BBC Music Magazine Review
“Thomas de Hartmann has long been one of those fascinating musical almost-men: a Ukrainianborn aristocrat, trained in the orbit of Rimsky-Korsakov and Taneyev, then drawn into the strange world of the mystic Gurdjieff before ending up, after years of upheaval and exile, in wartime France and later the United States. That tangled life gives Esther an added charge. Begun during the Nazi occupation and completed in 1946, it is hardly the work of a sheltered aesthete; you hear a composer who experienced dislocation and reinvention, and who still believed in the stage as a place of moral and emotional reckoning.
Esther, based on Jean Racine’s play, sits somewhere between opera and oratorio, but the eclectic score never sounds ‘in between’: the drama keeps moving, the choruses bite and the orchestral writing is full of colour and purpose. Kirill Karabits proves a persuasive guide, shaping his forces with conviction, keeping its long spans focused and alive. The Grange Festival Chorus is a tour de force, supplying plenty of devotional atmosphere and dramatic urgency.
The strong cast catches the intensity and grandeur of the piece. Soprano Corinne Winters is ideal and utterly convincing in the weighty title role; tenor Paul Appleby excels as the Chantre (Cantor), setting the work’s moral and ceremonial tone.
Esther may be an eccentric rediscovery, but it never feels like a musicological exercise. Hartmann’s work has an overwhelming personality, delivered with shattering energy in Pentatone’s world premiere recording. ★★★★★”
Concerti Magazine awards Esther 5 stars
"The Ukrainian composer Thomas de Hartmann is among the most dazzling artists of the first half of the 20th century....Corinne Winters, in the title role of the two-hour opera, outshines the otherwise excellent ensemble, who dedicate themselves to their roles with enthusiasm." Roland H. Dippel
Concerti review
Times Review of Esther
"...when his eclectic music takes wing it really does fly — often into strident rage, but finally into exultation when the happy ending arrives...her [Corinne Winters] zinging top notes are a joy and sharpen the music’s characteristic mix of pain and ecstasy. Her male colleagues give strong support, while Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra revel in the exotic colours and heightened passions." Geoff Brown, April 27 2026
Presto Music awards "Recording of the Week" to Esther
"...there’s no doubting her [Corinne Winters] dramatic commitment, or indeed that of anyone involved in this fascinating exhumation: Karabits and Co. have restored a vital missing link in twentieth-century music history, and the end product is worth two hours of anyone’s time." Katherine Cooper, April 24, 2026
BBC Radio-3 - Esther named "Recording of the Week"
From the radio transcript: "It's a remarkable project and a captivating recording I think framing some excellent orchestral playing and as you heard some beautiful choral laments. Corinne Winters masters a hugely challenging role and this feels like an important discovery - a wartime link between late romantic opera and 20th Century modernism." Andrew McGregor, April 25, 2026
MusicWeb International review of Esther
"This is a very fine release indeed, worthy of considerable praise. There is unlikely to be another, and I have no doubt that it does the composer proud. All involved can be very, very satisfied with their achievement." Jim Westhead, April 15, 2026