Gramophone Magazine
June 2023
Editor's Choice

BBC Music Magazine
May 2023
Orchestral Choice

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Rafael Payare

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Rafael Payare make their Pentatone debut with Mahler’s 5th Symphony. The album is also the first recording under Payare’s tenure, and the beginning of a longer recording relationship with the label. For Payare, the Fifth is the last symphony that shows Mahler still looking forward to what the future might bring, unlike his subsequent, much darker and existential works. Despite that optimism, there is enough tragedy and struggle along the way, resonating with Mahler’s life at the time of creation. Payare’s proficiency in late- Romantic repertoire coupled with the matured, distinctive sound of the Montréal players make this a collaboration to look out for.

"Intensity, inflection and colour build as the performance proceeds...This is a Fifth that sparkles." - Gramophone Magazine, June 2023.