On the 22nd of August 2025 Sony Classical released the album "Dolomites" by the LGT Young Soloists through streaming media. The album contains two new works, "Dolomites, Pale Mountains" composed by Rachel Portman, and "Concerto No. 2 for cello and string orchestra, "Klatbutne / Presence" composed by Pēteris Vasks.
"Dolomites, Pale Mountains" was commissioned by The Südtirol Festival Merano . Meran on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. The composition is inspired by four striking photographs of the Dolomites, captured by the renowned photographers Georg Tappeiner and Ursula Stingel. These images served as the creative foundation for the four-movement work, which translates the majestic stillness and sublime grandeur of this unique landscape into music. The piece forms the centerpiece of the anniversary program and will celebrate its world premiere at the Südtirol Festival Merano on the 27th of August 2025.
TRACKLIST
Rachel Portman - Dolomites, Pale Mountains
Pēteris Vasks - Concerto No. 2 for cello and string orchestra, "Klatbutne / Presence"
feat. Caterina Isaia (Cello), Phoebe Ockendon-Rowe (Voice)
- Cadenza
- Andante Cantabile
- Allegro Moderato
- Cadenza II
- Adagio
About her composition, Rachel Portman commented:
'Composed specially for the LGT Young Soloists for the 40th anniversary of the Südtirol Festival Merano, this is a work in four movements celebrating the Dolomites mountain range. Each movement is inspired and named
after a specific mountain range captured in extraordinary photographstaken by Georg Tappeiner and Ursula Stingel – namely Marmolada, Vajolet Towers, Rosengarten and Saslonch. It was decided to name each piece in a different language reflecting the confluence of languages spoken in this unique region.
Marmolada is the highest peak. I am in awe of its magnificence and majesty. The music speaks to its ancient vastness as, in the photograph, the clouds encircle the massive, adding to its sense of mystery.
The Vajolet Towers are a bizarre rock formation rising into the sky. To me they feel jutting and jagged in character, and the music has a corresponding spikey quality reflected in the brilliance and vigour of the LGT Young
Soloists’ playing.
Rosengarten is inspired by the old myth of the rocks which glow secretly at dusk, capturing the delicate, blooming rose garden which appears then fades.
Last of all is Saslonch, which is the main peak of the Sassolungo group formed about 230 million years ago, formed from a tropical coral reef. This final piece describes the gathering beauty and stature of all of the
mountains in the Dolomites.
The LGT Young Soloists are a unique group of string players led by their director and founder Alexander Gilman. I was inspired to write for them because of their exhuberant, exquisite playing and mastery. Solos rise and
fall in the pieces, no one is king in this ode to the Dolomites.'