One of my favorite bloggers, the publicist Amanda Ameer, recently made these comments on her Artsjournal blog Life’s a Pitch:
I have found that the Grammies are a point of reference for the “outside world” about classical artists, that is, a way to let people who haven’t heard of a certain artist know he or she is “that good”. Sometimes, I’ll meet someone and the conversation will go like this:
What do you do? Classical music PR.
Oh, that’s cool. Name someone you work for. Is it? And…Hilary Hahn?
Mmmm…don’t know her. She’s a violinist. Mmm…. She played for the Pope’s 80th birthday. Weird, OK…. She played on ‘The Village’ soundtrack. I loved ‘Sixth Sense’. She won a Grammy. Oh! Cool, great, yeah.
Amanda continues:
… the Grammies are a cultural touchstone - is this the right use of that phrase? - or, perhaps more accurately, a popular culture mile marker of success. What is that worth, though, monetarily speaking, slash, what does winning a Grammy mean for an artist’s overall profile?
Both The Kings Singers and Hilary have won Grammies before, so I already get to slap “Grammy Award-winning…” next to their names in their bios and pop-culture-mile-marker-of-success name-drop “Grammy” to folks outside the industry.** BUT - would Grammy wins this year result in, oh, what’s the word - “album sales”? Does a shiny Grammy sticker on an album make the difference (it might), or is there more we can do to channel the win of a mainstream award into recording and concert revenue?
You’ll notice that Amanda used her blog cleverly, not failing to mention that two of her private clients—Hillary Hahn and The King Singers—received nominations. Brava.
It is easy to complain about the relevance of an award that doesn’t have the prestige, in the “classical world,” of the Grawemeyer or Pulitzer; but the GRAMMY® Award, though still largely associated with pop music, is one of the most widely-recognized awards in the U.S. music business (and, I would even say, the world). And if we are attempting to reach new audiences with some of our artists and releases, having that award attached to their names is pretty important. Additionally, the award is a sales driver, which means a great deal to the music business even in bad times.
Naxos and our family of distributed labels saw many of our wonderful artists nominated this year, including the Pacifica Quartet, whose recording of Elliott Carter’s String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5 was nothing short of astonishing. It also was fitting that this nomination came just before Mr. Carter’s 100th birthday this Thursday, December 11. The Quartet was nominated in the category of Best Chamber Music Performance and also will be honored at this year’s Musical America Awards with the 2009 Ensemble of the Year Award. And for everyone who has been asking about Volume 2 of the Carter Quartets, here goes: FEBRUARY 2009. BTW: Legendary producer Judith Sherman also picked up a nomination for Producer of the Year for her work on the Carter String Quartets on Naxos and four additional albums.
John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man received a nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. For this recording, Corigliano, a Pulitzer-, Oscar-, Grammy®-, and Grawemeyer award-winning composer (yes, there are all those award listings and they ALL are important), collaborated with conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic. In addition, the recording’s superb soloist, Israeli soprano Hila Plitmann, received a nomination for Best Classical Vocal Performance. She has made recordings of works by David Del Tredici, including Vintage Alice and some of his songs. For Mr. Tambourine Man, because of the re-orchestration—the work was originally written for Sylvia McNair and scored for voice and piano—the vocal part was reconceived for “amplified soprano.” Plitmann is amazing.
Chorus master Henryk Wojnarowski and conductor Antoni Wit received a Choral Performance nomination for the Naxos recording of Karol Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. A Best Engineered Album (Classical) nomination went to engineer John Newton for his work on the Naxos recording Respighi: Church Windows, Brazilian Impressions, Rossiniana, featuring conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Our distributed labels also did amazingly well this year.
Artists from British-based label Chandos received five nominations in multiple categories. Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary, featuring the PhoenixChorale, conductor Charles Bruffy, and produced by Blanton Alspaugh, was nominated for Best Classical Album (Awards to Artists and Producer). Additionally, Mr. Bruffy and the Phoenix Chorale received a nod in the Best Small Ensemble Performance category. Spotless Rose includes choral works by Stephen Paulus, Benjamin Britten, Cecilia McDowall, Herbert Howells, Javier Busto, Healey Willan, and Jean Belmont Ford. On a personal level, I need to add that this recording is a special favorite among many of us at Naxos.
Another Chandos choral recording, Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works, with conductor Charles Bruffy leading the Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Bach Choir, earned nominations for Best Surround Sound Album and Best Choral Performance. Finally, a Best Orchestral Performance nomination went to conductor Rumon Gamba and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra for their Chandos recording D’Indy Orchestral Works, Volume 1.
A EuroArts production earned two nominations in the categories of Best Classical Album (Award to Artists and Producers) and Best Opera Recording (Award to Conductor, Producer, and Principal Soloists) for the DVD recording of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny. The performance featured conductor James Conlon, soloists Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald, and the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Chorus, produced by Fred Vogler. (This is the first year DVD recordings of operas are eligible for Grammy Awards. Only the audio portion of the DVD is considered in the nominating process.”)
Nominations for Best Opera Recording also went to conductors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs for their CPO recording of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Psychéwith the Boston Early Music Festival. Mr. O’Dette and Mr. Stubbs also were nominated last year for their CPO recording of Lully’s Thésée with the same ensemble.
Renowned Italian conductor and Baroque specialist Rinaldo Alessandrini was nominated for his Naïve classique recording of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.
Finally, violinist Elmar Oliveira earned a nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra for his Artek recording of Violin Concertos by Ernst Bloch and Benjamin Lees, with John McLaughlin Williams conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.
“To have the freedom to decide what kind of repertory to record is a most exhilarating feeling a musician can experience. The establishment of the Idil Biret Archive label with worldwide distribution by Naxos is simply the realization of a wish, a dream coming true for me.”
-Idil Biret
The Idil Biret Archive contains all of the pianist’s professional recordings and many of her radio and television recordings
In December 2008 the Idil Biret Archive (IBA) will join the Naxos family of labels, IBA recordings will be distributed worldwide as well as digitally on major websites including Naxos Music Library, ClassicsOnline, iTunes, eMusic and Amazon.
Biret is a prolific recording artist whose repertoire includes mastery of music from the classical to modern era. Since she began her recording career in 1949 she has made over 80 recordings for nine labels, as well as countless radio and television recordings. Many of these recordings have never been available commercially and will debut on IBA.
First four recordings will be released in December 2008. Four volumes from the 19 volume Beethoven Edition will be released first. The Beethoven Edition includes the 32 Piano Sonatas, Five Piano Concertos, Choral Fantasia, and Liszt’s transcriptions of the Nine Symphonies. The Sonatas and Piano Concertos (with the Bikent Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit) are new recordings. The Liszt transcriptions were originally issued by EMI in 1986.
Starting in February 2009, remaining recordings in the Beethoven Edition will be released on a monthly basis. Biret is the only pianist to have performed all of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, Concertos and Liszt transcriptions of the Nine Symphonies in public concerts. She is now the first pianist to have recorded them all. A DVD film, “The Making of the Beethoven Recordings” will also be available shortly.
Major Concertos Newly Recorded
For future release, Biret has also recorded new versions of concertos by Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Grieg and Schumann. In addition to the newly recorded CDs, the legendary and long unavailable recordings Biret made for Atlantic/Finnadar in the 1970s will be released.
Awards and Publications
In 2006, “Idil Biret, A Turkish Pianist in France,” a book about Biret’s life and musical philosophy, was published by the French publisher Buchet-Chastel. Turkish and German language versions of the book are now available. English, Polish, Russian and Greek translations will be available shortly. In 2007, Biret was awarded the Distinguished Service Order - Cavalry Cross by the Polish President for her service to Polish culture through her Chopin recordings. Biret is now preparing a new edition of Chopin’s piano music for the New York publisher IMC.
Let’s face it, we haven’t been hearing a lot of good news about the economy lately. These tough times have also pushed the already strapped classical music industry into making some very tough decisions. Eleven layoffs at the City Opera, followed by workers asked to stay home for two days because there wasn’t enough money to meet payroll. Then Gerard Mortier exists. The stories continue. In general, nobody is smiling a lot about the music business right now.
However, while CD sales have been flat, downloads have done substantially better. And, at the beginning of November Naxos announced its download site, ClassicsOnline, had made its entire catalog–nearly 22,000 DRM-free albums — available at 320 kbps. This speed and quality make MP3 files virtually indistinguishable from CDs. Additionally, in the next few months COL will begin offering certain titles in lossless. COL offers over 100 independent labels and adds more than 500 new albums each month. The cost? Well, it is a great value: complete album downloads run from $6.99 - $9.99 (obviously more for multiple-CD downloads); and individual tracks are typically $.99. In addition to the Naxos catalog, some of the labels you can find on COL include Avie Records, BIS, Capriccio, Cedille, Chandos, CPO, Dacapo, Hungaroton, Ondine, Wergo, Wigmore Hall Live, Vox and many, many more. Right now for new visitors to the site who register before December 31–no, you don’t have to provide three pages of data or your credit card number–you can get 3 tracks FREE. It’s a great way to try ClassicsOnline.
There also have been changes at Naxos Music Library. NML, which is the world’s largest collection of streaming classical, jazz, windband, choral and world music, is adding Canada’s #1 independent record label, Nettwerk Music Group, to its roster of more than 75 premiere performing arts labels, thereby expanding its offerings to include more independent popular music.
Nettwerk Music Group’s extensive catalog features artists such as Barenaked Ladies, Datarock, Delerium, Griffin House, Jars of Clay, Josh Rouse, Junkie XL, Ladytron, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Submarines, Sixpence None The Richer, The Weepies, and many others.
This is Dacapo’s first post on the Naxos Blog: A short article written by Danish music journalist Jens Cornelius, who presents Danish contemporary composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s music on the Dacapo disc “Kronos plays Holmgreen” (6.220548) featuring the world famous American Kronos Quartet.
Cover image designed for
Dacapo by Denise Burt
WE RECOGNIZE them right away – the Americans who drop in on Denmark as tourists for a day, two days or half a day. Wearing sunglasses, camera, short-sleeved shirts and with “Let’s Go Scandinavia” in their hands. And a slightly confused look – where is it that we are today?
IN THE MIDDLE of the nineteenth century the Danish national author Hans Christian Andersen predicted that the future would be just like that. “Young Americans” would come to Europe in steam-powered flying machines. They would inspect the remains of noble old Europe, the last ruins of a legendary culture. The only thing Andersen was mistaken about was the timescale – he called his prophetic tale “In a Thousand Years”.
Photo: Jeppe Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
NOT A WORD AGAINST the American Kronos Quartet, who have made a great contribution to global understanding and a better world. But they ARE true-blooded Americans! And they even play with electric amplification! Their old Danish friend, the Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (b. 1932), exploits the Kronos Quartet’s unique qualities in three new works to be released on a CD from Dacapo later in the year. The big work is the “Concerto Grosso”, where the Baroque tradition is played out deep inside the jungle – the orchestra meets Kronos like a Dr. Livingstone. In the quartet work “Last Ground” Gudmundsen-Holmgreen challenges the potent Americans by asking them to play very quietly and in the end to be flooded out by the sea, which washes over the music on an electronic track. And in “Moving – Still” they are allowed to play hectic American guests in Europe, while the baritone Paul Hillier recites Andersen’s tale of the instamatic tourists of the future. Two worlds meet in a provocative and fruitful way.
Danish label Dacapo never fails to impress me with its superb recordings. Last month, they released a stunning performance of choral works by Hanne Ørvad, a composer who began her career as a professional singer (Dacapo 8226534).
This month (on October 28, to be precise) they are releasing Kronos Plays Holmgreen (Dacapo 6220548), featuring works by renowned Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (b 1932) performed by the Kronos Quartet, British baritone Paul Hillier, and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra/DR, led by Thomas Dausgaard. The recording is the culmination of 20 years of collaboration between Holmgreen and the Kronos Quartet, and includes his Concerto Grosso for string quartet and orchestra (1990; rev. 1995); Moving Still, written for Hans Christian Andersen’s bicentenary in 2005 and featuring Paul Hillier; and Last Ground, his Ninth String Quartet, written in 2006 and dedicated to the Kronos Quartet.
Born in 1932, Holmgreen was the son of a sculptor. His early works showed the influence of Stravinsky, Bartók and Hindemith, but around 1960 he began experimenting with serialism. By the end of the 1960s, Holmgreen was among the Danish composers who rejected the serialist techniques in favor of a “new simplicity.” From then on, his music was characterized by repetitions, not in the minimalist sense, but rather as absurdist provocation. Some of the many influences in his works are Baroque music, Pygmy music, jazz, plainchant, the sounds of everyday life, and sheer noise— and, to a very great extent, the master of the absurd, author Samuel Beckett. Among his many orchestral works are Symfoni - Antifoni, for which he won a Nordic Council Music Prize (1977); Concerto Grosso for string quartet and orchestra; Triptykon (1985) for orchestra and percussion; and a new Cello Concerto. He also has written many chamber works, choral works, and solo pieces.
The Kronos Quartet premiered Concerto Grosso in 1990. In 1995 came the first revised version (recorded on Dacapo 8224060); the version on this CD was made in 2006. One of Holmgreen’s largest works, Concerto Grosso draws from the Baroque musical form of the same name in which various instruments emerge from the ensemble to play with or against the orchestra. The work frequently alludes to Baroque music—sometimes subtly, other times more blatantly. Holmgreen characterizes the music as “Vivaldi on safari” and explains that “I’m looking for a filtering of the familiar—the familiar seen through a prism.”
Moving Still – H.C. Andersen 200 consists of two movements, one American, one Danish. The first, Moving, is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s prophetic text In a Thousand Years, a Jules Verne-like fantasy predicting that Americans will one day be able to fly over the Atlantic and “see Europe in a week.” Andersen writes:
In a thousand years people will fly on the wings of steam through the air, over the ocean! The young inhabitants of America will become visitors of old Europe. They will come over to see the monuments and the great cities, which will then be in ruins, just as we in our time make pilgrimages to the tottering splendors of Southern Asia.
The second movement, Still, is a portrait of the “Old World”. Here Holmgreen uses Andersen’s patriotic poem “Danmark er jeg født” (In Denmark I Was Born) with ironic sophistication; he composed it for U.K. native Paul Hillier, now a resident of Denmark. “He speaks Danish rather well,” observes Holmgreen, “but his English accent can’t be denied and this sheds a wry light on the perception of Danishness as something you can only acquire when you’re a 100% native Dane.”
Holmgreen’s Ninth String Quartet, Last Ground, was written in 2006 and is dedicated to the Kronos Quartet. About this music—which includes manipulated recordings of sea sounds—the composer writes: “In Last Ground it is the violent aspect of the sea I was thinking about. I think it is quite wonderful. In the face of the roaring, raging sea the quartet is a small little thing. It’s very fainthearted and gradually it gets slower and weaker. What starts as a pale, small little thing gets even paler!”
The title Last Ground, Holmgreen explains, may be taken literally. “After all I’m an old codger and I don’t know how many more grounds I’ll manage to make,” he says. “This is maybe the last one. A farewell to the string quartet and to more than that. And so you think about what sort of life you’ve lived. Well, it’s a small little life, a puff of breath in the reeds, surrounded by this great roar! A whispering string quartet – and then washed away by the storm flood. The violence can have a liberating effect. As a storm can. As a roaring sea can. And we shrink away. From little to less.”
One of the terrific things about Naxos is the number of ways in which I can have my cake and eat it too … musically speaking, that is. If we don’t distribute a label physically, I mostly likely can stream it on Naxos Music Library or download it on ClassicsOnline. Of course, there are labels we don’t distribute–either physically or digitally–but I’m not complaining! I have plenty to choose from and enjoy. And I won’t lie: because of my job, I am entitled to promos. I love CDs, so I have a lot of music in my apartment. In fact, two floor-to-ceiling shelves are no longer adequate to hold my collection. The following is a random selection of recordings from my personal library. I’ve indicated if a recording is available on COL (Classicsonline), NML (Naxos Music Library), and/or for purchase (NaxosDirect; Amazon; Arkivmusic.com; Barnes & Nobles, etc.)
I never go anywhere without ATMA ACD2 2522, Suzie LeBlanc’s first disc of Acadian songs, Tout Passe. This recording is on my iPod, and I can’t think of anyplace I’ve recently visited where I haven’t listened to it from beginning to end. (COL; NML; purchase)
Another of my favorite female singers is the extraordinary Polish contralto Ewa Podles. Her two Delos recordings: DE 3253 Handel Arias, and DE 3298 Russian Arias–are albums I couldn’t live without. Her performance of Konchakovna’s Cavatina from Borodin’s Prince Igor still moves me to tears. (COL, NML, purchase)
Also from the Delos catalog, and a longtime favorite, is pianist Carol Rosenberger’s beautiful reading of Hindemith’s The Four Temperaments, DE 1006. This recording also features James DePreist and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
A recording that I think got ‘lost’ and has consistently been on my listening list is LPO-0091: Mark Anthony Turnage’s Twice Through the Heart, Hidden Love Song, and The Torn Fields, which features conductor Marin Alsop and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Soloists include the great Canadian baritone Gerald Finley (Doctor Atomic ), mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, and soprano saxophonist Martin Robertson. The song cycles are emotionally shattering, and the performances of all three works are superb. (purchase only)
Any recording with the amazing Simone Kermes is one I want to hear, but Joseph Martin Kraus’ La Primavera (”Cantate per una primadonna”) on the Phoenix label (Phoenix Edition 101) was a big surprise. I knew Kermes would be great; I just didn’t know how much fun Kraus’ music would be. (COL, NML, purchase)
The Danish label Dacapo consistently releases first-rate recordings of composers whose music often hasn’t resonated much with U.S. audiences. In September, Dacapo releases Corona: Works by Choir by Hanne Ørvad (Dacapo 8226534), featuring stunningly beautiful choral works by Ms. Ørvad performed by the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Danish National Chamber Choir, and Danish National Girls’ Choir. (The label will be releasing a major recording of music by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen in October featuring Kronos and Paul Hillier. If you aren’t familiar with this composer’s music you can still find BIS 256, a recording which includes his Triptykon for percussion and orchestra (1985)—as well as Per Nørgard’s I Ching and Psappha by Xenakis.) The German label CPO has a series of extremely fine recordings of symphonies by Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen. I’m working my way through the entire series and highly recommend CPO 999970-2, Aulis Sallinen: Symphonies 3 & 5. (This isn’t yet available on COL, but it will be; NML; purchase)
Wigmore Hall Live: WHLive0013: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (November 30, 1998). What can anyone possibly say? This recital is a MUST for anyone who is fan of the late Ms. Lieberson. Everything about this recording is superb, and if her rendition of Deep River doesn’t reduce you to a whimpering blob, I think you might have to check your pulse. (COL; NML; purchase)
Tango Notturno (MVCD1176), Isabel Bayrakdarian. Okay, I hear groans from those of you who THINK you don’t like tango. You do, but you just haven’t heard it done right. This CBC recording features the radiant soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, pianist Serouj Kradjian, and his superb tango ensemble in a wonderfully diverse selection. Will I ever forget Teresa Stratas’ version of Youkali? Absolutely not. But Ms. Bayrakdarian’s version comes very, very close and this recording also features tangos by Carlos Gardel, Jacob Gade (yes, a Danish tango), Arno Babadjanian, Fareed El Atrache, and Astor Piazzolla. (Not yet available on COL, but will be; NML; purchase)
The Austrian-American-Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti has long been a household name among pianophiles (is there such a word?) I’ve been aware of his recordings for decades–collectors like me have his complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas on our shelves alongside Schnabel and Kempff. Another terrific recording for Kuerti lovers is the recently re-issued two-CD set on CBC of the complete Beethoven Piano Concerti/SMCD5246-3, which features Kuerti and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, led by Sir Andrew Davis. These performances were recorded in Massey Hall in 1986 and were originally released separately. (Not yet available on COL; NML; purchase)
MORE…
The following additional list of recordings can all be downloaded from Classicsonline or purchased:
CHANDOS 9332: Schnittke Choir Concerto: Russian State Symphonic Cappella; Valery Polyansky (Thank you Steve Smith for bringing this Schnittke work to my attention.)
BIS 1038: Einojuhani Rautavaara: Angel of Light; Dances with the Winds; Cantus Arcticus; Lahti Symphony Orchestra; Osmo Vänskä, conductor
BIS 834: Arvo Pärt: SUMMA (Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow) CD includes Fratres, Collage sur BACH, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten; Tabula rasa; Festina lente and Summa.
To listen to the episodes from the respective Podcast you will need to have Adobe's FLASH player installed. Please use Adobe's web page to choose the appropriate version to install for your platform.
Entries (RSS)