September 23, 2019

Presenting October 2019 Releases

A Bouquet of Chamber-Musical Jewels 

Elephant House Quartet

Elephant House Quartet invites the listener for a stroll through the colourful oeuvre of Telemann — himself a gardening enthusiast — presenting a bouquet of chamber-musical jewels. Telemann’s Garden ranges from excerpts of solo fantasias for violin, flute and harpsichord to a sonata for viola da gamba and basso continuo, a trio sonata for violin, recorder and basso continuo, a suite for violin, flute and basso continuo, as well as one of the quartets Telemann wrote during his Paris sojourns. These pieces together constitute a fascinating portrait of one of the most prolific and successful composers of the Baroque era.

Elephant House Quartet is a Baroque ensemble featuring virtuosos on each instrument in wonderful interaction, consisting of recorder player Bolette Roed, violinist Aureliusz Goliński, gambist Reiko Ichise and harpsichordist Allan Rasmussen. Telemann’s Garden marks their PENTATONE debut.

This album will be released as 1 CD and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads. (Article number: PTC 5186749)

The Fruit of Profound Musical Friendships

Inon Barnatan, Stefan Jackiw, Alisa Weilerstein, Alan Gilbert , Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Inon Barnatan kicks off his complete Beethoven piano concertos cycle with this double album, together with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and maestro Alan Gilbert. Ranging from the classical First and romantic Third to the experimental Fourth Piano Concerto, and closing with the festive Triple Concerto, Barnatan and his colleagues display the exceptional expressive range and stylistic diversity of Beethoven’s musical language. For the Triple Concerto, Barnatan joins forces with violinist Stefan Jackiw and cellist Alisa Weilerstein. This recording project bears the fruit of longstanding and profound musical friendships, and surprisingly offers the first studio recording of Beethoven piano concertos by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, one of the most-recorded ensembles in the world of classical music.Inon Barnatan is now making his PENTATONE debut. This will be followed by Beethoven Piano Concertos Part 2 in 2020, which will complete the cycle. The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields has built a consistent repertoire with the label throughout the years, whereas Alisa Weilerstein presented the first result of her exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE in 2018 with Transfigured Night. Stefan Jackiw and Alan Gilbert make their PENTATONE debut.

This album will be released as 2 CDs and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads. (Article number: PTC 5186817)

The German Romantic Opera Par Excellence

Marek Janowski, Andreas Schager, Lise Davidsen, Alan Held, Sofia Fomina, Markus Eiche, Christoph Filler, Andreas Bauer, Franz Josef Selig, Corinna Kirchhoff, Peter Simonischeck , Frankfurt Radio Symphony , MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig

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. In the years after its 1821 premiere, the catchy melodies, picturesque charm and spooky scenes of Der Freischütz thrilled audiences throughout Europe. Janowski’s inspired reading lifts out the symphonic qualities of Carl Maria von Weber’s masterpiece, and makes clear why colleagues such as Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner raved about the work. The excellent cast consists of Lise Davidsen (Agathe), Andreas Schager (Max), Sofia Fomina (Ännchen), Alan Held (Kaspar), Markus Eiche (Ottokar) and Franz-Josef Selig (Eremit). Janowski conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and MDR Leipzig Radio Choir. For this recording, the original spoken dialogues have been replaced by short narrations, written by Katharina Wagner and Daniel Weber and recited by Corinna Kirchhoff and Peter Simonischeck.

Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our times, and enjoys a vast PENTATONE discography, including complete recordings of Bruckner’s symphonies and Wagner’s mature operas. Frankfurt Radio Symphony has also released multiple albums on PENTATONE, including a recording of Richard Strauss’s Salome (2017). 

This album will be released as 2 Super Audio-CDs and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads. (Article number: PTC 5186788)