by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Thomas de Hartmann is a composer whose profile has soared in recent years, thanks to well timed album releases from Wyastone and Pentatone, and a recent Proms debut where the Violin Concerto was performed by Joshua Bell, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Dalia Stasevka.

Today Pentatone make a small but meaningful addition to their discography. Cellist Matt Haimovitz has already recorded the composer’s Cello Concerto, but now he adds a meaningful extra in the solo work La Kobsa, composed by de Hartmann in exile in 1950.

The press release writes, “While the recording was made at Skywalker Sound in California, the emotional core of this project lies in Haimovitz’s four-city tour of Ukraine with the Odesa Philharmonic in May 2024, made possible by a grant from the U.S. State Department. During his journey, he performed impromptu sets in public squares and for wounded soldiers, accompanied by a documentary film crew, and brought de Hartmann’s music to his homeland for the very first time.”

What’s the music like?

Running in two short movements, La Kobsa begins with a deeply felt utterance, a profound piece from the cello:

The second part is more playful and optimistic, a dance with a rustic edge, which finds Haimovitz in exuberant but poignant form:

Listen / Buy

You can listen and explore download options from the Pentatone website

Published post no.2,638 – Friday 29 August 2025