through old family documents, and then to discover such fascinating and appealing music and bring it back to life.
Though not related to Hans Sommer, I fully share this sense of excitement about discovering hidden treasures of music history, as well as the urge to share it with as many people as possible. One of the great aspects of classical music is how endless the repertoire is, and how much a curious mind can discover. It is understandable that musicians, presenters and listeners revisit core repertoire constantly, but if one looks beyond, there’s so much beauty to discover, and a label should be bold enough to occasionally guide the listener into unexplored territory as well.
I am immensely proud that this project appeared on PENTATONE, and I warmly recommend all lovers of classical music to tread beyond the well-worn path, as well as to immerse themselves in this wonderful sound world of Hans Sommer.”
Kasper van Kooten, Head of Catalogue, Product and Curation
