World Premiere Recording of A Sonic Spectacular – Now Available in 5 Channel Surround Sound DSD 256, DSD 128 & DSD 64!
The Minnesota Orchestra and its music director Thomas Søndergård delve into the imaginative world of Thomas Adès, a singular voice in contemporary classical music. Featuring two of his most compelling orchestral works, The Exterminating Angel Symphony – a world premiere recording – and the Violin Concerto, this album captures Adès’ uncanny ability to merge intellectual rigor with raw emotional immediacy. With orchestral textures both radiant and unsettling, Adès evokes a surreal musical landscape, brought vividly to life by Søndergård’s incisive direction and violinist Leila Josefowicz’s electrifying performance.
Highlighting two distinct sides of Adès’ artistry, cinematic drama and virtuosic intimacy, this recording explores the composer’s breadth with striking clarity. Josefowicz brings fierce expressivity and precision to the Violin Concerto, while the orchestra navigates the volatile energy of The Exterminating Angel Symphony with gripping intensity.
This album marks the Pentatone debut of the Minnesota Orchestra and Leila Josefowicz, while Thomas Søndergård appeared on Lutoslawski & Dutilleux Cello Concertos together with Johannes Moser and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in 2018.
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, Music Director & Conductor
Leila Josefowicz, Violin
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 00:39:37
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | PTC5187487 |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
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| Artists | |
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| Executive Producer | Minnesota Orchestra |
| Producer | Brad Michel |
| Recording Engineer | Jay Perlman, Michael Osborne, Thomas Garneau |
| Recording Location | Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| Release Date | November 14, 2025 |
Press reviews
Audiophile-Magazine
The Exterminating Angel Symphony – recorded as a world premiere – is a symphonic suite of approximately twenty minutes taken from the opera of the same name, “The Exterminating Angel,” which premiered in 2026. (…) The Minnesota Orchestra perfectly captures this harrowing and utterly insane story. Creating just the right level of tension to allow the listener to quickly immerse themselves in this opera is no easy feat. (…)
The Violin Concerto, subtitled “Concentric Paths”, is a work for solo violin and chamber orchestra. (…) Here, it is the Canadian violinist Leila Josefowicz who electrifies the atmosphere of an already very tormented work. The soloist blends perfectly with the orchestra, and the sound recording work is once again excellent, offering great clarity and beautiful dynamics, highlighting the extraordinary precision of this orchestra.
This recording offers a wonderful opportunity to discover or rediscover the world of Thomas Adès, thanks to its meticulous production and a particularly inspired conductor. A very good album.
Opus Klassiek
The contribution of the Minnesota Orchestra under the leadership of the Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård… is certainly impressive. The orchestra has built a strong reputation in both classical and modern and contemporary repertoire, and Søndergård possesses a keen ear for balance and detail. The interplay with Josefowicz is exemplary: clear, dynamic, and well-balanced.
The Times
First things first. The orchestral playing and the recorded sound are magnificent. In the album’s most spectacular track, a chain of grinding fortissimo chords march along through often surprising harmonic shifts, supported by a menacing side-drum tattoo, and the textural clarity is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
File this release under “sonic spectaculars”.
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