EMI Classics & Virgin Classics January releases
This month, Virgin Classics recreates what the UK’s Guardian called “countertenor heaven” when it brings together the contrasting and complementary talents of two star countertenors, Philippe Jaroussky and Max Emanuel Cencic, on Duetti, a program of chamber-scale duets and arias by Italian composers of the early 18th century. Meanwhile EMI Classics rings in the new year with The Flute King, music written and inspired by King Frederick the Great, whose 300th anniversary is celebrated this month, from pre-eminent flutist Emmanuel Pahud; Storyteller, the innovative debut recording of Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth; and the world-premiere recording of The Peacemakers, the most recent work by the world’s most-performed living composer, Karl Jenkins. EMI also honors the 150th birthday of English composer Frederick Delius with two exciting new collections, including an 18-disc retrospective featuring historic performances by Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and many more. EMI’s extensive range of new reissues includes Classical 2012, a two-and-a-half-hour compilation sampler from EMI and Virgin’s best and most popular classical artists, while from the archives come 30 new titles in the redesigned EMI Masters series. Details of these and other releases from EMI Classics and Virgin Classics follow below.
Duetti
Philippe Jaroussky; Max Emanuel Cencic
Les Arts Florissants / William Christie
CD and downloads available January 10 from Virgin Classics
Two star countertenors, Philippe Jaroussky and Max Emanuel Cencic, join forces to perform chamber duets and arias by Italian composers of the early 18th century: Porpora, Mancini, Bononcini, Marcello, Conti, and Alessandro Scarlatti. Two instrumental works by Corelli round out this rich program, which derives from concerts presented by Jaroussky, Cencic, and Les Arts Florissants under William Christie’s direction in France and Spain in early 2011. A full track list of the new album is provided below.
Both countertenors are virtuosic: Jaroussky is famous for the grace of his vocalism, whether in brilliant castrato arias or his Virgin Classics album of belle époque song, Opium, while Cencic favors a more assertive and athletic style, as in his breathtaking Virgin Classics Rossini arias recital. When the two collaborated on the Virgin Classics recording of Handel’s Faramondo, the UK’s Guardian described the results as “countertenor heaven.”
Jaroussky explains the genesis of the new album:
“William Christie spoke to Max and me about his idea for a program of chamber duos, and it immediately caught our imagination. While our most recent recordings have been of operatic arias, we share an interest in the more intimate Baroque repertoire, which both of us have recorded before now. … Rather than performing chamber duets by Handel, which are the most widely heard examples of the genre, we decided to focus on Italian composers of the early 18th century who influenced the young Handel… . They wrote duets of great beauty, generally rarely performed, where the two voices entwine in a way that is sometimes very sophisticated, but also very sensual.”
The countertenor goes on to describe how “inspiring” he finds Christie, adding: “He is also a conductor who trusts to each singer’s musical intuition and personality, and I appreciate that enormously.” As for his collaboration with Cencic, Jaroussky explains:
“Max has an extraordinary countertenor technique that enables him to tackle different repertoire and tessituras with amazing and enviable ease. I learn a lot from listening to him and watching him sing.”
Track list:
1–3. Giovanni Bononcini (1670–1747): “Pietoso nume arcier”
4–6. Francesco Mancini (1672–1737): “Quanto mai saria più bello”
7. Francesco Bartolomeo Conti (1681/2–1732): “Quando veggo un’usignolo”
8. Bononcini: “Chi d’Amor tra le catene”
9. Bononcini: “Bella sì, ma crudel”
10–14. Nicola Porpora (1686–1768): “Ecco che il primo albore”
15–22. Benedetto Marcello (1686–1739): “Chiaro e limpido fonte”
23. Marcello: “Tirsi e Fileno Veggio Fille”
24. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725): “Amore e Virtù Nel cor del cor mio”
The Flute King
Emmanuel Pahud, flute
Kammerakademie Potsdam; Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord
2-CD set and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
“Pahud is an artist’s artist,… never allowing the predominance of virtuosity at the expense of rock-solid musical judgment.” — Fanfare
On his new 2-CD set The Flute King, Emmanuel Pahud performs music written for and by the gifted flutist, composer, and patron of the arts, King Frederick the Great of Prussia. The release features concertos, solo sonatas, and chamber works by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Johann Joachim Quantz, Franz Benda, and Johann Friedrich Agricola, plus rarely programmed music by the king’s youngest sister, Anna Amalia von Preussen, and by Frederick the Great himself. A full track list is provided below.
Joining Pahud on The Flute King are period instrument ensemble Kammerakademie Potsdam and renowned harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock. The set’s deluxe edition comprises a 2-CD casebound book with in-depth, insightful essays on the life and times of King Frederick; notes on Pahud and the featured composers; a gallery of historical images; and access to exclusive online content.
The new recording celebrates January’s 300th anniversary of the birth of an enlightened monarch whose love of music changed the musical scene in continental Europe. Pahud explains:
“As crown prince, Frederick was forbidden by his father to indulge in any form of aesthetic activity – especially playing the flute. He was to have been brought up as a soldier, but the young man bridled and took music lessons in secret. For the crown prince, his father’s state was built on an obsolete model – the young Frederick sought to become an enlightened regent, a philosopher and a humanist. He was a follower of the Sturm und Drang movement, of Kant and humanism – a modern man in the midst of a world in upheaval. … On these CDs I attempt to come to terms with that period: the diverse influences that prevailed at the Prussian court, the shifts in fashion, and the various roles played by the king, his staff, and his friends.”
The earliest work in the set is from A Musical Offering, the result of J.S. Bach’s visit to Frederick the Great’s summer palace, where the King asked the composer to improvise a keyboard fugue on a theme that he, Frederick, had devised. Bach not only did so, but he proceeded to compose three-part and six-part fugues and a string of intricate canons on the royal theme as well as a full-scale trio sonata for flute, violin, and continuo, which was published as Musikalisches Opfer with a dedication to the King.
Emmanuel Pahud is the pre-eminent flutist of his generation and, as Principal Flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic, musical heir to such great flutists as Sir James Galway and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Pahud’s exclusive recording contract with EMI since 1996 has yielded more than 20 CDs and numerous international awards. Pahud’s diary for 2012 includes a 14-city US tour featuring music from The Flute King.
Track list:
CD 1
1–3. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Concerto in A for flute, strings and basso continuo
4–6. Franz Benda: Concerto in E minor for flute, strings and basso continuo
7–9. Frederick II of Prussia: Concerto No. 3 for flute, string orchestra and bass
10–12: Johann Joachim Quantz: Concerto in G for flute, strings and basso continuo
CD 2
1–4. Johann Sebastian Bach: Trio Sonata from Musikalische Opfer, BWV1079
5–7. Anna Amalia of Prussia: Sonata in F for flute and basso continuo
8–10. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Sonata in A minor for flute
11–14. Johann Friedrich Agricola: Sonata in A for flute and basso continuo
15–18. Frederick II of Prussia: Sonata in B minor for flute and basso continuo
19–20. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Hamburger Sonata in G for flute and basso continuo
Storyteller
Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet
Havard Gimse, piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Eivind Aadland
CD and downloads available January 24 from EMI Classics
“She is not to be missed. She is unique!” – Leif Ove Andsnes
On her solo debut CD for EMI Classics, young Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth tells stories of love and loss with a program of songs by Grieg, Strauss, Sibelius, Ravel, Canteloube, Weill, and more. Transcribed for trumpet, the songs also feature the accompaniment of pianist Havard Gimse and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eivind Aadland.
At the heart of the CD is Haugtussa, Grieg’s song cycle based on an epic poem cycle by Norwegian writer Arne Garborg. “When you read the [Haugtussa] poems, there is a happy ending but, for some reason, Grieg chose to make the ending sad,” Helseth explains. “All eight songs are beautiful but so different in character. The music deserves to shine by itself.” While Grieg’s cycle is a natural choice for a Norwegian performer, the other songs on the disc are equally compelling, not least the surprise inclusion of Epílogo’ noche de luna by Spanish composer José María Cano (b. 1959). A full track list is provided below.
At 23, Helseth is already one of the leading trumpet soloists of her generation and a sensation in Scandinavia. Her numerous honors include the 2009 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship; Newcomer of the Year at the 2007 Norwegian Grammy Awards, where she was the first classical artist ever nominated; second prize in the 2006 Eurovision Young Musicians Competition; and Stockholm’s prestigious Prince Eugen Culture Prize. Last February, Helseth made her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall.
Track list:
1. Rachmaninov (arr. Michael Rot): “Zdes’ khorosho”
2. Dvorák: “Als die alte Mutter,“ Op. 55, No. 4
3. Delibes : “Les Filles de Cadix”
4. Sibelius: “Soluppgang,” Op. 37, No. 3
5. Sibelius: “Varen flyktar hastigt,” Op. 13 No. 4
6. Sibelius: “Var det en dröm,” Op. 37, No. 4
7. Strauss: Wiegenlied, Op. 41, No. 1
8. Mahler: “Wer hat dies liedlein erdacht”
9. Korngold: “Marietta’s Lied” from Die tote Stadt
10–17. Grieg: Haugtussa, Op. 67
18. José María Cano: “Epílogo’ noche de luna” (solo cello: Jonathan Aasgaard)
19. Saint-Saëns: “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila
20. Canteloube: “La pastoura als camps” from Chants d’Auvergne, No.1
21. Canteloube: “Malurous Qu’o Uno Fenno” from Chants d’Auvergne, Series III, No. 5
22. Weill: “Je me t’aime pas”
Karl Jenkins: The Peacemakers
Chloë Hanslip, violin; Ashwin Srinivasan, bansuri; and other soloists
London Symphony Orchestra; Rundfunkchor Berlin; CBSO Youth Chorus; Really Big Chorus / Karl Jenkins
CD and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
“I adore Karl’s compositions. From this quiet, gentle human being comes the most amazing, haunting music, that is instantly recognizable, and loved across the world.” — Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
The Peacemakers – the most recent work from Welsh composer Karl Jenkins – will be released by EMI Classics on January 10, just days before receiving its world premiere performance at Carnegie Hall on Martin Luther King Day (January 16), conducted by Jenkins himself. Seeking to bring solace in these troubling times, the work sets words of peace and humility by the great luminaries of history, including Dr. King, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama, as well as the Bible, Qu’ran, Hindu scriptures, and more.
The music features Jenkins’s unique blend of old and new composition techniques with a variety of Western and traditional instrumentation, and the musical forces involved are as diverse as they are outstanding: the London Symphony Orchestra, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the CBSO Youth Chorus, and the 1,000-member Really Big Chorus. Guest artists include British violinist Chloë Hanslip and Indian bansuri (ethnic flute) player Ashwin Srinivasan, while additional soloists perform on instruments from bass guitar and saxophone to ethnic instruments such as the uilleann pipe. The end result is a sound that embraces all musical forms and styles, perfectly suited to the texts, which call for inclusion, tolerance, and universal brotherhood.
Jenkins is the world’s most-performed living composer, and the new release and concert come in the wake of a sold-out New York City performance of his earlier composition The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, which commemorated the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
Track list:
PART I
1. Blessed are the Peacemakers [text: Matthew 5:9]2. Fanfare: Pax [text: “Peace” in various languages]3. Peace, peace! [text: Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–822)]4. I offer you peace [text: Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)]5. Inner Peace [text: The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso, b.1935)]6. Healing Light: A Celtic Prayer [text: Anon “Deep peace of the running wave to you”]7. A Meditation: Peace is… (Terry Waite)
8. Evening Prayer [text: Anon “Matthew, Mark, Luke & John”]
INTERMEZZO
9. Solitude (Instrumental for violin and orchestra)
PART II
10. *Fiat Pax in virtute tua [text: Psalm 122: 7-8 in English and Latin; Mother Teresa (1910–97);
Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965); Qu’ran 25:63]11. He had a dream (Elegy for Martin Luther King) [text: Carol Barratt/Karl Jenkins after Martin
Luther King Jnr, Isaiah 40:4-5]12. The Dove [text: Carol Barratt]13. The peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi [text: Anon (English)]14. One song [text: Sir Thomas Malory (1405–1471), Rumi (1207–1273), Carol Barrett, Karl
Jenkins]15. Let there be justice for all [text: Nelson Mandela (b.1918)]16. Dona Nobis Pacem [text: Latin trad & Bahá’u’lláh ( 1817–1892)]17. *Anthem: Peace, Triumphant Peace [text: Carol Barratt, Anne Frank (1929–45), St. Seraphim
of Sarov (1759–1833)]
Special compilations, boxed sets, and reissues
ICON series
Michael Rabin: Young Genius of the Violin
Specially-priced 6-CD set available January 10 from EMI Classics
EMI Classics’ ICON series pays homage to some of the greatest recording artists with elegantly-packaged multi-CD sets devoted to their finest recordings. The latest installment in the series commemorates the 40th anniversary of Michael Rabin’s tragic early death with this collection that brings together his finest recordings in one comprehensive 6-CD set. This new addition to the ICON series displays Rabin’s technical mastery with a maturity of interpretation that belied his years. Rabin was widely regarded as the finest American virtuosos’ violinist of his generation. He was critically acclaimed for his performances and recordings of Paganini, particularly his two recorded versions of the composer’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D, Op. 6 from 1956 and 1960. Rabin famously performed this work at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Dmitri Mitropolous at the age of 15 in November 1951. The full 24 Paganini Caprices for solo violin as well as the two recordings of the Violin Concerto are also included in the set. Although Rabin died prematurely from a head injury at the age of 35, his fame and masterful musicianship live on today.
Previous releases in the ICON series feature a “who’s who” of EMI’s legendary artists: Dinu Lipatti, Dennis Brain, Michelangeli, Solomon, Giuseppe di Stefano, Mirella Freni, Janet Baker, Andrés Segovia, Jussi Björling, Jascha Heifetz, Victoria de los Angeles, Sviatoslav Richter, Alfred Cortot, Artur Schnabel, Franco Corelli, Fritz Kreisler, Walter Gieseking, Montserrat Caballé, Hans Hotter, Arthur Rubinstein, Beniamino Gigli, Kirsten Flagstad, Nicolai Gedda, Samson François, Elisabeth Schumann, and Tito Gobbi.
British Composers series
Four new titles
Multiple CD sets and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
Rutter: Gloria, Magnificat, Psalm 150 (CD)
“The most successful and well-known composer of choral music in recent British history,” wrote BBC Music magazine of the composer, conductor, and arranger John Rutter. This collection celebrates the festive side of Rutter’s music, from the jubilant Gloria for full orchestra to the street festival-inspired Magnificat, and includes his Psalm 150, composed for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. The recording features the Choir of King’s College under the direction of Stephen Cleobury.
Rutter: Requiem (CD)
This set explores John Rutter as a conductor of choirs and an arranger and editor of music. Brought to life by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, this recording showcases some of Rutter’s choral masterpieces, including his uniquely intimate take on the Requiem, described by the composer as a “meditation on themes of life and death using a personal compilation of texts.”
British Light Classics (2-CD set)
From the “Sleepy Lagoon” to the “Dam Busters”, from “Knightsbridge in a Jaunting Car” to a “Monastery Garden”: all the classic tracks collected here are immediately appealing, and a great many of them instantly recognizable. Whatever “light music” may mean (and the question has exercised some fine minds over futile years), as presented here it is – in the words of English comedy writer and TV presenter Denis Norden – “not just tuneful round the outside, but tuneful right through.”
Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies (5-CD set)
Sir Adrian Boult (1889–1983) gave three symphonic premieres of Vaughan Williams and recorded the symphonies twice. Here, in vintage 1960s stereo from Kingsway Hall and Abbey Road, are the finest fruits of his Indian summer in the recording studio. Composer and conductor share in sound a vision of humanity and hard-won experience transcending more than half a century: from Whitman and the Sea Symphony to the last, late wintry wordless music of Scott of the Antarctic and Thomas Hardy.
Delius Box: 150th Anniversary
Various
18-CD boxed set and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
With the support and endorsement of the Delius Society, EMI Classics proudly presents a new collection of Frederick Delius’s finest recordings with new remasters and exclusive interviews and online content. This 18-CD boxed set brings together performances not only by Sir Thomas Beecham and Eric Fenby but also other conductors who revel in Delius’s remarkably evocative music. With more than 80 minutes of newly-remastered recordings, including solo performances from Menuhin, du Pre, Tortelier, Baker, Shirley-Quirk, and Bostridge, this boxed set provides a unique opportunity to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of England’s most beloved and lyrical composers.
Essential Classics series
Essential Delius
2-CD set and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
The best-loved and most popular works by Frederick Delius are found in this budget 2-CD set, which helps celebrate the English composer’s 150th anniversary. Part of the popular Essential Classics series, Essential Delius features performances by some of the world’s leading artists.
EMI Masters series
30 new titles
Specially-priced CDs and downloads available January 24
EMI Classics relaunches the popular EMI Masters series: a definitive series of great classical music from a trove of the most notable and revered classical recordings ever made. Available on CD and for digital download, this month’s installment of 30 titles celebrates EMI Classics’ greatest artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim, and Riccardo Muti. All performances in this series were recorded, mastered, or re-mastered at the internationally renowned Abbey Road Studios in London.
Alban Berg Quartet
Ravel and Debussy: String Quartets
Sir Thomas Beecham
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Paavo Berglund
Smetana: Má Vlast
Aldo Ciccolini
Satie: Gymnopédies
André Cluytens
Fauré: Requiem
Andrew Davies
Handel: Messiah
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin
Carlo Maria Giulini
Rossini: Overtures
Carlo Maria Giulini
Verdi: Requiem
Mariss Jansons
Rachmaninov: Complete Piano Concertos
Stephen Kovacevich
Brahms: Piano Concertos
Dinu Lipatti
Chopin: Waltzes
Sir Neville Marriner
Baroque Masterpieces
Jean Martinon
Saint-Saëns: Complete Symphonies
Sabine Meyer
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
Arturo Benedetti
Haydn, Ravel, Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos
Riccardo Muti
Vivaldi: Gloria; Magnificat
Emmanuel Pahud
Mozart: Flute Concertos
Antonio Pappano
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos, 4, 5, & 6
Itzhak Perlman
Bach: Solo Sonatas and Partitas
Itzhak Perlman
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
André Previn
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2
André Previn
Tchaikovsky: Ballet Highlights
Sir Simon Rattle
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Sir Simon Rattle
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Mistislav Rostropovich
Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Strauss: Four Last Songs
Pinchas Zukerman
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas
Pablo Casals
Bach: Cello Suites
Sir John Barbirolli
English String Music
Classical 2012
Various Artists
2-CD set and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
With 45 tracks, and more than 150 minutes of classical favorites, Classical 2012 is a double album featuring the best and most popular names in classical music from EMI and Virgin Classics. Among the many outstanding singers featured on this release are Diana Damrau, Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Angela Gheorghiu, and Philippe Jaroussky. There are also guest appearances by two of the world’s leading opera stars: Jonas Kaufmann singing “Vesti la giubba” from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Anna Netrebko in the beautiful “Song to the Moon” from Dvorák’s Rusalka.
Instrumentalists include violinists Renaud Capuçon and Vilde Frang; guitarist Xuefei Yang; pianists Martha Argerich, Ingrid Fliter, David Fray, Alexandre Tharaud, and Yundi; trumpeter Alison Balsom; the Ébène Quartet and the Artemis Quartet.
Also appearing on the album are a number of the world’s greatest conductors, including Paavo Järvi, Antonio Pappano with his Italian orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Christina Pluhar, and Sir Simon Rattle with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
A treat for lovers of classic movie musicals is the appearance of John Wilson and his orchestra performing a re-construction of the main title from the film An American in Paris featuring the music of George Gershwin.
Track list:
CD 1
1. Angela Gheorghiu
Saint-Saëns: “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila
2. Antonio Pappano
Rossini: William Tell – overture extract
3. Jonas Kaufmann
Leoncavallo: “Recitar!…Vesti la giubba” from Pagliacci
4. Ingrid Fliter
Beethoven: Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op.13 “Pathétique”
5. Natalie Dessay
Handel: “Piangerò la sorte mia” from Giulio Cesare in Egitto
6. Alison Balsom
Vivaldi: Concerto in G, Op. 3, No. 3 (RV310)
7. Ebène Quartet
Mozart: String Quartet in C (KV 465), “Dissonance”
8. Paavo Järvi
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
9. Martha Argerich
Schumann: “Träumerei” from Kinderszenen, Op.15
10. Maria Callas
Puccini: “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi
11. Vilde Frang
Bartók: Sonata for solo violin – II. Fuga: Risoluto, non troppo vivo
12. Steve Reich
Triple Quartet – Movement III
13. Yundi
Chopin: Étude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor “Revolutionary”
14. Renaud Capuçon; Nicholas Angelich; Ébène Quartet
Fauré: Quintet for piano and strings, Op. 115, No. 2
15. Veronique Gens
Berlioz: “Ah! Je vais mourir…Adieu, fière cité”
16. Nicholas Angelich
J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
17. Sir Simon Rattle
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection”
CD 2
1. Joyce DiDonato
Rossini: “Nacqui all’affano”
2. Philippe Jaroussky
Fauré: “Pie Jesu” from Requiem
3. Anna Netrebko
Dvorák: “Song to the Moon”
4. Artemis Quartet
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 5 in A, Op. 18, No. 5
5. Max Emanuel Cencic
Vivaldi: “Recordati che sei”
6. Antonio Pappano
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
7. Diana Damrau
R. Strauss: Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2
8. Alexandre Tharaud
Scarlatti: Sonata in C (K72)
9. Emmanuel Pahud
Quantz: Capriccio in G
10. Renaud Capucon
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F, Op. 24 “Spring”
11. Xuefei Yang
Albeniz: Aragón
12. Leif Ove Andsnes
Schumann: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 63
13. Christina Pluhar
Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine – 1610
14. Truls Mork
C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A
15. David Fray
J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto in F minor (BWV 1056)
16. Angela Gheorghiu
Catalani: “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana”
17. John Wilson Orchestra
Gershwin: An American in Paris
18. Sir Simon Rattle
Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 1
Classical Hits of the Cinema
Various Artists
5-CD set and downloads available January 24 from EMI Classics
What do Titanic and Billy Elliot, the films of Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg, Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator dancing with a globe and combat helicopter fire in the films of Francis Ford Coppola have in common? In each instance, classical music plays a fundamental role in what makes these works so powerful and memorable.
This 5-CD set collection features some of the greatest classical works used in iconic films from the past and present. Each CD has its own theme. CD 1 features famous classical works used in recent films such as Black Swan, The Fifth Element, and The King’s Speech. CD 2 is devoted to popular scores for films like Jurassic Park, E.T., and Harry Potter. CD 3 highlights pieces used in classic films such as A Clockwork Orange, The Witches of Eastwick, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Works featured in big box-office hits like Alien and Mission: Impossible are found on CD 4, and the final CD in the set focuses on movies in which a classical piece or pieces play a major role in the film – such as Amadeus and Immortal Beloved, or The Pianist (Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20) and Fantasia (Dukas’s The Sorceror’s Apprentice).
From The Fifth Element to The Piano Teacher, this collection shows the breadth and reach of classical music and the powerful influence it exerts on movie-goers.
CD 1: Recent Films and French Cinema
CD 2: Classics Written Specially for the Cinema
CD 3: Cult Film Music
CD 4: Big Box-Office Hits
CD 5: Classical Music as Cinema Heroine
I Love Ballet
2-CD set and downloads available January 10 from EMI Classics
I Love Ballet is a 2-CD set that provides a perfect introduction to the joys of ballet music. This repackage of the 2010 release contains more than 52 pieces from some of the most famous and popular ballets. The works are performed by some of the world’s finest orchestras under an impressive line-up of conductors, including Herbert von Karajan, John Lanchbery, Sir Charles Mackerras, André Previn, Sir Malcolm Sargent, and Barry Wordsworth.
Some of the major ballets found on the set include Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. Prokofiev’s brilliant settings of the fairy tale Cinderella and Shakespeare’s powerful tragedy Romeo and Juliet are also featured. Other novelties in the album include the rousing “Sabre Dance” from Gayaneh by Khachaturian, “Popular Song” from William Walton’s Façade, the lively can-can overture to Gaité Parisienne by Offenbach, the complete “Dance of the Hours” from the opera La Gioconda (made famous in Disney’s movie Fantasia), and The Dying Swan, created by the legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova to music by Saint-Saëns from Carnival of the Animals.
EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists on tour – winter 2012
December 31, 2011 – January 30, 2012
Joyce DiDonato: The Enchanted Island
New York, NY (Metropolitan Opera)
January 5, 7, & 10
Thomas Adès: Polaris (New York premiere)
New York, NY (Avery Fisher Hall)
January 19–21
Ingrid Fliter: Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor with National Symphony / James Gaffigan
Washington, DC (Kennedy Center)
February 2–4
Gautier Capuçon: Dutilleux: Tout un monde lointain with Boston Symphony Orchestra / Charles Dutoit
Boston, MA (Symphony Hall)
February 2–5
David Fray: Mozart Piano Concerto K 466 with Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Jaap van Zweden
Dallas, TX (Meyerson Symphony Center)
February 4
Joyce DiDonato: Jake Heggie: Into the Fire (world premiere)
San Francisco, CA (Herbst Theatre)
February 7
Tine Thing Helseth: Recital
Minneapolis, MN
February 9, 11 & 12
David Fray: Mozart Piano Concerto K 466 with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra / Xian Zhang
Cincinnati, OH (Music Hall)
February 21
Xuefei Yang: Recital with music by Bach, Albeniz
Middlebury, VT
February 22
Thomas Adès: Concentric Paths (Couperin, arr. Adès) with Britten Sinfonia / Pekku Kuusisto
New York, NY (Alice Tully Hall)
February 23
Joyce DiDonato: Berlioz: Les nuits d’été with the New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert
New York, NY (Avery Fisher Hall)
February 23 & 26
Ingrid Fliter: Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor with Minnesota Orchestra
Minneapolis, MN
February 23
Simon Rattle: Debussy / Dvorák / Schoenberg / Elgar: Enigma Variations with Berliner Philharmoniker
New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
February 24
Joyce DiDonato: Berlioz: Les nuits d’été with the New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert
Philadelphia, PA (Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts)
February 24
Joyce DiDonato: Rossini, Heggie with Kansas City Symphony / Michael Stern
Kansas City, MO
February 24
David Fray: Mozart Piano Concerto K 466 with Indianapolis Symphony / Susanna Mällki
Indianapolis, IN
February 24
Simon Rattle: Bruckner’s Symphony no. 9 with Berliner Philharmoniker
New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
February 25
Joyce DiDonato: Berlioz: Les nuits d’été with the New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert
Washington, DC (Kennedy Center)
February 25
Simon Rattle: Wolf’s Elfinlied, Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with Berliner Philharmoniker, Camilla Tilling, and Bernarda Fink
New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
February 26
Diana Damrau: Recital
New York, NY
February 27
Xuefei Yang: Recital
New York, NY (Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall)
February 28
Joyce DiDonato: Berlioz: Les nuits d’été with the New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert
New York, NY (Avery Fisher Hall)
For further information:
Visit EMI Classics’ YouTube channel for video previews of many of its new and recent releases: www.youtube.com/user/emiclassics.
Contacts:
Glenn Petry, 21C Media Group: (212) 625-2038, [email protected]
Andrew Ousley, EMI Classics: (212) 786-8607, [email protected]