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With his innate musicianship, charismatic energy, gift for communication, and irresistibly joyous spirit, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare is “electrifying in front of an orchestra” (Los Angeles Times). The 2024-25 season marks his third as Music Director of Canada’s Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and his sixth as Music Director of California’s San Diego Symphony.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Arnold Schoenberg, and Rafael Payare, a passionate advocate for that composer’s music, serves on the Artistic Honorary Committee of Schoenberg 150, dedicated to the worldwide celebration of the occasion. An all-Schoenberg album that includes Pelleas und Melisande and Verklärte Nacht is due for release in October. It marks Payare and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s third on Pentatone, which means it’s a great time for a DSD Bundle and the opportunity to explore Payare’s releases at a special price.

Mahler: Symphony No. 5
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. NativeDSD Senior Reviewer Bill Dodd calls the album “An Outstanding Mahler 5th!”

Strauss: Ein Heldenleben – Mahler: Ruckert-Lieder
The pairing of works may seem odd at first, with Strauss at his most exuberant and Mahler at his most introspective. They share, however, a deeply personal and autobiographical approach by two giants of fin-de-siècle music coming to terms with the world they lived in and their place in it.

Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande & Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)
The pairing of works may seem odd at first, with Strauss at his most exuberant and Mahler at his most introspective. They share, however, a deeply personal and autobiographical approach by two giants of fin-de-siècle music coming to terms with the world they lived in and their place in it.