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news_title[0] = "Karl Jenkins in the UK’s New Year’s honours list";
news_teaser[0] = "";
news_image1[0] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636752-1";
news_id[0] = "1636756";
news_text[0] = "British composer Karl Jenkins was awarded an OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to music. Best known for the million-selling album, Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary, Karl Jenkins is one of the most popular UK composers of today. He has recently finished recording his Requiem for EMI Classics, which will be released this spring. ";
news_icpn[0] = "";
news_gac[0] = "114783";
news_news_type[0] = "General";
news_from_date[0] = "Wed, 05 Jan 2005";
news_to_date[0] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[1] = "Milestone recording with Plácido Domingo is in the bag";
news_teaser[1] = "";
news_image1[1] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636758-1";
news_id[1] = "1636762";
news_text[1] = "While the rest of us were contemplating the return to work, for one opera singer, the beginning of 2005 meant the end of a long and tough run of recording sessions on what will be one of the most important recordings on EMI Classics for a long time.
The legendary tenor Plácido Domingo began recording in the role of Tristan of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde towards the end of November at EMI’s Abbey Road studios in London. Singing opposite him in the role of Isolde, was the internationally acclaimed Swedish soprano, Nina Stemme and under the guidance and baton of Covent Garden Director, Antonio Pappano, they completed the recording in just under two months over the course of fifteen sessions.
Both Domingo and Nina Stemme will be performing in Wagner operas throughout 2005: Domingo is singing in Parsifal in Spain this month and then in Die Walküre at Covent Garden in July. Stemme will also be singing in Die Walküre in Italy in March and at the end of July she will take on the role of Isolde in a new production of Tristan und Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany.
";
news_icpn[1] = "0724355800626";
news_gac[1] = "122597";
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news_from_date[1] = "Sun, 09 Jan 2005";
news_to_date[1] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[2] = "Leif Ove Andsnes returns victorious from another US recital tour";
news_teaser[2] = "";
news_image1[2] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636767-1";
news_id[2] = "1636771";
news_text[2] = "Leif Ove Andsnes has just completed his second US recital tour, this time performing Schubert, to coincide with the release of his Schubert album with Ian Bostridge. The tour took him from Illinois, to the US Midwest, with dates in Kansas and Texas, across to Los Angeles and back to Chicago with the final concert on 30th January. The tour included a date in New York, continuing his Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall.
The tour has been a great success, with press coverage from the Newark Star Ledger, New York Newsday magazine, The New York Times and Town and Country, with the latter saying \"Unique among the piano virtuosos of his generation, Leif Ove Andsnes is a thinker, a listener, a keyboard poet. Evincing quiet passion and fierce intelligence, he distils music to its essence, then steps aside so that one experiences the music, not the pianist.\" Another journalist said that Andsnes was \"probably the most important classical pianist alive.\"
This follows the incredible press coverage across the US for his album of Mozart Piano Concertos, where it received rave reviews and was listed as one of the best discs of 2004 in The Seattle Times, The New York Times, Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com, BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone, in addition to Andsnes himself being listed in Vanity Fair’s Best of the Best, its list of people who made 2004.
In Andsnes’s home territory of Norway, the Mozart album has also seen phenomenal success, with sales already reaching Gold, and steadily heading towards Platinum. It reached #1 in the classical album chart, as well as #10 in the national album chart after just two months of release and found itself racked in stores alongside fellow EMI stars Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue.
";
news_icpn[2] = "0724355780324";
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news_news_type[2] = "Studio";
news_from_date[2] = "Mon, 31 Jan 2005";
news_to_date[2] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[3] = "Victoires de la musique spell further success for EMI and Virgin Classics";
news_teaser[3] = "";
news_image1[3] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636776-1";
news_id[3] = "1636780";
news_text[3] = "France’s most important awards for the classical music industry took place in Cannes last week and Virgin Classics artists managed to scoop three of the eight awards that are given each year.
The talented young French soprano Natalie Dessay took the award for Best Lyrical Artist, while fellow Virgin Classics artist, violinist Renaud Capuçon was named Best Solo Instrumentalist. In addition, Philippe Hersant won the award for Best Composer.
Also present at the award ceremony was EMI Classics artist Nigel Kennedy, who has recently taken France by storm following the success of his debut concert in Paris last November and the release of his Four Seasons recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, which became the top-selling classical record of 2004 for EMI in France. Nigel took to the stage once again at the Victoires, giving another brilliant performance of the Four Seasons and a transcription of the Bach Violin Concerto for two violins. The awards were televised across the nation on TV station France 3 to an audience of over two million, pushing Nigel’s Four Seasons album back up to #1 in the French classical charts. The album is also currently #1 in the UK Classical charts.
";
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news_from_date[3] = "Tue, 01 Feb 2005";
news_to_date[3] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[4] = "Angela Gheorghiu is named “woman of the year” in her native country of Romania";
news_teaser[4] = "After an important promotional tour around Europe, Angela Gheorghiu made her final stop in her homeland, Romania, where she was presented with the award for “Woman of the Year”. ";
news_image1[4] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636782-1";
news_id[4] = "1636786";
news_text[4] = "After an important promotional tour around Europe, Angela Gheorghiu made her final stop in her homeland, Romania, where she was presented with the award for “Woman of the Year”. The award is presented each year at a gala held in Bucharest by Avantaje magazine, a major Romanian women’s magazine. Last year’s winner was Maia Morgenstern, the Romanian actress who played the part of Virgin Mary in Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ”. The award was presented to Angela Gheorghiu by the CEO of Edipresse Worldwide, which owns magazines such as Hello and ELLE. This was followed by a massive television and radio campaign on Angela Gheorghiu and her new album of Puccini arias across Romania, involving all the major stations and newspapers.
The Puccini album has already been receiving excellent reviews in the press: \"She is a stunningly talented singer – a probing, fiercely committed musician…\"
\"Puccini Arias is a winner.\" (Time Out, New York)
\"The sumptuous packaging of this release is, happily, matched by its contents. Angela Gheorghiu delivers some of her finest singing…\"
\"… she is essentially a serious artist possessed of one of today’s great voices. An instantly recognizable one, too, thanks to her vibrant tone and communicative relish of text.\"
\"… too many jewels to list…\" (Opera recording of the Month, BBC Music magazine) ";
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news_from_date[4] = "Fri, 18 Feb 2005";
news_to_date[4] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[5] = "Rolando Villazón wos US audiences and critics in a production with the Los Angeles opera";
news_teaser[5] = "";
news_image1[5] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636788-1";
news_id[5] = "1636792";
news_text[5] = "Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón has triumphed in a series of seven performances in a new production with the Los Angeles Opera of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Singing opposite him in the role of Juliette was the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko.
For Villazón, who is signed exclusively to Virgin Classics, the performances were an all-out success. Following the opening night on 29th January, the Los Angeles Times declared “Rolando Villazón is unstoppable.” The review went on to say \"Rolando Villazón is a white-hot Romeo. The electricity this zealous young Mexican tenor generates noticeably excited just about everyone… Villazón has arrived.\"
This praise has come at the same time as the press coverage across the US for Villazón’s new album of French Opera Arias on Virgin Classics, which has just been released and the critics have been equally enthusiastic about this: \"…the younger singer has a pretty spectacular technique by any and all standards, past or present.\"
\"As tenors go, Villazón is the genuine article.\" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
\"… he’s an impressive musician and he is able to grade the dynamics of his voice to shape every phrase imaginatively.\" (BBC Music magazine – five-star review)
\"Here he shows an equal mastery of a totally different set of challenges. French vocal music requires a more defined ardour, which the 32-year-old performer demonstrates splendidly.\"
\"If there were a sweep-stakes to succeed Plácido Domingo, my money would be on Villazón.\" (Daily News)
Following his Los Angeles dates, Villazón travelled to Vienna, where he has made his debut at the Staatsoper, also in the role of Roméo. The reaction in Austria has been just as fervent and Villazón is fast becoming an international star. Later this year he performs at the Munich Staatsoper, Barcelona’s Liceu theatre, Covent Garden and the Salzburg summer festival. ";
news_icpn[5] = "";
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news_news_type[5] = "General";
news_from_date[5] = "Tue, 22 Feb 2005";
news_to_date[5] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[6] = "Ian Bostridge’s partnership with Mitsuko Uchida is proving great success";
news_teaser[6] = "Ian Bostridge has finished a series of performances of Die Schöne Müllerin with Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida, which they have recorded and released for EMI Classics in February. Both are acclaimed interpreters of Schubert’s repertoire and their recent concerts reminded us all why.";
news_image1[6] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636794-1";
news_id[6] = "1636798";
news_text[6] = "Ian Bostridge has finished a series of performances of Die Schöne Müllerin with Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida, which they have recorded and released for EMI Classics in February. Both are acclaimed interpreters of Schubert’s repertoire and their recent concerts reminded us all why.
The tour began with a concert in Paris’s famous Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on 16th February. Bostridge and Uchida then went on to perform at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, London’s Wigmore Hall and ended at the Musikverein in Vienna on 28th February. CD signing sessions took place after all the concerts and were extremely successful, selling in the region of one hundred discs at each.
Their performances have attracted much praise from the critics: \"Bostridge remains one of the most honest, direct performers of this repertoire; but his pairing with Uchida is a masterstroke.\" (The Guardian, UK)
\"… it’s compelling to watch the evolution of Bostridge’s responses, and to hear mind and larynx daring each other on. Uchida is a willing accomplice in it all.\"
\"… Bostridge is on highly impressive vocal form…\"
\"… Bostridge’s hypnotically unbroken line of melody in the penultimate song seemed like a long, extended sigh de profundis.\" (The Times, London)
\"Bostridge’s voice has the perfect tone and colour for this cycle, with a light resonance that gives it a dimension and a finish not possible for clearer voices. What is even more astonishing is that in a short time the listener realises that he is hearing the most extraordinary piano accompaniment for Die Schöne Müllerin.\" (Classic Today, France)
\"… an exquisite partnership! Bostridge and Uchida have set standards for Schubert interpretations.\" (Krone, Austria)
\"The Englishman is making use of his potential in a very intelligent way, putting the music in the frontline ... Bostridge and Uchida is an ideal partnership...\" (Wiener Zeitung, Austria)
";
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news_from_date[6] = "Tue, 01 Mar 2005";
news_to_date[6] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[7] = "EMI Classics celebrates 100,000 sales of Karl Jenkins’s “the armed man” in the UK";
news_teaser[7] = "EMI Classics is delighted to announce that Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man – A Mass For Peace has gone gold in the UK, with sales of 100,000.";
news_image1[7] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636800-1";
news_id[7] = "1636804";
news_text[7] = "EMI Classics is delighted to announce that Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man – A Mass For Peace has gone gold in the UK, with sales of 100,000. The album has dominated the classical chart ever since its release in September 2001 and reached #8 in the Classic FM annual Hall of Fame of 2004, as voted by Classic FM listeners.
The Armed Man is a large-scale work and for this recording Karl conducted The London Philharmonic Orchestra and The National Youth Choir of Great Britain alongside soloists Tristan Hambleton (Boy Treble), Mohammed Gad (Muezzin) and cellist Guy Johnston. Within the usual Mass form, Karl interpolated texts by Malory, Dryden, Swift, Tennyson, Kipling, The Koran and the Hindu Mahàbharàta which explore the descent into, and the terrible consequences of war. This work is dedicated to the victims of Kosovo whose plight unfolded whilst the work was being composed. The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace received its world première in April 2000 at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Tony Wadsworth, CEO of EMI Records UK said: \"This is testament to the enduring popularity of classical music throughout the UK. We are delighted to have Karl as member of the EMI family and look forward to continued success with his new album, Requiem.\"
Karl Jenkins said: \"It is very gratifying that The Armed Man has attained “Gold” status. We had great success, of course, with Adiemus but this is somehow different in that literally thousands of people have now sung this piece in performance which is pretty humbling.\"
Karl is most widely known for his Adiemus project which features his trademark mix of classical and world music performed by the all-female Finnish vocal ensemble. The five albums in this series have achieved worldwide success, reaching silver, gold and platinum awards globally. He is now the first British contemporary classical composer to have a gold album in the UK in over a decade. The gold disc was presented to Karl at a special reception at Wrights Lane on 10th March.
Karl was recently signed exclusively to the label for ten years and the first disc in a 5-album deal, Requiem is being released internationally this month. ";
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news_from_date[7] = "Fri, 11 Mar 2005";
news_to_date[7] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[8] = "Wild wows the Mexican press on their promo tour";
news_teaser[8] = "";
news_image1[8] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636806-1";
news_id[8] = "1636810";
news_text[8] = "Wild were signed to EMI Classics last September and they’ve been rushing around the globe ever since. Their most recent trip has been to Mexico City where they’ve just completed their first promotional trip in South America.
The tour began with interviews and photo shoots for Caras magazines and a performance of their single Hipnotic for the TV show La Parodia. They went on to speak to music magazines, including Circulo Mix Up, and Mexico’s largest national newspaper El Universal. The main focus was TV and Wild gave interviews and performed on no fewer than nine chat and entertainment shows; Televisa Espectáculos, Hechos, Tele Hit, Canal 11, TV Mexiquense, TV Hoy, Otro Rollo, TV Nuestra Casa and MVS Noticias. They also did a radio tour, covering the biggest stations across Mexico, an interview for Pepsi Chart and a press conference attended by all the major Mexican media. Their album has reached #5 in the classical chart.
One of the highlights of the tour for the girls was a ride around the beautiful historical centre of Mexico City in a convertible, which was all captured on camera for broadcast on Azteca TV. As Wild arrived back at their hotel, they were spotted by some Mexican police who asked to have their photo taken with the girls: Wild were happy to oblige!
";
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news_from_date[8] = "Mon, 14 Mar 2005";
news_to_date[8] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[9] = "Libera’s debut album on EMI Classics is nominated for the Brit Awards' “Best Album”";
news_teaser[9] = "Libera is among those in the first category nomination to be announced for this year’s Classical Brit Awards. ";
news_image1[9] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636812-1";
news_id[9] = "1636816";
news_text[9] = "Libera is among those in the first category nomination to be announced for this year’s Classical Brit Awards. Their debut album for EMI Classics, \"Free\", has been nominated for the Album of the Year award, which is voted for each year by the listeners of Classic FM radio.
\"Free\" was released internationally last September and has had much success around the world, drawing great interest, in particular, across the Japan, South Korea, the UK and the USA. In Japan it quickly went to #1 in the classical chart following its release and members of Libera and their director Robert Prizeman have been interviewed for Time Magazine for Kids in the US and also appeared in a feature article in Classic FM Magazine.
The Classical Brit Awards will take place at the end of May at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
For more information and to vote for Libera, please go to the Classc FM website: www.classicfm.com ";
news_icpn[9] = "0724355782328";
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news_from_date[9] = "Tue, 15 Mar 2005";
news_to_date[9] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[10] = "Kennedy’s success in France has the golden touch";
news_teaser[10] = "";
news_image1[10] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636820-1";
news_id[10] = "1636824";
news_text[10] = "Following the hugely successful French campaign behind Nigel Kennedy’s recording of the Four Seasons with the Berlin Philharmonic, Nigel was delighted to be invited back onto France 2’s hugely successful chat and entertainment show Vivement Dimanche for the second time, making him one of only a handful of artists to be asked to make a second appearance on the show.
Appearing on the show with Nigel was French superstar Christian Clavier who was immediately bowled over by Nigel at his Paris debut last November. Christian Clavier made a point of asking Nigel to appear on Vivement Dimanche with him so they could do the show together. For this second appearance Nigel performed Winter from the Four Seasons and later a solo Bach piece to a rapturous audience. Christian Clavier arrived at the TV studio after the Bach performance and when he realised he had missed it, Nigel performed it a second time specially for Christian!
The real surprise for Nigel came when he was presented with a gold disc for 100,000 sales of his Four Seasons recording in France, a massive achievement since its release last Winter. Needless to say the album is back up at #1 in the French classical chart and Kennedy mania continues. ";
news_icpn[10] = "0724355785923";
news_gac[10] = "120572";
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news_from_date[10] = "Sat, 26 Mar 2005";
news_to_date[10] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[11] = "Jonathan Lemalu’s New York Met debut impresses the critics";
news_teaser[11] = "";
news_image1[11] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636829-1";
news_id[11] = "1636833";
news_text[11] = "Jonathan Lemalu took to the prestigious stage of New York’s Metropolitan Opera for the first time on 28th March, where he sang the role of Masetto in a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Several performances followed with the final night on 16th April.
His Met performances have won plenty of timely praise from the US critics, just as his first recording for the main EMI Classics label is released internationally. The New York Times said \"Jonathan Lemalu's portly, working-class Masetto was a triumph of casting.\" and the New York Sun said \"A third debut belonged to Jonathan Lemalu, a Samoan bass-baritone born in New Zealand … He has a new CD of arias out, and big things are expected of him. As Masetto, he was vocally assured and dramatically interesting. His Masetto was indignant and active…\"
Recent reviews of his recording Opera Arias in the UK and New Zealand press have been just as impressive: \"… Jonathan Lemalu has always been blessed with a knock-out vocal presence …\"
\"... with works from Rossini and Mozart, and Mephistopheles’s aria in praise of virginity from Gounod’s Faust, to which Lemalu gives exactly the right edge.\" (The Times, UK)
\"Fast establishing himself on the British opera stage, Lemalu has a strong romantic voice and engaging presence which shines through.\" (The Observer, UK)
\"It’s easy to hear why he has made such a strong impression in the opera world.\" (Herald on Sunday, NZ)
\"This CD is an extraordinary achievement … We should be proud that he is appearing on EMI Classics, and doubly proud that the NZSO will be taking an international bow beside him.\" (New Zealand Herald) ";
news_icpn[11] = "";
news_gac[11] = "114101";
news_news_type[11] = "General";
news_from_date[11] = "Mon, 18 Apr 2005";
news_to_date[11] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[12] = "Karl Jenkins is as popular as ever with the listeners of Classic FM";
news_teaser[12] = "";
news_image1[12] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636835-1";
news_id[12] = "1636839";
news_text[12] = "Karl Jenkins has made it into the top ten of the Classic FM Hall of Fame for the second year running and he is the only living contemporary classical composer to have done so. The annual list comprises the top 500 classical pieces as chosen and voted for by the listeners of Classic FM radio. ";
news_icpn[12] = "";
news_gac[12] = "114783";
news_news_type[12] = "General";
news_from_date[12] = "Tue, 19 Apr 2005";
news_to_date[12] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[13] = "EMI Classics is the host for the official launch of this year’s Classical Brit Awards";
news_teaser[13] = "";
news_image1[13] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636841-1";
news_id[13] = "1636845";
news_text[13] = "The official launch for the Classical Brits 2005 took place on 19th April at EMI’s London offices in Wrights Lane, where press and various members of the music industry gathered to hear the list of this year’s nominations.
Also present were EMI artist Keedie and Universal’s Nicola Benedetti, who gave dazzling performances to mark the occasion. Keedie was then whisked away to South Africa House in London, to perform for an audience of 130 guests at a special gala dinner being held in aid of the Bishop Simeon Trust, an AIDS charity. The dinner was hosted by veteran TV chat show host Michael Parkinson and the South Africa High Commissioner, Dr Lindiwe Mabuza.
Here is a list of the EMI Classics artists who have been nominated for a Classical Brit Award this year:
National Savings and Investments Album of the Year Libera Free
Ensemble / Orchestral Album of the Year Nigel Kennedy / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Vivaldi II
Young British Classical Performer Sally Matthews Songs (Debut album)
The winners will be announced at the Classical Brit Awards Ceremony on 25th May at London’s Royal Albert Hall. ";
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news_news_type[13] = "General";
news_from_date[13] = "Fri, 22 Apr 2005";
news_to_date[13] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[14] = "EMI and Virgin Classics take four prizes at the Académie du Disque Lyrique awards";
news_teaser[14] = "EMI and Virgin Classics have won awards for four of their recordings at the Acad魩e du Disque Lyrique awards in France.";
news_image1[14] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636847-1";
news_id[14] = "1636851";
news_text[14] = "EMI and Virgin Classics have won awards for four of their recordings at the Académie du Disque Lyrique awards in France. The awards were presented at a ceremony in Paris on 25th April at the Opéra Bastille, which was attended by two of the winners, Natalie Dessay and Rolando Villazón.
Here is a list of the winners:
Académie des Beaux Arts/Charles Münch award (Prestige Lyrique de l'Europe) Strauss Amor Natalie Dessay, Felicity Lott, Angelica Kirchschlager Covent Garden Orchestra / Antonio Pappano (Virgin Classics)
Sir Georg Solti award (for best recital debut) Italian Opera Arias Rolando Villazón Rundfunkorchester / Marcello Viotti (Virgin Classics)
SACD award (best recording by a French composer) Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini Gregory Kunde, Patrizia Ciofi, Joyce di Donato Radio France choir and orchestra / John Nelson (Virgin Classics)
Jesus Etcheverry award (best young conductor) Thomas Hamlet (DVD) Bertrand de Billy Liceu choir and orchestra (EMI Classics) ";
news_icpn[14] = "";
news_gac[14] = "120251";
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news_from_date[14] = "Tue, 26 Apr 2005";
news_to_date[14] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[15] = "Debut singer takes top prize in US opera awards";
news_teaser[15] = "";
news_image1[15] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636853-1";
news_id[15] = "1636857";
news_text[15] = "EMI Classics Debut artist Eric Cutler has been named the winner of the $30,000 Richard Tucker Award, given annually to a singer poised on the edge of a national and international opera career. Eric has already appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in several works including La Juive and he will return next season in The Magic Flute and Wozzeck. Previous winners of this prize include Renée Fleming, Deborah Voigt and Ruth Ann Swenson. Eric Cutler’s Debut disc was of songs by Schumann, Lizst, Hahn and Barber. ";
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news_news_type[15] = "General";
news_from_date[15] = "Wed, 27 Apr 2005";
news_to_date[15] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[16] = "Angela Gheorghiu gives a stunning performance at a special gala concert for the Dutch queen";
news_teaser[16] = "";
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news_id[16] = "1636863";
news_text[16] = "Angela Gheorghiu is no stranger to special occasions and her international reputation as one of the world’s greatest living sopranos lead to an invitation to perform for the Queen of Holland at a special concert held in Amsterdam’s Dam Square on 29th April, to celebrate the Queen’s silver jubilee.
Angela sang a selection of arias from the world’s most famous operas, including Puccini’s ‘Chi il bel sogno di Doretta’ from La Rondine and ‘O mio babbino caro’ from Gianni Schicchi. She then delighted the audience with ‘I could have danced all night’ from the musical My Fair Lady. A real highlight of the evening was Angela’s duet with Jeroen Willems, one of Holland’s biggest pop stars. They sang ‘La chanson des vieux amants’ by Jacques Brel, accompanied by Eliane Rodrigues on the piano. Among the other artists playing for the Queen was the violinist Janine Jansen, who performed Massenet’s ‘Meditation’ from Thaïs.
Angela also took part in the biggest Dutch TV entertainment programme TROS, giving an interview and performing ‘O mio babbino caro’. The programme was broadcast all over Holland the night before the Queen’s concert. Following these two events, Angela Gheorghiu’s album of Puccini arias became the highest entry in the Dutch pop charts last week, going straight in at #16. ";
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news_gac[16] = "";
news_news_type[16] = "General";
news_from_date[16] = "Sat, 30 Apr 2005";
news_to_date[16] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[17] = "EMI and Virgin Classics are winners at this year’s Edison awards";
news_teaser[17] = "";
news_image1[17] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636865-1";
news_id[17] = "1636869";
news_text[17] = "The Edison Awards Gala took place in Amsterdam at the beginning of May, where the winners were announced and EMI and Virgin Classics took three awards for their recordings:
Best DVD Recording Tosca's Kiss
Best Chamber Music Recording Christian Tetzlaff / Leif Ove Andsnes Bartók Violin Sonatas
Best Solo Recital Recording Rolando Villazón Italian Opera Arias
";
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news_news_type[17] = "General";
news_from_date[17] = "Wed, 04 May 2005";
news_to_date[17] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[18] = "Rattle and Villazón make the Deutschen Schallplattenkritik critics’ list";
news_teaser[18] = "";
news_image1[18] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636873-1";
news_id[18] = "1636877";
news_text[18] = "Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic’s recording of Carmina Burana and Rolando Villazón’s disc of French opera arias have been included in the Critics’ List published by the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, making them two of the committee’s top recommendations. These are discs which they feel deserve special recognition for their interpretation, creativity and that are of outstanding importance to the classical repertoire. ";
news_icpn[18] = "";
news_gac[18] = "125715";
news_news_type[18] = "Studio";
news_from_date[18] = "Thu, 05 May 2005";
news_to_date[18] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[19] = "Natalie Dessay’s ‘Rossignol’ wins gold in Prague";
news_teaser[19] = "";
news_image1[19] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636879-1";
news_id[19] = "1636883";
news_text[19] = "Director Christian Chaudet has won the top prize, the Golden Prague, at the 42nd International Golden Prague Television Festival, for his film “Rossignol”, which stars Virgin Classics artist Natalie Dessay.
Founded in 1964, the International Golden Prague Television Festival is a competitive annual festival of TV programmes dedicated to classical, dance, jazz and world music. It has become the most prestigious international television festival in the television music field. ";
news_icpn[19] = "0724355687425";
news_gac[19] = "120251";
news_news_type[19] = "General";
news_from_date[19] = "Thu, 12 May 2005";
news_to_date[19] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[20] = "EMI artists Pappano and Adès are recognised at this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society awards";
news_teaser[20] = "The winners of the annual Royal Society Philharmonic Music Awards have been announced and two EMI artists received recognition for their performance work in 2004.";
news_image1[20] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636885-1";
news_id[20] = "1636889";
news_text[20] = "The winners of the annual Royal Society Philharmonic Music Awards have been announced and two EMI artists received recognition for their performance work in 2004. Music director of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano won the Conductor’s award and the acclaimed British composer Thomas Adès won the RPS Music Award for Large-scale Composition for his opera The Tempest, which was premiered at Covent Garden in February last year with great success. The opera is due to return to the Opera House in March 2007.
The RPS Music Awards are widely recognised as the most prestigious in the field of live classical music. Awards are decided by independent panels consisting of some of the music industry’s most distinguished practitioners. The awards, in thirteen categories, honour musicians, composers, writers, broadcasters and inspirational arts organisations for their work in the previous year.
The awards were presented by eminent conductor Sir Andrew Davis at a dinner at the Dorchester Hotel on 11th May. The host of the evening was presenter Stephanie Hughes of BBC Radio 3 and the keynote speech was given by Jude Kelly OBE, inspirational director and commentator on the arts. ";
news_icpn[20] = "";
news_gac[20] = "101686";
news_news_type[20] = "General";
news_from_date[20] = "Fri, 13 May 2005";
news_to_date[20] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[21] = "Angela Gheorghiu’s London recital stirs the critics";
news_teaser[21] = "";
news_image1[21] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636891-1";
news_id[21] = "1636895";
news_text[21] = "\"There’s no other soprano like Gheorghiu. With her ease of technique, a miraculous evenness of voice production and a beautiful tone that goes straight through your spine, she really is opera’s number one superstar.\" (The Metro)
\"‘Un bel di’ from Madama Butterfly gave Gheorghiu the vocal space and imaginative wide horizons to engage both her mind and her audience. This gained deafening appaluse.\" (The Times)
\"… what a beautiful instrument it is, and how it can flare into magnificence. Most riveting of all is Gheorghiu’s way of spinning a final note into a dying pianissimo, perfectly controlled.\"
\"… more important is the way she embodies what she performs. She sings these arias of submission and broken-heartedness with eyes downcast… but all the while she has us absolutely in her power.\" (The Daily Telegraph)
\"Her voice, with its dark, heady tone remains exceptionally beautiful…\" (The Guardian) ";
news_icpn[21] = "";
news_gac[21] = "";
news_news_type[21] = "General";
news_from_date[21] = "Fri, 20 May 2005";
news_to_date[21] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[22] = "Emmanuel Pahud signs new contract";
news_teaser[22] = "EMI Classics is pleased to announce that it has extended its recording contract with flautist Emmanuel Pahud for a further six years.
";
news_image1[22] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636897-1";
news_id[22] = "1636901";
news_text[22] = "EMI Classics is pleased to announce that it has extended its recording contract with flautist Emmanuel Pahud for a further six years.
Emmanuel Pahud first signed with EMI Classics in 1996 and has been an exclusive artist ever since. His first recording, of Mozart’s Flute Concertos and Concerto for Flute and Harp with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudia Abbado, was released in April of the following year. It won the Diapason d'Or, Victoires de la Musique classique and the ECHO Deutschen Schallplatten Preis awards and Gramophone said \"... Pahud, like Galway, is a natural soloist, pointing phrases and rhythms with poetic individuality, never just a conformist orchestral player.\" Pahud’s next outing with EMI Classics was a disc entitled “Paris”, of French Flute Sonatas, for which he was accompanied by pianist Eric Le Sage, who has since become his regular recording and recital partner. This second disc won equal critical acclaim: \"… Pahud’s brilliant and sensitive performances are outstanding. Exhilaratingly skittish in the brief scherzando finale of the Sancan and that of the Poulenc, intense in the Jolivet, mysteriously atmospheric in the first movement of the Dutilleux …, tender in the Ibert Aria and powerfully athletic at the end of the Messiaen, this is a winner of a disc.\" Emmanuel has since recorded a wide range of rarely-recorded repertoire, ranging from the Ibert and Khatchaturian Flute Concertos, to Mozart Flute Quartets, to the Prokofiev Flute Sonata.
When asked about his new contract, Emmanuel Pahud said \"I am thrilled that I am going to continue to be a part of the EMI Classics family and am very much looking forward to what the next six years will bring. This shows just how strongly EMI Classics is committed to supporting the next generation of classical performers and bringing them to a new audience.\"
Theo Lap, Vice President of A&R and International Marketing said \"I’m delighted to continue our successful cooperation with one of the most exciting soloists in the world of classical music. We have developed a wonderful catalogue together and have many great ideas for the future. All at EMI Classics look very much forward to the next six years.\"
Emmanuel’s most recent recording with EMI Classics is a beautiful disc containing Sonatas by Emmanuel, Jolivet and Milhaud, entitled The French Connection. He is joined by long-term music partners Paul and François Meyer and Eric Le Sage. ";
news_icpn[22] = "";
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news_from_date[22] = "Mon, 23 May 2005";
news_to_date[22] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[23] = "EMI Classics artists help to make this year’s Classical Brit Awards a success";
news_teaser[23] = "One of the biggest dates in the UK classical calendar, the Classical Brit Awards 2005, took place in the last week of May at London’s famous Royal Albert Hall. ";
news_image1[23] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636903-1";
news_id[23] = "1636907";
news_text[23] = "One of the biggest dates in the UK classical calendar, the Classical Brit Awards 2005, took place in the last week of May at London’s famous Royal Albert Hall. The evening was hosted by soprano Lesley Garrett, and as ever, was filled with star performances, including a few by EMI Classics artists. The talented leader of the Belcea Quartet, Corina Belcea, joined Julian Lloyd Webber for the first ever live performance of the Phantasia suite, taken from the new EMI Classics recording that features Julian Lloyd Webber and violinist Sarah Chang. Composer Karl Jenkins also took to the stage, conducting two extracts from his Requiem, which was released internationally in March of this year. Young cellist Natalie Clein was invited up to collect the award for Best Young British Classical Performer, for her EMI recording of Brahms Cello Sonatas and the Schubert Arpeggione Sonata. The evening was brought to a superb finish by the world-renowned flautist Sir James Galway. The ceremony was a great success and the highlights were broadcast on ITV1 in the UK on Sunday 29th May and repeated the following Sunday.
Young British Classical Performer Natalie Clein Brahms Cello Sonatas Nos.1 & 2 / Schubert Arpeggione Sonata (Classics for Pleasure)
";
news_icpn[23] = "";
news_gac[23] = "";
news_news_type[23] = "General";
news_from_date[23] = "Mon, 30 May 2005";
news_to_date[23] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[24] = "Leif Ove Andsnes and Antonio Pappano take on Rachmaninov’s first two piano concertos with the Berlin";
news_teaser[24] = "Exclusive EMI artists Antonio Pappano and Leif Ove Andsnes have come together for the first time to record Rachmaninov’s first and second piano concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic.";
news_image1[24] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636909-1";
news_id[24] = "1636913";
news_text[24] = "Exclusive EMI artists Antonio Pappano and Leif Ove Andsnes have come together for the first time to record Rachmaninov’s first and second piano concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic. The recording took place over three concerts and several recording sessions at the Berlin Philharmonie at the beginning of June and is well on its way to being ready for its scheduled autumn release.
The early signs are that the combination of Pappano, Andsnes and the BPO will make for a very exciting new recording of these popular works.
\"[Pappano] appeared to be a musical live wire, from a head full of passion to toes possessed by rhythm.\"
\"… explosively played by Leif Ove Andsnes, full of freshness in his fingers, clarity and not a trace of virtuoso narcissism.\" (Berliner Morgenpost)
Much major press coverage for this recording has already been secured, with Leif Ove Andsnes giving interviews to many major international press whilst in Berlin, including BBC Music Magazine, Ongaku no tomo magazine, Record Geijutsu magazine, ABC newspaper, Scherzo, Die Welt, Rondo magazine, Tagesspiegel newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and Fono Forum. ";
news_icpn[24] = "0724347481321";
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news_news_type[24] = "General";
news_from_date[24] = "Tue, 07 Jun 2005";
news_to_date[24] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[25] = "Sarah Chang embarks on her new recording with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic";
news_teaser[25] = "Violinist Sarah Chang has just recorded the first work for her next major recording with EMI Classics. ";
news_image1[25] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636921-1";
news_id[25] = "1636925";
news_text[25] = "Violinist Sarah Chang has just recorded the first work for her next major recording with EMI Classics. Joined by the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of their director, Sir Simon Rattle, Sarah performed the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.1 in three concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie in mid-June for this live recording. The critics have already voiced their praise for the performances.
\"Soloist Sarah Chang let the lyrical appear unsurpassable.\" (Bühne, Austria)
\"Sparks were flying from the highly virtuosic and spiky jagged lines. And what an effect when they suddenly dissolved into a supernatural glow!\" (Der Tagesspiegel)
\"… a first-class interpretation.”
\"How soloist Sarah Chang understands [the concerto], how she leads the almost brittle articulations of the melody into full sound - and she is imploringly supported by the orchestra and Rattle.\" (Berliner Zeitung)
Sarah Chang will return to Berlin to record the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1, the second of the two works for her new disc, this September. This is Chang’s first major new recording since the release of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and Piano Quintet with Sir Colin David, the LSO and Leif Ove Andsnes in May 2003. The Prokofiev and Shostakovich first violin concertos are regarded as two of the most difficult works in the violin repertoire, making this a very important recording for the Korean violinist. ";
news_icpn[25] = "0094634605328";
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news_news_type[25] = "Studio";
news_from_date[25] = "Sat, 18 Jun 2005";
news_to_date[25] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[26] = "Kennedy’s magic is a hit across Europe";
news_teaser[26] = "Nigel Kennedy spent the month of June performing in Spain, Belgium and Holland, once again lighting up audiences at every stop. ";
news_image1[26] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636933-1";
news_id[26] = "1636937";
news_text[26] = "Nigel Kennedy spent the month of June performing in Spain, Belgium and Holland, once again lighting up audiences at every stop.
His Spanish date was in Santander, where he gave a press conference for Diario Montañes and the Spanish Press Agency EFE – the press were so delighted with him that they greeted the end of the conference with a standing ovation.
He then moved on to his tour of Holland, with an opening concert in Rotterdam on 13th June, where he received a total of five standing ovations, three of which were given mid-concert before Kennedy had even had a chance to finish playing. The following concert in Utrecht drew a similar reaction and one fan wrote to say, \"What an incredible man – such drive, such passion … I never knew that Vivaldi could sound so alive and vibrant…\". The tour ended on 18th June with a concert in Heerlen.
Further excitement came when Kennedy was flow in specially for a surprise appearance on France 2’s TV programme La Fête de la Musique, broadcast live over three hours from Versailles Castle just outside Paris. The show featured international pop artists Natalie Imbruglia, Moby, Shakira and Bryan Adams, as well as French artists Marc Lavoine and Chimène Badi. Kennedy came on as the surprise and only classical guest of the evening at 11pm when the programme’s peak audience of 6 million people had tuned in. Taking to the stage accompanied by bursts of fireworks, Kennedy performed an extract of “summer” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
All this comes ahead of his scheduled summer tour of the major cities of the south of France where he will perform a programme of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and concerti from his album Vivaldi II. After the success of the Four Seasons release in France, Vivaldi II has now been released and is already at #1 in the French classical charts and #42 in the French pop charts after being presented on La Fête de la Musique. The Vivaldi Four Seasons album is sitting close behind at #3 in the classical chart. The French release campaign will be supported by coverage on the radio station France Inter and the television station France 2 throughout the summer and autumn. ";
news_icpn[26] = "0724355785923";
news_gac[26] = "120572";
news_news_type[26] = "General";
news_from_date[26] = "Wed, 22 Jun 2005";
news_to_date[26] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[27] = "Angela Gheorghiu in FHM’s list of the most beautiful women in the world";
news_teaser[27] = "Top soprano Angela Gheorghiu has been voted #74 in FHM magazine’s 2005 list of The Most Beautiful Women in the World.";
news_image1[27] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636939-1";
news_id[27] = "1636943";
news_text[27] = "Top soprano Angela Gheorghiu has been voted #74 in FHM magazine’s 2005 list of The Most Beautiful Women in the World. This puts her ahead of Kate Moss, Penelope Cruz, Liz Hurley and Janet Jackson.
Angela Gheorghiu has just finished performing at London’s Covent Garden in one of the roles for which she is best known and admired, Mimì, in Puccini’s La Bohème and is currently at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet singing in La Rondine. ";
news_icpn[27] = "";
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news_from_date[27] = "Tue, 28 Jun 2005";
news_to_date[27] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[28] = "EMI artists receive honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music";
news_teaser[28] = "Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music was awarded to two EMI artists at the student graduation ceremony on 29th June.";
news_image1[28] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636945-1";
news_id[28] = "1636949";
news_text[28] = "Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music was awarded to two EMI artists at the student graduation ceremony on 29th June.
Each year the Royal Academy of Music elects a select few musicians for Honorary Membership (HonRAM), a highly prestigious honour given to eminent musicians who have brought distinction to their profession. This elite group of musicians already includes Cecilia Bartoli, Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir Simon Rattle.
This year it was the turn of legendary French trumpeter Maurice André and violinist and exclusive EMI artist, Maxim Vengerov. They both donned special robes to receive their membership and official certificates, which were presented by the Royal Academy’s President, HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, who is also a Fellow of the Academy.
For Maurice André, the ceremony had been a long-time coming: having been made an Honorary Member in 1989, this was the first year he had been free to attend the ceremony to accept his certificate and his delight at finally being able to receive it in person was plain for all to see. Maxim Vengerov was invited to make the closing speech of the ceremony to the audience of parents, students and staff. He spoke of his childhood and the tough journey he made from his home in Siberia, to Moscow and then to London, that was to make him one of the world’s finest violinists. To the students’ understandable excitement, he also revealed that from the autumn, he is to become a professor at the Royal Academy, alongside his busy international performance schedule. He said: \"I am delighted to be joining the teaching staff of this prestigious institution, and look forward to working with the many talented students who study at the Academy\". He will be joining a teaching roster that includes some of today’s top musicians and pedagogues.
The Royal Academy of Music was founded in 1822 and its Patron is the Her Majesty the Queen. ";
news_icpn[28] = "";
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news_news_type[28] = "General";
news_from_date[28] = "Thu, 30 Jun 2005";
news_to_date[28] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[29] = "Mstislav Rostropovich is honoured by the Royal Northern College of Music";
news_teaser[29] = "";
news_image1[29] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636957-1";
news_id[29] = "1636961";
news_text[29] = "The cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal Northern College of Music. The award was presented to him at a special ceremony following a master class that he conducted in June. This took place shortly before violinist Maxim Vengerov received honorary membership of the Royal College of Music later that month.
The two great Russian musicians spent several days together in July at Abbey Road Studios making their long-awaited recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto and Romances, which they also performed together at the Barbican Centre in London.
Critics said of the performance:
\"What was there in abundance was sweetness and, in the first movement, an intriguing introspection … In the second movement Vengerov span beautifully poised, seamless melodies…\" (The Guardian)
\"… the sheer polish of the playing – and the charisma of the player – command attention…\" (The Times)
\"… as the first movement unfolded, its spacious canvas revealed more and more of the logic that lay behind its conception … the quality of the phrasing and the long-breathed paragraphs of music fuelled an interpretation of absorbing organic cohesion.\" (The Daily Telegraph)
This monumental recording is due out in the autumn.
";
news_icpn[29] = "";
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news_news_type[29] = "General";
news_from_date[29] = "Fri, 15 Jul 2005";
news_to_date[29] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[30] = "Virgin Classics’ Rolando Villazón is short listed for Gramophone artist of the year 2005";
news_teaser[30] = "";
news_image1[30] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636963-1";
news_id[30] = "1636967";
news_text[30] = "As he nears the end of what has been a whirlwind year for the young Mexican tenor, Rolando Villazón has made it into the shortlist for the prestigious Gramophone Artist of the Year 2005-06 honour. The winner is voted by the public and will be announced at the awards lunch in September.
In this August’s Gramophone magazine, a panel of respected opera experts all named Villazón as the obvious successor to Plácido Domingo and none other than Domingo himself has made clear his approval of the young tenor. Gramophone said, \"Clearly Villazón – like Domingo – is one of the more intellectual tenors around; the intelligence he brings to his singing goes well beyond the musical – he engages totally with the drama.\"
Following in his champion’s busy footsteps, Villazón has been performing non-stop this summer. He was at Covent Garden in London this July, where he sang the role of the evil Duke in Verdi’s dark opera Rigoletto to an enraptured audience. He then went to Munich to perform in the title role of Offenbach’s Les Contes d'Hoffmann. It was in this role that he made his debut at Covent Garden in 2004, when the then unknown tenor blew critics and the audience away with his performance. Last night, he made his debut at this summer’s Salzburg Festival as Alfredo in a modern production of Verdi’s La Traviata, opposite the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko. In reviewing the production the Financial Times said, \"… he is a born creature of the stage and the physical performance he gives is so alive… In those passages where other singers stand looking blank while they wait for the next top note, Villazón can be a whirlwind of activity, getting to parts of the character that the rest never knew were there.\" They went on to say, \"The Alfredo that partnered Netrebko here was no stock tenor lead, but a charming and troubled young man with one foot still in the world of hopeless adolescent romanticism.\"
He has so far released two discs on Virgin Classics; the first of a selection of Italian Opera Arias, the second a collection of French Opera Arias by Gounod and Massenet. Together these have now reached total worldwide sales of over 100,000 copies, for which Rolando has received a special gold disc award from EMI Classics. His next recording with the label is due for release early in 2006.
";
news_icpn[30] = "";
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news_from_date[30] = "Mon, 08 Aug 2005";
news_to_date[30] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[31] = "A busy summer for Domingo as he makes his BBC Proms debut ";
news_teaser[31] = "Plácido Domingo has had one of the busiest summers of any artist.";
news_image1[31] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636971-1";
news_id[31] = "1636975";
news_text[31] = "Plácido Domingo has had one of the busiest summers of any artist. On 18th July he made his debut at the BBC Proms in Wagner’s Die Walküre as Siegmund. Opposite Domingo in the role of Siegmund’s sister-bride, Sieglinde was Waltraud Meier and they, along with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, were lead by Antonio Pappano. The performance was hot off the stage of Covent Garden, where the new production of Die Walküre was put on for several dates in July just before the start of the Proms. Both the Opera House and Proms performances were acclaimed by critics:
\"And Domingo’s Siegmund is indeed extraordinary … his burnished sound is unmistakable.\"
\"… Pappano’s balanced judgement of detail and overall architecture supported an interpretation of compelling perspective.\" (The Daily Telegraph)
The audience reaction at the Proms was nothing short of staggering and Domingo was delighted: \"… even better was the public, they were amazing, just amazing. It was like being in the middle of a discotheque, your heart beats so fast. The English are supposed to be reserved people, but not at all, it was the most fantastic response with clapping and tapping on the floor.\"
Domingo then made his way to Salzburg for the official launch of his long-awaited landmark recording of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, which took place on 8th August at the Hotel Schloss Mönchstein. He was joined by fellow artists Nina Stemme, Antonio Pappano, Mihoko Fujimura, René Pape and Rolando Villazón and dozens of members of the international press who had all come to cover this major event. Also at the event were Richard Lyttelton and Theo Lap, the President and Vice-President of EMI Classics, and David Groves, the recording’s producer, and Peter Alward, the former President and head of A&R at EMI Classics, who has seen this historical project through from beginning to end. The hard work of Groves and Alward was warmly recognised and praised by the artists. Since its release, the recording has been showered with praise:
\"… at its finest it is overwhelming, and leaves one shaken in the presence of the work’s transcendent greatness.\"
\"The sound is vivid, detailed, the singers in something like ideal balance with the orchestra.\" (Opera Choice – BBC Music Magazine)
\"A really important release that captures Domingo in extraordinary vocal shape … Alongside him, Nina Stemme is the Wagnerian find of the decade, giving a staggering performance as Isolde.\"
\"Indeed, [Domingo] gives us a performance of Tristan, carefully studied, heroically sung, sympathetically interpreted, that truly crowns his career as a tenor and recording artist.\"
\"[Stemme’s] strong, dark-hued, vibrant tone allied to her meaningful enunciation of the text is something to wonder at.\"
\"Over all presides the alert and commanding Pappano.\"
\"… we’d think ourselves in operatic heaven if a live Tristan came close to this today.\" (Editor’s Choice – Gramophone)
";
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news_news_type[31] = "General";
news_from_date[31] = "Wed, 10 Aug 2005";
news_to_date[31] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[32] = "Gabriela Montero already causing a stir in Germany ahead of her summer concerts";
news_teaser[32] = "Gabriela Montero is already causing excitement amongst the German critics just ahead of her concert performances in Hamburg and Berlin on 29th and 31st August, following the release of her first solo disc on EMI Classics there earlier this summer. ";
news_image1[32] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636977-1";
news_id[32] = "1636981";
news_text[32] = "Gabriela Montero is already causing excitement amongst the German critics just ahead of her concert performances in Hamburg and Berlin on 29th and 31st August, following the release of her first solo disc on EMI Classics there earlier this summer.
She has already impressed the likes of Crescendo magazine, Die Welt newspaper Musikmarkt, Focus magazine, the Rheinische Post, Kölner Stadtanzeiger newspaper and Rondo magazine and has recently been featured in the lifestyle magazines Park Avenue, Galore and Bunte. Bunte magazine has described her upcoming concerts in Germany as the next major event in the classical calendar to follow Anna Netrebko’s Salzburg performances in La Traviata. Gabriela will also be appearing at Dussman’s, the major German record retailer in Berlin, on 30th August to meet the public and sign copies of her new album. Later this autumn she will be performing on the major ZDF television programme “Eine große Nachtmusik“, which will be broadcast across Germany, Austria and Switzerland on 18th November.
The August issue of BBC Music Magazine has made Gabriela the subject of its monthly feature “Rising star: Great artists of tomorrow”.
Earlier this summer she was making her traditional appearance at the Lugano Festival in Switzerland, which was created by Martha Argerich for the fostering of young artists in 2002.
";
news_icpn[32] = "0724355803924";
news_gac[32] = "201261";
news_news_type[32] = "Studio";
news_from_date[32] = "Fri, 19 Aug 2005";
news_to_date[32] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[33] = "EMI Classics to mark its two new recordings with Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic in Salzburg";
news_teaser[33] = "EMI Classics will be marking the summer release of Sir Simon Rattle’s most recent recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic, of the Dvořák Tone Poems and Debussy’s La Mer, with a press conference and reception on 30th August. ";
news_image1[33] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636983-1";
news_id[33] = "1636987";
news_text[33] = "EMI Classics will be marking the summer release of Sir Simon Rattle’s most recent recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic, of the Dvořák Tone Poems and Debussy’s La Mer, with a press conference and reception on 30th August.
Reviews for these two recordings have already appeared in the press and again, Rattle and his orchestra’s efforts have created winners:
\"These are wonderful performances, marvellously recorded.\" (Dvořák Tone Poems, The Times)
\"The silky strings of the Berlin Phil give the Rolls-Royce treatment to these four dark but deeply patriotic Dvořák tone poems, conducted with expert affection by Simon Rattle.\" (Dvořák Tone Poems, CD of the week – The Observer)
\"… another new BPO production at its ravishing best near the close of the second movement, ‘The Play of the Waves’, with its quietly caressing harp, woodwinds and light percussion.\"
\"Again, one marvels at how Rattle restores his canvas…\" (Debussy La Mer, The Independent)
Rattle will be in Salzburg for the traditional concerts that he and the orchestra give at the very end of the festival. This year they will be performing Boulez’s Notations, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and then Burger als Edelmann by Richard Strauss and Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 'Eroica', which he recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic, as part of his Beethoven cycle for EMI Classics. ";
news_icpn[33] = "0724355801920";
news_gac[33] = "125715";
news_news_type[33] = "Studio";
news_from_date[33] = "Tue, 23 Aug 2005";
news_to_date[33] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[34] = "Rolando Villazón’s French arias album is named a winner at the new Classic FM Gramophone awards";
news_teaser[34] = "";
news_image1[34] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636989-1";
news_id[34] = "1636993";
news_text[34] = "Along with his nomination for the Gramophone Artist of the Year award, Rolando Villazón has won the award for Best Recital Recording, for his disc of Gounod and Massenet Arias on Virgin Classics, which was produced by Daniel Zalay and released internationally in February of this year. Gramophone said, \"… the main honour of the award undoubtedly belongs to Villazón himself. This is a voice of exceptional quality, used excitingly and with taste and skill. There is a fluidity in his singing which enables him to move gracefully, his phrases finely shaded, the gradations of his tone subtle and perfectly integrated in a unified voice-production.\" They went on to say, \"He is school –of-Domingo to the extent that the rich timbre bears some natural affinity … This is an ‘Italian’ tenor in the grand line, bringing a refinement of his own, and the prize is well awarded.\"
Having won in its category, this critically-acclaimed album is now in the running for the highly prestigious Recording of the Year award. The winners of the Artist of the Year and Recording of the Year awards will be announced at the official Classic FM Gramophone Awards lunch later this month. This is the first year that Gramophone has teamed up with Classic FM to create a new joint classical award ceremony, which takes the respected prestige of the former and the huge commercial success and popularity of the latter to bring the awards and the artists they recognise, to an ever wider audience. ";
news_icpn[34] = "";
news_gac[34] = "";
news_news_type[34] = "General";
news_from_date[34] = "Mon, 05 Sep 2005";
news_to_date[34] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[35] = "Joyeux Noël is chosen as the French film entry for the 2006 Academy Awards";
news_teaser[35] = "";
news_image1[35] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636995-1";
news_id[35] = "1636999";
news_text[35] = "The stunning French film Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas), by film-maker Christian Carion, has been selected as the French entry in the category of Foreign Film of the Year for the Academy Awards 2006. The soundtrack for this film features two of Virgin Classics’s exclusive artists, French soprano Natalie Dessay and Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón, who lend their voices to the lead characters of the film, Anna (played by actor Diane Krüger) and Nikolaus (played by actor Benno Fürmann).
The film is based on a true story that took place on Christmas Eve in 1914, amidst the horror of the First World War. Scottish, French and German soldiers laid down their arms and ventured out into No Man’s Land, candles in hand, to shake hands with their enemies, exchange modest gifts of cigarettes and chocolate and wish each other a Merry Christmas. This incredible gesture is brought about by music, for it is this which allows the soldiers to temporarily forget their bloody mission and remember what they all share as human beings.
The soundtrack includes beautiful classic Christmas songs such as Ave Maria, Adeste Fideles and Stille Nacht, performed by Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazón and the London Symphony Orchestra under Philippe Rombi. The soundtrack is being released internationally this November and the film is being released across Europe, and in Australia and Canada throughout November and December of this year and in the USA and Japan in February and March 2006. ";
news_icpn[35] = "";
news_gac[35] = "";
news_news_type[35] = "General";
news_from_date[35] = "Mon, 19 Sep 2005";
news_to_date[35] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[36] = "Sarah Chang’s new recording with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic is in the bag";
news_teaser[36] = "Sarah Chang has completed her next recording on EMI Classics, following three concerts in Berlin in mid-September where she performed the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1.";
news_image1[36] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637001-1";
news_id[36] = "1637005";
news_text[36] = "Sarah Chang has completed her next recording on EMI Classics, following three concerts in Berlin in mid-September where she performed the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1. This Concerto will be coupled with the Prokofiev Violin Concerto, which was recorded at the Philharmonie back in June.
For this recording she teamed up for the first time with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Both sets of performances received praise from the critics:
\"… a first-class interpretation.\" (Prokofiev Violin Concerto, Berliner Zeitung)
\"Brilliant and original!” (Shostakovich Violin Concerto, Berliner Morgenpost)
This is Sarah Chang’s first major new recording since the release of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and Piano Quintet with Sir Colin Davis, the London Symphony Orchestra and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes in May 2003. ";
news_icpn[36] = "0094634605328";
news_gac[36] = "124894";
news_news_type[36] = "Studio";
news_from_date[36] = "Tue, 20 Sep 2005";
news_to_date[36] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[37] = "Leif Ove Andsnes takes Japan by storm";
news_teaser[37] = "";
news_image1[37] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637013-1";
news_id[37] = "1637017";
news_text[37] = "Leif Ove Andsnes has returned from sell-out concerts in Tokyo where he played the Grieg Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto with Mikhail Pletnev conducting. He also performed Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor K478 and the Schumann Piano Quintet in Eb major, Op.44 at a chamber concert with Japanese musicians Kyoko Takezawa (violin), Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (cello) and Yasuhsi Toyoshima (viola).
EMI Toshiba pulled out all the stops to release his sensational new recording of Rachmaninov’s First and Second Piano Concertos in time for the tour and witnessed long queues of Japanese fans waiting for signed CDs and a chance to meet the man himself.
Reports are that Leif Ove charmed journalists and music-lovers alike and is rewarded with CD of the month for his Mozart Piano Concertos in Record Geijutsu, Japan’s most important classical magazine. Leif Ove Andsnes returns to Japan in the spring of 2007 for a recital tour.
The rest of this year sees him performing in concerts and recitals across Europe throughout October and November. At the beginning of December he then heads to Los Angeles for a series of ten performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa Pekka Salonen, which will include the Grieg Piano Concerto and Mozart Piano Concerto No.14. He will go on to give the US premiere of the Dalbavie Piano Concerto in Cleveland in January 2006. The Concerto was written specially for Andsnes and he gave the world premiere performance at this year’s BBC Proms in London in August.
";
news_icpn[37] = "0724355780324";
news_gac[37] = "116162";
news_news_type[37] = "General";
news_from_date[37] = "Sun, 25 Sep 2005";
news_to_date[37] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[38] = "Debut artist Sine Bundgaard wins Denmark’s national radio award";
news_teaser[38] = "Debut artist Sine Bundgaard has won the IFPI-Danish Radio award for Best Vocal CD of the year.";
news_image1[38] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637019-1";
news_id[38] = "1637023";
news_text[38] = "Debut artist Sine Bundgaard has won the IFPI-Danish Radio award for Best Vocal CD of the year. In a nation-wide public vote, she beat off stiff competition in the form of baritone Bo Boje Skovhus to take the prize in her native country. The IFPI is the International Federation of Phonographic Industries.
Sine’s debut CD is available now and includes notable performances of Strauss, Duparc and Poulenc. She was featured in the May issue of BBC Music Magazine, in their monthly article, Rising Star: Great Artists of Tomorrow. ";
news_icpn[38] = "";
news_gac[38] = "";
news_news_type[38] = "General";
news_from_date[38] = "Mon, 26 Sep 2005";
news_to_date[38] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[39] = "Plácido Domingo is a winner with the listeners of Classic FM radio";
news_teaser[39] = "";
news_image1[39] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637025-1";
news_id[39] = "1637029";
news_text[39] = "Plácido Domingo is still a firm favourite with classical audiences, having won the Listeners' Choice Award, as voted by the listeners of Classic FM radio. The announcement was made at the first Classic FM Gramophone Awards ceremony, which took place at the end of September.
His recent landmark recording on EMI Classics of Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde is proving popular with music fans around the globe, including the USA, where it hit the #2 spot in the core classical chart. The CD set has been listed as a recommended gift pick in the upcoming holiday issue of Town & Country Magazine and the Washington Post declared it \"Everything one could have hoped for\".
The Philadelphia Enquirer spoke of, \"…the subtle, magical effects from conductor Antonio Pappano.\" and went on to say, \"The primary vocal triumph belongs to Plácido Domingo, who adopts a lean, edgy approach for his probing portrayal of Tristan.\"
Time Out New York declared, \"…no Tristan on record surpasses Domingo’s total package of tonal beauty, lyrical grace and smoldering sensuality.\"
Recent UK reviews of the recording have been just as enthusiastic:
\"Covent Garden’s music director is not found wanting in his version, one in which Wagner’s long phrases and immense musical paragraphs are marshalled to serve the opera’s broader dramatic sweep.\"
\"Plácido Domingo, in heroic form, sets down his first Tristan...\" (Album of the Week - Music Week)
\"The all-round strength of the cast is reinforced by the stellar British and Mexican tenors Ian Bostridge and Rolando Villazón...\"
\"... this masterful version is a milestone recording, fulfilling Pappano’s aspiration that when people put on the CD, the electricity is there...\" (The Observer)
\"EMI has assembled a dream cast for its recording, as it did for Furtwangler a century ago.\"
\"... by God [Domingo’s Tristan] is beautiful, every phrase moulded with supreme musicianly artistry ... In achieving his ambition, he succeeds beyond expectations.\" (The Sunday Telegraph) ";
news_icpn[39] = "0724355800626";
news_gac[39] = "122597";
news_news_type[39] = "General";
news_from_date[39] = "Tue, 27 Sep 2005";
news_to_date[39] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[40] = "Jonathan Lemalu’s opera arias disc is named album of the year at the New Zealand music awards";
news_teaser[40] = "";
news_image1[40] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637031-1";
news_id[40] = "1637035";
news_text[40] = "Jonathan Lemalu’s first recording on the main EMI Classics label, Opera Arias, has won a Tui Award for Best Classical Album at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, which were held on Wednesday 5th October. The making of this album brought Jonathan back home to record with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under NZSO Music Director James Judd. Following its release back in April of this year it remained at the #1 spot in the New Zealand classical chart for a consecutive 15 weeks.
Jonathan Lemalu is currently one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed opera singers and is earning world-wide attention and praise for his performances on opera stages in Sydney, Munich, London and New York.
Jonathan’s new album, Love Blows as the Wind Blows, an album of English and American song, was released internationally earlier this month.
";
news_icpn[40] = "0724355760524";
news_gac[40] = "114101";
news_news_type[40] = "Studio";
news_from_date[40] = "Fri, 07 Oct 2005";
news_to_date[40] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[41] = "EMI and Virgin Classics are winners once again at this year’s Echo Klassik awards in Germany";
news_teaser[41] = "This year’s Echo Klassik Awards have just taken place with the annual Echo Klassik Gala in Munich’s Philharmonie Hall on 16th October.";
news_image1[41] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637037-1";
news_id[41] = "1637041";
news_text[41] = "This year’s Echo Klassik Awards have just taken place with the annual Echo Klassik Gala in Munich’s Philharmonie Hall on 16th October. This year EMI and Virgin Classics won no fewer than seven awards for their recordings from over the last year.
The winners are:
Opera Recording of the Year Rolando Villazón Gounod, Massenet – Opera Arias (Virgin Classics)
Instrumental Recording of the Year Emmanuel Pahud Franck, Widor, Strauss – Flute Sonatas (EMI Classics)
Ensemble Recording of the Year The Twelve Cellists As Time Goes By (EMI Classics)
Developing Artist of the Year Philippe Jaroussky Vivaldi - Virtuoso Cantatas (Virgin Classics)
Orchestral Recording of the Year (18th Century) Nigel Kennedy Vivaldi – Vivaldi II (EMI Classics)
Choral Recording of the Year Sir Simon Rattle / Berlin Philharmonic Orff – Carmina Burana (EMI Classics)
Music-DVD-Production of the Year Sara Scuderi Tosca’s Kiss (EMI Classics)
The evening was lit up by live performances by the Twelve Cellists and Rolando Villazón, both of whom performed tracks from their winning albums. The Twelve Cellists performed The Man with the Harmonica and Rolando Villazón sang Ah! Tout est bien fini… O souverain from Le Cid by Massenet.
The awards Gala was filmed by ZDF television and broadcast later the same evening. ";
news_icpn[41] = "";
news_gac[41] = "";
news_news_type[41] = "General";
news_from_date[41] = "Tue, 18 Oct 2005";
news_to_date[41] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[42] = "Gabriela Montero brings some South American spice to EMI head office";
news_teaser[42] = "Gabriela Montero caused a stir when EMI Classics hosted An Evening with Gabriela Montero at EMI’s head offices in Wrights Lane on 25th October.";
news_image1[42] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637043-1";
news_id[42] = "1637047";
news_text[42] = "Gabriela Montero caused a stir when EMI Classics hosted An Evening with Gabriela Montero at EMI’s head offices in Wrights Lane on 25th October.
Playing to a packed-out room of EMI staff, UK classical press and other music industry members, she performed Debussy’s Clair de Lune, a piece by the Argentinian composer Ginastera and music by Bach. In what is her unique trademark, she then took requests from the amazed listeners, improvising on a variety of pieces that were called out to her, a feat that most of the audience had never come across before.
This month also saw Gabriela’s first concert appearance in the UK, as she was invited to take part in this year’s Classic FM concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. She dazzled the audience with a stunning performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and then delighted them with her take on the theme tune from one of the country’s most famous soap operas. The response said it all, as people rose to their feet in thunderous applause and excited cheers. No doubt she will continue to set stages alight wherever she goes.
Her first recording on EMI Classics has been acclaimed by BBC Music Magazine, who named it Instrumental Choice of the month in their October issue, calling her a \"ferocious young talent\":
\"… it beggars belief that this is her first solo album.\"
\"No matter how jaw-dropping her miraculously clean-fingered negotiation of such as Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz, it’s what happens between the notes, the way she grippingly characterises everything she plays, that constantly arrests the listener’s attention.\"
\"Not since George Cziffra’s hey-day have such white-hot, volcanic eruptions of pianistic derring-do been captured on disc.\"
\"… what sets the seal on this remarkable release is the bonus disc of Montero’s self-penned improvisations, whose jazz-styled inflections will have all die-hard romantics misting over on contact.\"
\"Her spine-tingling rethink of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise is worth the price of the disc alone.\" ";
news_icpn[42] = "0724355803924";
news_gac[42] = "201261";
news_news_type[42] = "General";
news_from_date[42] = "Fri, 28 Oct 2005";
news_to_date[42] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[43] = "Kennedy magic lights up France once again";
news_teaser[43] = "Nigel Kennedy has been cooking up a storm during his return to France for his first full concert tour there.";
news_image1[43] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637049-1";
news_id[43] = "1637053";
news_text[43] = "Nigel Kennedy has been cooking up a storm during his return to France for his first full concert tour there. His three back-to-back concerts in Paris, one featuring the music of Vivaldi, one that of Bach and one that of Jimi Hendrix, had audiences so full, people stood in the gangways just to hear him play and the standing ovations kept on coming. The madness continued when, at midnight, Nigel and fans queuing for his autograph were forced to retreat to the steps of the Champs-Elysées Theatre, so he could keep on signing! He went on to play to crowds in Lyon, Tours, Rouen and Lille, as well as Montreux in Switzerland.
French TV was quick to pick up on the excitement he generates and Nigel was invited to appear on all three major networks, TF1, France 2 and France 3. France 3 found his signing autographs on the streets of Paris so amusing that they filmed it for television broadcast. His appearance on France 2’s programme “Vivement Dimanche” marked his third invitation onto the show in a year, a feat which is practically unheard of and a first for any classical artist. Nigel also made the front page of a Sunday edition of France’s major newspaper, Le Monde, and was the subject of a leading feature in which the writer came out in complete support of Nigel Kennedy.
All the activity meant that copies of Kennedy’s newly-released Bach album flew off the shelves in their thousands across France. Three of his albums, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Vivaldi II and the Bach, all featured simultaneously in the French pop album chart, with the latter climbing over forty places in a week. Needless to say, the Bach album also went straight into the top 3 of the French classical album chart.
In addition to his success in France, Nigel was also the winner in the category Best Instrumental Recording at the Klassik Amadeus Awards, Austria’s equivalent of the Classical Brit Awards. His performance at the ceremony in Vienna was greeted with much excitement, as was his concert the following evening, where, after a dose of Bach, he treated his audience to some unexpected Hendrix improvisation.
Nigel’s next tour takes him back to familiar territory, as he returns to Australia in 2006. This time he will be visiting every major city, starting out in Sydney’s famous Opera House at the end of January and ending in Brisbane in mid-March. ";
news_icpn[43] = "";
news_gac[43] = "120572";
news_news_type[43] = "General";
news_from_date[43] = "Tue, 01 Nov 2005";
news_to_date[43] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[44] = "EMI and Virgin Classics strike gold at the Diapason awards in France";
news_teaser[44] = "The winners of this year’s Diapason d'Or Awards have been announced in Paris and EMI and Virgin have won two of the highly-coveted accolades.";
news_image1[44] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637055-1";
news_id[44] = "1637059";
news_text[44] = "The winners of this year’s Diapason d'Or Awards have been announced in Paris and EMI and Virgin have won two of the highly-coveted accolades. Best Opera Recording went to Offenbach’s La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein with Dame Felicity Lott and Best Symphony Recording was awarded to Mariss Jansons’s recording of Shostakovich Symphony No.4 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Virgin’s recording of La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein also went on to win the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros, another of France’s most prestigious awards in the music industry. ";
news_icpn[44] = "";
news_gac[44] = "";
news_news_type[44] = "General";
news_from_date[44] = "Thu, 10 Nov 2005";
news_to_date[44] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[45] = "Choc success for EMI and Virgin Classics!";
news_teaser[45] = "Further good news for EMI and Virgin Classics came when the Choc de l'Ann饠du Monde de la Musique Awards were announced in Paris on 16th November.";
news_image1[45] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637113-1";
news_id[45] = "1637117";
news_text[45] = "Further good news for EMI and Virgin Classics came when the Choc de l'Année du Monde de la Musique Awards were announced in Paris on 16th November. EMI and Virgin took a total of four awards away from the ceremony for the following recordings:
Tribute to pianist Aldo Ciccolini for his recording of Liszt Années de Pélerinage EMI Classics “Les Rarissimes” series ";
news_icpn[45] = "0724355782427";
news_gac[45] = "118305";
news_news_type[45] = "General";
news_from_date[45] = "Thu, 17 Nov 2005";
news_to_date[45] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[46] = "Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic take on Asia";
news_teaser[46] = "Excitement has been running high in Asia as Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic returned there at the beginning of November for a major tour of the region.";
news_image1[46] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637119-1";
news_id[46] = "1637123";
news_text[46] = "Excitement has been running high in Asia as Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic returned there at the beginning of November for a major tour of the region. For the orchestra the tour has marked three very important concert debuts in Taipei, Shanghai and Hong Kong, where press conferences for Sir Simon were packed out. The tour concert programme included Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, which was released across Asia to time with Sir Simon’s appearances. The tour ended in Tokyo and being no strangers to the region, the conductor and orchestra were greeted with a typically enthusiastic Japanese welcome.
";
news_icpn[46] = "0094633933927";
news_gac[46] = "125715";
news_news_type[46] = "General";
news_from_date[46] = "Thu, 24 Nov 2005";
news_to_date[46] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[47] = "Natalie Dessay has media eating out of her hand at New York press lunch";
news_teaser[47] = "";
news_image1[47] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637125-1";
news_id[47] = "1637129";
news_text[47] = "As well as receiving rave reviews for her return to the Met in New York as Juliette in Gounod’s opera, Natalie Dessay found herself entertaining over twenty key journalists from various US media including Vanity Fair, Billboard, Opera News and PBS TV executives, at a lunch organised by the Angel team at top New York Italian restaurant “Felidia” on 29th November. Restaurant owner Lidia Bastianich, a big Dessay fan, was on-hand to personally oversee the menu for the special occasion.
Included in the discussion was her current Rossignol DVD release, which will be aired on PBS on 21st December. In an article published in the LA Times, the critic said, \"Dessay is a dream Nightingale…\" The journalists also chatted to her about her upcoming Handel: Delirio release with Emmanuelle Haïm and the February release of the soundtrack Joyeux Noël with Rolando Villazón, which features in the Oscar-nominated film. The media warmed to Natalie straight away and the lunch was a great success for all. ";
news_icpn[47] = "0094633262423";
news_gac[47] = "120251";
news_news_type[47] = "General";
news_from_date[47] = "Wed, 30 Nov 2005";
news_to_date[47] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[48] = "Tristan und Isolde takes Italian critics’ award";
news_teaser[48] = "";
news_image1[48] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637131-1";
news_id[48] = "1637135";
news_text[48] = "The EMI Classics recording of Tristan und Isolde, with Plácido Domingo, Nina Stemme and Antonio Pappano, has won the Musica e Dischi Critics’ Award for Best Vocal Recording. This award is the most important music award in Italy. ";
news_icpn[48] = "0724355800626";
news_gac[48] = "122597";
news_news_type[48] = "General";
news_from_date[48] = "Thu, 01 Dec 2005";
news_to_date[48] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[49] = "King’s College Choir, Cambridge and Stephen Cleobury sign new contract with EMI Classics";
news_teaser[49] = "EMI Classics is pleased to announce that it has renewed its recording contract with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and its director, Stephen Cleobury for a further five years.";
news_image1[49] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637137-1";
news_id[49] = "1637141";
news_text[49] = "EMI Classics is pleased to announce that it has renewed its recording contract with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and its director, Stephen Cleobury for a further five years. The first recording under the new deal will be of the Brahms Requiem, arranged for choir and two pianos, due for release in 2006.
King’s College Choir first recorded for EMI Classics back in 1949. The recording was of a carol that has long been a staple of the Choir’s repertoire: Once in Royal David’s City. They later signed their first long-term contract with EMI in 1966 and they have had an ongoing relationship with EMI ever since, which has now lasted over fifty-five years.
King’s College Choir’s most recent recording to be released on EMI Classics, On Christmas Day, is a disc of contemporary carols which were commissioned and written specially for the Choir by some of today’s foremost composers. The recording was made over three years starting in 2002, in the Chapel of King’s College and its stunning acoustic. The last recording session was finished earlier this year, bringing to completion this very special recording of new carols.
King's is the choir that still sets the standard today and On Christmas Day is receiving much deserved praise. In a five-star review entitled “New carols fit for King’s”, BBC Music Magazine named the album its Christmas Choice, saying, \"Choirmaster Stephen Cleobury ... draws performances of great range, colour and technical distinction from the King's choir. This is the one unmissable seasonal issue this Christmas.\" ";
news_icpn[49] = "";
news_gac[49] = "126614";
news_news_type[49] = "General";
news_from_date[49] = "Fri, 02 Dec 2005";
news_to_date[49] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[50] = "EMI and Virgin Classics clock up ten nominations for the upcoming 48th annual Grammy awards";
news_teaser[50] = "The nominations for the 48th Grammy Awards have been announced and EMI and Virgin Classics artists have found themselves nominated for an impressive total of ten awards in seven categories.";
news_image1[50] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637145-1";
news_id[50] = "1637149";
news_text[50] = "The nominations for the 48th Grammy Awards have been announced and EMI and Virgin Classics artists have found themselves nominated for an impressive total of ten awards in seven categories.
Best Classical Album: Martha Argerich Martha Argerich and Friends: Live From the Lugano Festival (EMI Classics)
Best Opera Recording: Fabio Biondi Vivaldi: Bajazet (Virgin Classics)
Best Instrumental Soloist Performance: (with Orchestra): Truls Mørk, Paavo Järvi / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Schumann: Cello Concerto / Bloch: Schelomo (Virgin Classics)
Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra): Piotr Anderszewski Szymanowski: Piano Sonata No.3 (Virgin Classics)
Best Chamber Music Performance: Martha Argerich Martha Argerich and Friends: Live From the Lugano Festival (EMI Classics)
Best Classical Vocal Performance: Rolando Villazón French Opera Arias (Gounod & Massenet) (Virgin Classics)
Natalie Dessay Strauss: Amor (Virgin Classics)
The awards will be telecast from Los Angeles on 8th February next year on CBS television across the USA. ";
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news_from_date[50] = "Fri, 09 Dec 2005";
news_to_date[50] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[51] = "Classics bags six of the best";
news_teaser[51] = "Internet retailer Amazon.com has announced its “Best of 2005” classical recordings and six EMI and Virgin Classics titles appear in the top twenty-five albums of the chart. ";
news_image1[51] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637151-1";
news_id[51] = "1637155";
news_text[51] = "Internet retailer Amazon.com has announced its “Best of 2005” classical recordings and six EMI and Virgin Classics titles appear in the top twenty-five albums of the chart.
Plácido Domingo’s recording of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is in at #2, while the recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos Nos.1 and 2 by Leif Ove Andsnes on piano with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Antonio Pappano was voted the 9th best new recording, with Amazon declaring: \"[Andsnes’s] virtuosity is so unobtrusive, his control of touch and nuance so natural that the music seems to flow through him directly to the listener.\"
Also making an appearance is the Virgin recording of Vivaldi’s Bajazet by Fabio Biondi at #13, Christos Hatzis’s Awakening with the St. Lawrence String Quartet at #15, and Shostakovich Symphony No.13 with Mariss Jansons conducting the Bavarian RSO at #17. Rolando Villazón came in at #22 with his recording of French Opera Arias by Gounod and Massenet. ";
news_icpn[51] = "0724355800626; 0724347481321";
news_gac[51] = "122597";
news_news_type[51] = "General";
news_from_date[51] = "Wed, 14 Dec 2005";
news_to_date[51] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[52] = "EMI Classics wins four UK Classical Brit Awards";
news_teaser[52] = "";
news_image1[52] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1645435-1";
news_id[52] = "1637161";
news_text[52] = "Last night's Classical Brit Awards held at London's Royal Albert Hall saw legendary tenor and EMI artist Placido Domingo honoured with a lifetime achievement award, recognising his incomparable service to the world of classical music. Domingo has commanded 122 different roles, more than any other tenor in the world, and made over a hundred recordings, his latest, of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, also won the critic's award for best release at the ceremony - an honour shared with fellow EMI artist, conductor Antonio Pappano, of the Royal Opera House.
Leif Ove Andsnes claimed Instrumentalist of the Year for his recording of Rachmaninov's first two piano concerti, with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Antonio Pappano. (see Leif Ove Andsnes's artist page for more information)
Rising star Alison Balsom picked up the award for Young British Classical Performer, paying tribute to her two celebrated recordings - the debut Trumpet and Organ Recital, and her recent release, Bach: Works for Trumpet. (see Alison Balsom's artist page for more information)
";
news_icpn[52] = "";
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news_from_date[52] = "Fri, 05 May 2006";
news_to_date[52] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[53] = "Rave reviews for Perspectives series";
news_teaser[53] = "Ian Bostridge's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall continued to cause sensation in New York when he performed a recital of Schubert fragments and Beethoven together with his frequent collaborator Leif Ove Andsnes.";
news_image1[53] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1650137-1";
news_id[53] = "1649834";
news_text[53] = "Ian Bostridge's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall continued to cause sensation in New York when he performed a recital of Schubert fragments and Beethoven together with his frequent collaborator Leif Ove Andsnes. The New York Times reported: \"It makes a difference to have a major pianist at the keyboard in this searching and pianistically elaborate work. Mr. Bostridge sang with his uncanny mix of refinement and intensity. Then Mr. Andsnes gave the most insightful, articulate and eloquent account of Beethoven's late-period Sonata in A flat (Op. 110) that you could hope to hear. The performers also excelled in a group of less-heard Schubert songs.\" Ian Bostridge concluded this highly successful series with a programme of Schumann songs and duets with Dorothea Röschmann last weekend.";
news_icpn[53] = "";
news_gac[53] = "112173";
news_news_type[53] = "General";
news_from_date[53] = "Mon, 08 May 2006";
news_to_date[53] = "Wed, 02 Mar 2033";
news_title[54] = "Gabriela Montero";
news_teaser[54] = "";
news_image1[54] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637163-1";
news_id[54] = "1637167";
news_text[54] = "Going from strength to strength, Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero continues to attract attention in the media. Already famous for her unique improvisational talent, demonstrated in the bonus disc of her debut release and on her new release Bach and Beyond, she discusses this gift and her tempestuous rise to stardom in the following featured articles:
\"Gabriela Montero is turning the music world on it's ear.\" Stuart Isacoff, pianist and author of \"How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization\" profiles Montero for The Wall Street Journal, May 2006. Click here to read.
\"If I've, say, listened to a CD of African music, 20 minutes later I can improvise in that style. How does she do it?\" Gabriela Montero featured in Classic FM Magaine, June 2006. Click here to read.
\"I expressed my surprise that she had never heard of 'Eleanor Rigby,' and she replied that she did not listen to much music because: It clashes with the radio in my head, which is on 24 hours a day.\" Gabriela Montero featured in Financial Times Magazine March 2006. ";
news_icpn[54] = "";
news_gac[54] = "201261";
news_news_type[54] = "General";
news_from_date[54] = "Fri, 16 Jun 2006";
news_to_date[54] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[55] = "Han-na Chang and Antonio Pappano join forces again for a new Shostakovich recording";
news_teaser[55] = "";
news_image1[55] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636927-1";
news_id[55] = "1636931";
news_text[55] = "Exclusive EMI artists Antonio Pappano and Han-Na Chang have joined forces once again for a new recording of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1 and Cello Sonata with the London Symphony Orchestra. The recording sessions have already taken place at London’s famous Abbey Road Studios.
As a warm-up to the recording, Han-Na and Antonio also gave several concert performances of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto in May and June, across Spain, in Lisbon and at London’s Barbican Centre. The London concert has received unanimous acclaim from the critics, a timely reminder of what a special musical partnership these two share:
\"Of all the top instrumental soloists who visit London, there is none whose performances I anticipate more eagerly than Han-Na Chang.\"
\"It was a stupendous performance.\"
\"She made Shostakovich’s concerto ‘speak’ even more expressively than Rostropovich, who inspired the composer to write it.\"
\"The slow movement radiated ghostly lyricism. The spell remained unbroken in the cadenza movement, and the finale transcended the limits of virtuosity.\" (The Financial Times)
\"The chemistry between Pappano and Chang has to be heard to be believed. Their recording of this concerto is being made while the sparks are flying. To experience it all live was extraordinarily exciting.\"
\"The LSO members responded with keen enthusiasm to every challenge [Pappano] set them, with lean, lithe, rhythmic definition, fiercely focused ensemble and a sense of ardour that gave new shape and strength to every movement.\" (The Times)
Their last recording for EMI Classics, of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante and Cello Sonata, which was also made with the LSO, won awards across the world, including the Caecilia Prize in Belgium, a Gramophone Award, the Echo Klassik Prize and it also received a Grammy Award nomination at the beginning of last year. All the signs are that their Shostakovich recording could do equally well, making this a hotly anticipated release. The disc is due out this autumn. ";
news_icpn[55] = "0094633242227";
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news_news_type[55] = "Studio";
news_from_date[55] = "Tue, 20 Jun 2006";
news_to_date[55] = "Fri, 29 Jan 2049";
news_title[56] = "Alison Balsom hailed \"Tomorrow's classical superstar\"";
news_teaser[56] = "";
news_image1[56] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1645426-1";
news_id[56] = "1637173";
news_text[56] = "Following her Classical Brit success and in the build-up to the release of her third album, exclusive EMI artist Alison Balsom has been featured as one of 'tomorrow's classical superstars' in the Gramophone magazine.Click here to read.
She is also profiled in The Independent, ahead of a concert in London's Barbican. To read the article click here. ";
news_icpn[56] = "";
news_gac[56] = "100956";
news_news_type[56] = "General";
news_from_date[56] = "Fri, 07 Jul 2006";
news_to_date[56] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[57] = "Elisabeth Schwarzkopf 1915-2006";
news_teaser[57] = "";
news_image1[57] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1645416-1";
news_id[57] = "1637179";
news_text[57] = "EMI Classics joins the music world in sorrow at the death of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, whose supreme artistry graced our label in a vast catalogue of recordings during a pivotal association dating back to 1946.
Theo Lap, Vice President A&R and International Marketing, EMI Classics and Jazz said, \"Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was one of the finest singers of all time. Her incredible legacy includes some of the most beautiful recordings ever made. Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch, Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs and Mozart's Don Giovanni are just a few of the ‘Great Recordings of the Century’. EMI is proud and feels privileged to have been associated with her for such a long time.\"
The German-born soprano was brought to EMI by Walter Legge, the legendary British recording producer, who auditioned her in Vienna during a post-war trip in search of new artists for the company. In October 1946 in the city’s Brahmssaal, she recorded Martern aller Arten from Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan, and Schubert’s Seligkeit with pianist Karl Kudez. Legge was to guide her subsequent career in a dedicated and formidable partnership that was to become more than artistic. They married in 1953 and were inseparable until his death in 1979. Schwarzkopf’s last recording for EMI was of Schumann Lieder in 1974.
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was a peerless interpreter of Richard Strauss’s Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, the Countess in Capriccio, Mozart’s Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze de Figaro, all of which she recorded for EMI. Other landmark recordings included Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, operetta recordings such as Franz Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and songbooks of Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, Mozart, Richard Strauss and Wolf.
Schwarzkopf was renowned for her rich, shimmering tone and her unrivalled communicative gifts, for \"almost making the voice visible,\" in the words of the author and vocal critic John Steane. She performed and recorded for EMI with many of the greatest artists of her time, including Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Carlo Maria Giulini, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Victoria de los Angeles. Her regular collaborative pianists were Gerald Moore and Geoffrey Parsons.
Always a highly self-critical artist, Schwarzkopf expressed particular pride in her 1957 recording of Capriccio with Wolfgang Sawallisch and stressed, as she often did, the teamwork responsible – the entire ensemble, the record producers and, at the head of the team, Walter Legge.
Edward Greenfield, music critic emeritus of The Guardian, said of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, \"She was one of the very greatest of all singers. She combined every quality you wanted in a great soprano. What made her so special was the unique timbre of her voice and her unique responsiveness to words, particularly German – together with her great charisma and beauty. She was also a wonderful actress.\"
Much of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s extensive recorded catalogue is available on EMI Classics. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: A Self-Portrait was released on DVD in 1995.
\"After she had shown what she could do in her own choice of a variety of arias from both opera and oratorio, I started to work with her on a very difficult little Hugo Wolf song… I soon realized that in [her] unflinching perfectionism I had found my match. After an hour and a half, Herbert von Karajan, who was sitting with me, said, ‘I’m going. Don’t crucify the girl….’ That evening she signed her first recording contract, and so began the longest and happiest musical association of my life.\" (Walter Legge, from a 1975 article in Opera News) ";
news_icpn[57] = "";
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news_news_type[57] = "General";
news_from_date[57] = "Mon, 07 Aug 2006";
news_to_date[57] = "Sat, 30 Jan 2049";
news_title[58] = "Han- Na Chang Prom";
news_teaser[58] = "Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat Reviews from The Guardian and Evending Standard";
news_image1[58] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1650946-1";
news_id[58] = "1650950";
news_text[58] = "The Guardian ****
\"Among the welter of Shostakovich performances strewn through this year's proms, the account of the First Cello Concerto by the young Korean Han-Na Chang, with the BBC National Orchestral of Wales conducted by Tadaaki Otaka, has to have been one of the very best. Chang's teachers have included Mstislav Rostropovich, for whom Shostakovich wrote both his cello concertos, and her performance of the First has a good deal of the febrile intensity and searing immediacy of Rostropovich's own recording……..and Chang’s superbly controlled playing made every tiny detail count”.
Evening Standard
“Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat is a work indelibly associated with Rostropovich.Han-Na Chang brought to it a quite different sensibility. Her sweet, lyrical tone tempered even the most astringent passages, revealing beauties in the score that have not always been obvious.
Not that her playing was ever lacking in energy or urgency, and she rattled off the taxing virtuoso parts with aplomg. But it was good to have the eloquent, poignant aspects of the work given their due. There is more to it than the frantic assault course it often seems”. ";
news_icpn[58] = "0094633242227";
news_gac[58] = "208938";
news_news_type[58] = "General";
news_from_date[58] = "Thu, 07 Sep 2006";
news_to_date[58] = "Thu, 09 Mar 2034";
news_title[59] = "Virgin Classics awarded Label of the Year at Classic FM Gramophone Awards";
news_teaser[59] = "";
news_image1[59] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1658871-1";
news_id[59] = "1658875";
news_text[59] = "Click here to read about Virgin's success at the Gramophone Awards.";
news_icpn[59] = "";
news_gac[59] = "";
news_news_type[59] = "General";
news_from_date[59] = "Thu, 28 Sep 2006";
news_to_date[59] = "Thu, 24 Apr 2036";
news_title[60] = "Ian Bostridge records Handel aria album";
news_teaser[60] = "This month sees Ian Bostridge recording his eagerly anticipated album of Handel arias in London together with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlighenment conducted by Harry Bicket.";
news_image1[60] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1650147-1";
news_id[60] = "1650060";
news_text[60] = "This month sees Ian Bostridge recording his eagerly anticipated album of Handel arias in London together with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Harry Bicket. Featured in the recording are a selection of English and Italian arias from both opera and oratorios, some of which were originally written for castrati. The arias range from the famed Messiah aria “Ev’ry Valley†and “Ombra mai fu†(Serse) to the haunting “Total Eclipse†(Samson). Ian Bostridge is joined in the studio by English soprano Kate Royal for a guest appearance. She has recently signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics.
The album is due for release in the second half of 2007, when Ian Bostridge and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will also perform Handel in concert throughout Europe. Please check the concert date section for more information.";
news_icpn[60] = "";
news_gac[60] = "112173";
news_news_type[60] = "Studio";
news_from_date[60] = "Sun, 08 Oct 2006";
news_to_date[60] = "Thu, 02 Mar 2034";
news_title[61] = "Ian Bostridge Grammy Nomination";
news_teaser[61] = "The nominations for the 49th annual Grammy Awards were announced in Los Angeles yesterday (7 December 2006) and Ian Bostridge is nominated in the category:Best Classical Vocal Performance.";
news_image1[61] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1650137-1";
news_id[61] = "1649875";
news_text[61] = "The nominations for the 49th annual Grammy Awards were announced in Los Angeles yesterday (7 December 2006) and Ian Bostridge is nominated in the category:Best Classical Vocal Performance for the EMI Classics recording of Benjamin Britten's Song Cycles with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (international release October 2005). The actual awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 11 February 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and it will be broadcast on television across the US on the CBS Channel. A full list of all the nominees can be found at: http://music.yahoo.com/promo-25023071 and further information at: http://www.grammy.com/.";
news_icpn[61] = "";
news_gac[61] = "112173";
news_news_type[61] = "General";
news_from_date[61] = "Sun, 26 Nov 2006";
news_to_date[61] = "Thu, 02 Mar 2034";
news_title[62] = "Belcea Quartet 5* Wigmore Hall Concert";
news_teaser[62] = "\"This was a performance that danced\"";
news_image1[62] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1679504-1";
news_id[62] = "1656086";
news_text[62] = "5 Stars Evening Standard concert review from 2 December 06 The Belcea Quartet recently returned to London's Wigmore Hall as part of their Britten in Memorian festival. Performing repertoire from EMI's 2005 recording of Britten String Quartets, London's Evening Standard described the Quartet's playing as \"vibrant\" and their \"individual timbres blending magically [ensuring] that the music never strayed far from song, never lost momentum. This was a performance that danced.\"";
news_icpn[62] = "0724355796820";
news_gac[62] = "102689";
news_news_type[62] = "General";
news_from_date[62] = "Tue, 05 Dec 2006";
news_to_date[62] = "Sun, 13 Apr 2036";
news_title[63] = "49th annual Grammy Awards Nominations";
news_teaser[63] = "EMI nominated for six awards";
news_image1[63] = "";
news_id[63] = "1656089";
news_text[63] = "The nominations for the 49th annual Grammy Awards were announced in Los Angeles yesterday and EMI Classics have received 6 award nominations in the following catagories:
Producer of the Year, Classical:
Stephen Johns for: Angel Dances (12 Cellists of Berliner Philharmoniker) Holst: The Planets (Sir Simon Rattle and Berliner Philharmoniker) Schubert: Symphony No 9 \"The Great\" (Sir Simon Rattle and Berliner Philharmoniker) Shostakovich: Violin Concerto NO 1; Prokofiev: Violin Cocnerto No 1 (Sarah Chang & Simon Rattle) Vivaldi: Flute Concertos (Emmauel Pahud & Richard Tognetti)
Best Classical Album: Martha Argerich And Friends: Live From the Lugano Festival 2005 (Martha Argerich and Friends; Ulrich Ruscher, producer)
Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra): Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1 &2 (Antonio Pappano, conductor: Leif Ove Andsnes; Berliner Philarmoniker)
Best Chamber Music Performance: Martha Argerich And Friends: Live From the Lugano Festival 2005 (Martha Argerich and Friends)
Best Small Ensemble Performance: Angel Dances: 12 Cellists of Berliner Philharmoniker
Best Classical Vocal Performance: Britten: Song Cycles (Ian Bostridge; Sir Simon Rattle; Radek Baborak; Berliner Philharmoniker)
The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 11 February 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and it will be broadcast on television in the US on CBS.
A full list of all the nominees can be found at: http://music.yahoo.com/promo-25023071 and further information at: http://www.grammy.com/.";
news_icpn[63] = "";
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news_news_type[63] = "General";
news_from_date[63] = "Fri, 08 Dec 2006";
news_to_date[63] = "Sun, 13 Apr 2036";
news_title[64] = "New dance project with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker";
news_teaser[64] = "Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker continue to help disadvantaged children to become dancers";
news_image1[64] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1637119-1";
news_id[64] = "1656092";
news_text[64] = "Modern Times - New dance project with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker
With their new project titles Modern Times, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker continue to help disadvantaged children to become dancers. 150 children and teenagers performed modern dance and ballet routines set to classical music at the Berlin Arena after taking part in one of the six-week educational programmes set up by Rattle. The project's team contacted schools in deprived areas of the city, asking them to nominate pupils for the classes who then got taught by one of three modern dance choreographers. The performance was kicked off by a world premiere of the specially commissioned work for four horns titled Purple Silence, followed by Edgard Varèse's Ionisation and Igor Stravinsky's Les Noces. Adults over 50 were also part of the dancers in Les Noces, enabling people from the age of 8 to 80 to share the experience on stage.
Rattle said: 'Everybody can make music. Everybody can compose, somehow. When you want to teach children sports, they play football, or get given a tennis racket, they don't simply watch. But when we want them to be involved in music, we ask them to sit passively. This is surely not the right concept.' ";
news_icpn[64] = "";
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news_news_type[64] = "General";
news_from_date[64] = "Tue, 12 Dec 2006";
news_to_date[64] = "Sun, 13 Apr 2036";
news_title[65] = "Les Victoires de la Musique Classique 2007";
news_teaser[65] = "EMIC/VC artists nominated for eight awards.";
news_image1[65] = "";
news_id[65] = "1656095";
news_text[65] = "EMI Classics/Virgin Classics nominations by Les Victoires de la Musique Classique 2007...
Singer of the year : Roberto Alagna Philippe Jaroussky
Instrumentalist of the year : Nicholas Angelich David Guerrier
Ensemble of the year : Ensemble Matheus/Jean-Christophe Spinosi
Revelation of the year (singer) : Amel Brahim-Djelloul (soprano, in Le Jardin des Voix/Christie)
DVD of the year : Natalie Dessay, Greatest Moments on stage
Victoire d'Honneur : June Anderson
The awards ceremony will be held on February 28th in Paris and will be broadcast live on France 3,TV (prime time). Natalie Dessay and Rolando Villazon will attend and sing and Maxim Vengerov will perform with the Orchestra Philharmonique under Chung. ";
news_icpn[65] = "";
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news_news_type[65] = "General";
news_from_date[65] = "Wed, 13 Dec 2006";
news_to_date[65] = "Sun, 13 Apr 2036";
news_title[66] = "La Fille du Regiment";
news_teaser[66] = "5* review for Natalie Dessay at Covent Garden The Times
";
news_image1[66] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1656097-1";
news_id[66] = "1656101";
news_text[66] = "5* review for Dessay at Covent Garden
...I have never seen a singer invest quite so much manic comic energy into a role as Dessay does, and certainly not while tossing out some of the most fiendish coloratura in the repertoire. Nor take on so many domestic chores in a performance. Playing the role as a hyperactive tomboy, she sings her first aria while doing the regiment’s ironing, pausing only to ping her braces against her vested bosom, then delivers a duet while peeling spuds, and an aria while gathering in underwear from a washing line.
And she never misses a beat or a stratospheric trill. Simply mesmerising. Memories fade, but I can’t recall Dame Joan Sutherland playing the part quite like that when Covent Garden last staged this opera...
Richard Morrison at Covent Garden The Times";
news_icpn[66] = "";
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news_from_date[66] = "Thu, 18 Jan 2007";
news_to_date[66] = "Sun, 13 Apr 2036";
news_title[67] = "Kate Royal's 5 star review";
news_teaser[67] = "\"a moment whose experience is so intense that the singer - and the listener - has no choice but to inhabit every second of its life\". The Times (London)";
news_image1[67] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1659456-1";
news_id[67] = "1659454";
news_text[67] = "EMI Classics new signing Kate Royal's latest recital as part of the Wigmore Hall's Festival of Song was in front of a packed house and garnered a 5 star review from Hilary Finch in The Times (London) who described the evening as \"a moment whose experience is so intense that the singer - and the listener - has no choice but to inhabit every second of its life\". ";
news_icpn[67] = "";
news_gac[67] = "208030";
news_news_type[67] = "General";
news_from_date[67] = "Mon, 05 Feb 2007";
news_to_date[67] = "Wed, 30 Apr 2036";
news_title[68] = "BBC Music Magazine gives a raft of five star reviews to EMI new releases.";
news_teaser[68] = "Antonio Pappano, Emmanuel Pahud and Simon Trpceski performances receive highest star award.";
news_image1[68] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1636885-1";
news_id[68] = "1667183";
news_text[68] = "The March issue of BBC Music Magazine has awarded the maximum of 5 performance stars to the new releases from Antonio Pappano (Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos 4-6 with the Orchestra Dell'Accademia Di Santa Cecilia); flautist Emmanuel Pahud (with Yefim Bronfman, works by Brahms and Reinecke); and for pianist Simon Trpceski (Chopin). These are all February new releases. Congratulations all round!";
news_icpn[68] = "0094635325829";
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news_news_type[68] = "General";
news_from_date[68] = "Wed, 28 Feb 2007";
news_to_date[68] = "Fri, 23 May 2036";
news_title[69] = "The Man Behind the Music";
news_teaser[69] = "He may not be a household name, but Costa Pilavachi is probably the most influential figure in the classical world. Jonathan Wingate meets the man behind the music.";
news_image1[69] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1667141-1";
news_id[69] = "1667120";
news_text[69] = "He may not be a household name, but Costa Pilavachi is probably the most influential figure in the classical world. Jonathan Wingate meets the man behind the music. ‘Music on a page alone is just a dead thing, so it only becomes an aesthetic product or a work of art when somebody performs it, whereas a painting or a work of literature is there whether you look at it or not. Think of how many steps there are between a composer and the ultimate consumer, so the world of the interpreter cannot be precious.’ Costa Pilavachi’s curriculum vitae covers so much ground that if he were in any other business, he would probably be laughed out of a job interview for being more than a little economic with the truth. However unbelievable it sounds, his musical journey has taken him from Ottawa record shop assistant to his role as President of EMI Classics, the world’s biggest and most prestigious record label. This is not a man who needs to embellish the facts. Neither is he a virtuoso musician, although Pilavachi has left an indelible mark on the classical music world. He is a true giant of a man in business terms, yet he is so modest, you would never guess it. In the hour-and-a-half we spend together in his plush office, a stone’s throw away from London’s Kensington High Street, his breathless enthusiasm for the music he has dedicated his life to is as solid as the bust of Yehudi Menuhin that sits proudly in the corner of the room, a couple of feet away from the famous Francis Barraud painting of Nipper, the terrier sitting alongside the gramophone player, HMV’s iconic logo.
Unlike many so-called suits in the entertainment business, music runs through Pilavachi’s proud veins as much as his Greek blood. Ironically, Pilavachi spent the first few years of his life living next to an almost anonymous looking Georgian house in St. John’s Wood, otherwise known as Abbey Road Studios. “Because my father was a Greek diplomat, he happened to be posted here when I was born in May 1951. It was an interesting year, because it was the year of the Festival of Britain, so maybe some of that rubbed off. Who knows?” Pilavachi smiles between sips of espresso. “The funny thing is that our house was at 1a Hill Road, and it’s literally the closest house to Abbey Road Studios. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time because I left and moved to Athens when I was four. When I was six, we moved to Cairo, at seven we moved to Washington D.C., and when I was eleven, we moved back to Athens. When I was fourteen, my father was sent to Ottawa.”
What sort of music was around the house when he was growing up? “My father was an avid record collector,” says Pilavachi proudly. “He listened mainly to classical music, but also Louis Armstrong and Doris Day. I can tell you specifically some of the works that were seminal in making me a classical music buff: Bach’s organ corals, Sibelius’s The Swan Of Tuonela, Wagner’s orchestral excerpts from The Ring, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, and Mozart–Concerto No. 27, which I listened to ad infinitum. When I lived in Greece in the Sixties, I also loved Hadjidakis and Theodorakis, and a lot of French music such as Aznavour. I’ve always had very broad taste,” he says. “Of course, The Beatles were shattering. My father came back from a Nato conference in London and he brought us the first two albums. We were the first family in Athens to have With The Beatles, so everybody came over to listen to it. We read about them, but no radio station would play that kind of music back then. It’s been an incredible honor to work with Paul McCartney recently, promoting his Ecce Cor Meum oratorio, because The Beatles are so much part of my DNA. I was totally in awe of him.”
When Pilavachi was nineteen, his family left Ottawa, while he stayed on in Canada and went to university to study history and political science, with a minor in music. Already utterly besotted with music, one day after attending a rehearsal by Soviet pianist, Emile Gilels at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, Pilavachi popped into Sherman’s, his favorite record shop. “Sherman’s belonged to Capitol Records, Canada, which is an EMI subsidiary, by the way, and that’s an important vignette here,” he explains. “The manager was in hysterics because she had a sales rep from Philips in the back, and her assistant had quit in a huff that morning. She already knew me as a customer, and she asked me if I was interested in a job. She hired me on the spot, and I went and placed my first order from the Philips label, which was my first record label as well. By the end of my tenure there, I knew virtually every piece of music and learned the names of every artist who had ever made a recording,” says Pilavachi. “I was going to follow in my father’s footsteps but because I hadn’t really lived in any one country that long, I didn’t feel I could be a propagandist for just one country. One night I was having dinner with a friend, and he said: ‘What do you really want to do?’ And I said, well, I love talking about music and telling people what to buy. And he said: ‘Well, why don’t you become a Music Administrator?’ He told me about an MBA program at York University in Toronto, which had a specialty in Arts Administration. I applied the next day. When I arrived, one of the most important people in my life was an Austrian renaissance man called Franz Kraemer, who had studied under Webern. He taught me how to listen and how to evaluate and judge music and introduced me to all the great musicians of the day who were coming to the St Lawrence Centre for Arts in Toronto.”
Pilavachi soon got a job working for the Canadian impresario David Heber, who needed a classical expert on his team, which is where Pilavachi’s career trajectory really started to take off: “We brought the Israel Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Royal Ballet, the Cuban Ballet, Nureyev…all sorts of things.” He became Kraemer’s successor as Director Of Music at the St Lawrence Centre for Arts, and two years later was appointed Director Of Music at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. He then joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Artistic Administrator in 1995: “That was my big break, my first real international job. It’s probably the best Artistic Administrator job in the world, because you have the most wonderful orchestra and you’re programming in the best hall in North America. I worked with people like Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Bernard Haitink, Michael Tilson Thomas, Daniel Barenboim, Yo-Yo Ma and Leonard Bernstein. Actually, I should have put Bernstein first,” he says. “Bernstein was the most extraordinary musician to work with, I have to tell you,” Pilavachi beams. “First of all, Bernstein was without question the greatest conductor that I’ve ever worked with. He was a commanding presence, he was an extrovert, and he had complete mastery of the orchestra, the music, the interpretation…everything. He was an amazingly emotional communicator, and I’ve never heard anyone more articulate talking about music in a more earthy, descriptive and absolutely super-clear way. He didn’t have to talk because his hands and arms and body language and facial expressions were so crystal clear. I would go to his conducting classes, and he would take some young Japanese boy who had perfect stick technique but knew very little about life, music and human beings…and he would kick the shit out of him. He would physically grab these people just to loosen them up because they were so formal.” Would he say the classical world is often too formal for its own good? “It is, but the big stars in classical music who become stars to a broader public like Bernstein, Karajan, or Menuhin are extremely interesting, colorful people…and they’re stars. You know, a star is a star, whether they come from golf or the world of classical music. What’s the difference in the end? It’s all about huge personalities and charisma.” Charisma–something that cannot be learned, I say. “Exactly–you can’t learn it,” he replies excitedly. “I mean, imagine the hassle these days of going to a downtown concert hall for families; baby sitters, organizing a reservation in a restaurant, paying a fortune to buy tickets…why do people do this? There has to be a huge attraction, so it takes a giant of a person who lifts you up and makes you feel fulfilled to drag people out of the comfort of a modern home with all the entertainment we have there now.”
What is Barenboim like as a person? “Well, I saw him the other day, actually. He’s wonderful, full of incredible energy. He’s super-intelligent, he’s an unbelievable organizer…he’s a visionary. I heard him in New York last month playing with the Boston Symphony, and I have to tell you, it was extraordinary. Afterwards, there were at least 200 people backstage, he knew them all by name, and he started conversations with them that had been interrupted six months before and he just came right back into the conversation: ‘As I was telling you in Paris the other day,’ which was actually a year ago,” Pilavachi laughs. In 1989, Pilavachi was appointed Vice President of A&R at Philips Classics: “I was basically responsible for making and overseeing the artistic program of the label. I was very intimately and creatively involved with artists like Jessye Norman, Alfred Brendel, Mitsuko Uchida and José Carreras.” In 1997, Pilavachi became President of the Philips Music Group, and within a couple of years, he consolidated Decca and Philips Classics into one organization, Decca Music Group, where he worked with another list of legends including Vladimir Ashkenazy and Luciano Pavarotti. “He was already pushing seventy by the time I started working with Pavarotti, so his great years were over. We made a few recordings together, and I also did one opera with him and Ricardo Muti in Philadelphia in the mid-Nineties, which was a wonderful event. Actually, he stormed out of a dinner I was co-hosting with Muti’s wife because he didn’t like the food, but that’s another story.” You really couldn’t make it up. “I also remember being in Las Vegas, which is already a surreal place, and I was with The Three Tenors in Pavarotti’s dressing room when I was told that Andre Agassi and Stephi Graff wanted to meet him. I brought in these young tennis stars–just exuding good health and physical fitness–to Pavarotti, who was sitting in this throne perspiring after singing in the first half with this huge colorful shawl draped over him. He was like a mountain, and they came in just like children having an audience with the Pope, and it was very, very funny,” he giggles, knocking back the last dregs of his cold espresso. Music–the greatest leveler of all: “Yeah, because everybody likes music, and everybody is involved with music one way or the other…it’s inescapable. It’s part of everybody’s life, when you think about it.” Clearly, Pilavachi thinks about it a great deal, which is an intrinsic part of his charm and his infectious enthusiasm. Once you really start delving deep into the music with him, you actually begin to completely forget just how important he really is. Pilavachi was also the man responsible for masterminding the globetrotting careers of artists like Hayley Westenra, Russell Watson, and Andrea Bocelli, crossover singers who exposed classical music to a mass market that had little or no previous interest in the genre. Was he concerned that by launching their careers he could be dissipating the legacy of such a legendary label? “No, not in the least, mainly because the public for Russell Watson or Andrea Bocelli is a totally different public to the one who buys the traditional recordings. It’s people who love beautiful melodies. Bocelli had one that sold almost five million copies of a classical record of sacred arias. Incredible, really. If people are going to hear this lovely music through a crossover artist or an advert, I’m all for it. No, thank God for adverts and all this stuff,” he says with a smile. Perhaps the key to Pilavachi’s enduring success and his unique relationship with the artists is the fact that they know he has an innate understanding of the music as well as the market, and even though he is now running EMI Classics, he still takes the time to get involved in the music as well as the business. “I meet with the artists all the time and I try to work with them, to have an overview of their career. I’m not gonna go tell them what to perform, but I’ll say to them: ‘You’ve made three records recently which haven’t really connected, so we’ve got to come up with a concept that’s going to connect because you need to have a success.’ That’s a typical conversation.”
And would he say that to Simon Rattle or Maxim Vengerov? “I’ll have that conversation with them, of course,” Pilavachi says, “but luckily most of their records connect, so these aren’t really tough conversations. They don’t see me as a musician, but they see me as someone who understands music and commerce together, and you can’t really separate the two.” He adds: “Classical musicians are much more focused on music alone and they don’t really have a commercial side, so that’s what they look for from me. It’s not just about the music: it’s all the bells and whistles around the music. Pop artists make a record and then they’ll take it on tour to sell the record–how else are you gonna sell it? Classical artists rehearse and perform the works they’re going to record, then they record them and say: ‘It’s your job to sell the record, so I’m now going to rehearse’.” “Let’s face it, you don’t become a classical artist when you’re eighteen or twenty, you start as a young child,” Pilavachi continues, “so you have spent your whole life practicing, studying, learning and living music, so most classical musicians have very little time to do anything else in their life.”
Classical music sales in U.K. stores between 2003-2004 reached their lowest point for almost two decades, and for the first time ever, classical music accounted for less than five percent of all albums sold. While this appears to imply that interest in the genre is waning, there are positive signs that the classical industry may be undergoing a renaissance in the digital world. Downloads of classical albums grew by nearly one hundred percent in the U.S. in 2005, and BBC Radio 3 recently recorded over 1.3 million downloads when it offered free Beethoven symphonies. The London Symphony Orchestra even has its own ringtones service. In short, the future is now, and it’s something that Pilavachi is acutely aware of. “Yes, it’s happening right now, and as far as I’m concerned, the entire digital revolution is a huge opportunity for music, and in particular for classical music. The internet means people can buy anything they want, when they want and how they want. We’re investing enormous amounts of money and time on developing the internet, and we’re just starting. Without losing the company’s heritage, it’s my top priority. It’s not just a music marketplace anymore, it’s an entertainment marketplace,” he says. “You know, there’s a whole generation of people who have never heard of Jascha Heifetz or even Menuhin. Their heroes are going to be young stars of tomorrow, and they’ll discover these masterpieces through them. We’ve just signed a young Ukrainian boy called Valeriy Sokolov, and he is as good a violinist as any I have ever heard, so people who are now beginning to listen to classical music will hear a lot of the masterpieces through the fingers and the soul of Sokolov, although he hasn’t even made a record yet.”
As president of the biggest classical label in the world, in the current climate, does he believe one of his main tasks is to understand the changes going on right now? “Of course,” he replies without missing a beat. “Well, I’m trying to broaden their horizons beyond their music to understand where they fit in society in the real world, in the world of consumers and music fans. It’s not only about selling records. You know, music is nothing if it’s not performed, so around music there’s a whole structure of commerce. It’s not like a writer or a composer, who is in isolation. Music on a page alone is just a dead thing, so it only becomes an aesthetic product or a work of art when somebody performs it, whereas a painting or a work of literature is there whether you look at it or not. Think of how many steps there are between a composer and the ultimate consumer, so the world of the interpreter cannot be precious.”
Would he say this is the biggest job in the classical business? “Yes, it probably is,” says Pilavachi proudly, as our time comes to a close. “Without question, this is my dream job. Look, I’m fifty-five, and I think this will be my last job. What else am I going to do after this? I’ll know when it’s time to go, and it won’t be long after sixty. I also love to read, I love to sail, ski and climb mountains…I love to do all kinds of things that I can’t do enough of in combination with my job. If I wait to be seventy-five to do those things, I’ll physically be too old,” he says. “I think most people will agree that EMI Classics has the richest history and the richest back catalogue. We had this wonderful golden age at EMI from the end of World War II because the continental companies were on their knees and EMI became the most important record company and signed up all of the greatest artists in the world. I mean, I’m only the fifth head of this company, and it’s 108 years old. Can you imagine that?”
Jonathan Wingate Odyssey";
news_icpn[69] = "";
news_gac[69] = "";
news_news_type[69] = "General";
news_from_date[69] = "Fri, 02 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[69] = "Fri, 23 May 2036";
news_title[70] = "The EMI Stars of Tomorrow!";
news_teaser[70] = "BBC names Benjamin Grosvenor and Richard Harwood among the big stars of tomorrow.";
news_image1[70] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1667191-1";
news_id[70] = "1667189";
news_text[70] = "The cover story of the March issue of BBC Music Magazine highlights those artists that the magazine predicts will be the \"big stars of tomorrow\". The short list includes EMI Debut recording artist Richard Harwood who is described as \"an exceptional musical prodigy\" and the young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor who has a development relationship with EMI Classics who \"displays an astonishing musical maturity to match his flawless technique\". For further information please see the new issue of the magazine.";
news_icpn[70] = "0094635964523";
news_gac[70] = "207503";
news_news_type[70] = "General";
news_from_date[70] = "Mon, 05 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[70] = "Tue, 23 May 2034";
news_title[71] = "Kate Royal's first album for EMI Classics.";
news_teaser[71] = "Soprano Kate Royal has just recorded her first release as an exclusive EMI artist at Abbey Road's Studio 1, out this Autumn. ";
news_image1[71] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1667208-1";
news_id[71] = "1667215";
news_text[71] = "Soprano Kate Royal has just recorded her first release as an exclusive EMI artist at Abbey Road's Studio 1, out this Autumn.
Kate will shortly be making her debut at London's Royal Opera House in the first revival of Thomas Ades's hugely successful adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest in the role of Miranda. Performances start on 12 March. ";
news_icpn[71] = "";
news_gac[71] = "208030";
news_news_type[71] = "Studio";
news_from_date[71] = "Tue, 06 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[71] = "Mon, 23 May 2033";
news_title[72] = "Evgeny Kissin signs to EMI Classics";
news_teaser[72] = "Acknowledged the world over as one of the supreme living pianists, Evgeny Kissin has been hailed as 'a lion of the keyboard', 'highly communicative' and 'one of the most generous performers before the public today'.";
news_image1[72] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1668494-1";
news_id[72] = "1668498";
news_text[72] = "EMI Classics have announced an exciting new collaboration with famed Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin. Acknowledged the world over as one of the supreme living pianists, Evgeny Kissin has been hailed as ‘a lion of the keyboard’, ‘highly communicative’ and ‘one of the most generous performers before the public today’. His first recording for EMI Classics will be Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Op.54 and Mozart Piano Concerto in C minor K.491 No.24 with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis, recorded live in September 2006 and released internationally in 2007. This will be followed with the complete Beethoven Concertos (LSO/Davis) and further projects for 2008 will be announced later.
His London Barbican recital this week was greeted by a standing ovation from the audience and he performed no less than 5 encores! The Independent newspaper in London described the evening as \"magic....By the end of his fifth circus-style encore, he'd made devotees of us all.\" The Daily Telegraph talked about his \"phenominal technique\" and a 4 star review in The Times declared the evening as \"triumphant!\" ";
news_icpn[72] = "";
news_gac[72] = "108843";
news_news_type[72] = "General";
news_from_date[72] = "Sat, 10 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[72] = "Sun, 01 Jun 2036";
news_title[73] = "EMI Classics and iTunes team up to celebrate Mstislav Rostropovich's 80th birthday.";
news_teaser[73] = "Music lovers have access to Rostropovich's entire EMI discography as cellist, conductor and pianist. Exclusively available on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com.";
news_image1[73] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1670444-1";
news_id[73] = "1670448";
news_text[73] = "EMI Classics and iTunes team up to celebrate Mstislav Rostropovich's 80th birthday.
To celebrate the 80th birthday of the world’s greatest living cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich, EMI Classics will run an international campaign in conjunction with iTunes giving music lovers access to his entire EMI discography as cellist, conductor and pianist. Exclusively available on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com), this treasure-trove includes eleven currently unavailable albums, two of which have never been issued on CD. The campaign begins on 20 March 2007, a week before the birthday of the larger-than-life figure affectionately known to the world as Slava.
William Benthall, Director - Digital for EMI Classics, said, “For the first time ever, all of the recordings that this iconic figure made for EMI Classics can be accessed and enjoyed by the public. Many of the unavailable recordings are unique historical documents and will be of great interest to Slava's army of fans and admirers around the world.”
In a career as cellist, conductor and pianist spanning 65 years, Mstislav Rostropovich’s musical partners have included such illustrious artists as his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, violinists David Oistrakh, Maxim Vengerov and Itzhak Perlman, pianist Sviatoslav Richter and conductors Herbert von Karajan and Carlo Maria Giulini. His friendships and collaborations with many of the 20th century’s finest composers, including Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Britten, Bernstein, Messiaen, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski and Penderecki, resulted in the creation of over 240 new works.
Highlights of the EMI Classics/iTunes download-only tracks include Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata, recorded in 1974 and never before released on CD, the complete Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Overtures with Rostropovich conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded in 1976, and the Shostakovich Cello Sonata with the composer at the piano, recorded in the late 1950s.
In addition to over 500 individual tracks, EMI is offering an 80-track Special Edition Bundle at a very special price. This compilation presents a compelling snapshot of Rostropovich’s musical career. Fifty of the tracks are iTunes exclusives, taken from the 11 unavailable and unreleased albums. The compilation also includes a PDF booklet featuring an introductory note and historic photos from the EMI archives.
Mstislav Rostropovich’s first recording for EMI Classics was the Nikolay Miaskovsky cello concerto in 1956. Since then, his collaboration with EMI has encompassed recordings of works by, among many others, Beethoven, Bloch, Borodin, Brahms, Dutilleux, Dvořák, Glinka, Haydn, Khachaturian, Lutoslawski, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky.
EMI Classics is the oldest record label in the world and has the largest vaults with over 100,000 recordings. The Rostropovich 80th birthday releases are the start of a drive by EMI Classics to tap further into this incredible resource and share it with music lovers across the globe.
The iTunes Store, the world’s most popular digital music store, currently features over 4 million songs, 250 feature films, 350 television shows and over 100,000 podcasts.";
news_icpn[73] = "";
news_gac[73] = "119941";
news_news_type[73] = "General";
news_from_date[73] = "Tue, 20 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[73] = "Sun, 11 Jun 2034";
news_title[74] = "Han-Na Chang's new album Romance in the charts";
news_teaser[74] = "";
news_image1[74] = "";
news_id[74] = "1671155";
news_text[74] = "Han-Na Chang's \"Romance\" release climbes to the #18 spot on iTunes classical chart in the States and maintains the No 1 classical chart position in Korea this week. Congratulations!";
news_icpn[74] = "0094638239024";
news_gac[74] = "208938";
news_news_type[74] = "General";
news_from_date[74] = "Fri, 23 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[74] = "Thu, 15 Jun 2017";
news_title[75] = "A strong year for Thomas Adès!";
news_teaser[75] = "A round-up of Tom's activities over the past few months.";
news_image1[75] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1671559-1";
news_id[75] = "1671563";
news_text[75] = "2007 is a strong year for EMI exclusive artist Thomas Adès. Since early February he has been the Featured Composer at the Presences Festival in Paris, where 23 of his works were performed by over 700 musicians in just under one month. This forms the largest retrospective of Tom's work and included the French premieres of his new classical work Tevot, in addition to America, the Violin Concerto and Brahms. Adès participated as composer, conductor and pianist.
In London in March, the Royal Opera House revived Tom's second opera The Tempest, received with high acclaim at its premiere 3 years ago and warmly received again: \"gorgeous\" said Bloomberg - the performance featured the House debut for new EMI artist Kate Royal and a return to the role of Caliban by Ian Bostridge.
In Berlin in February, Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker gave the world premiere of the orchestral work Tevot. This was a joint commission between the Berliner Philharmoniker and Carnegie Hall, New York. The New York premiere will take place in November this year.
The UK's most significant homage to Adès takes place in April at London's Barbican Centre. \"Traced Overhead\" will feature the UK premiere of Tevot alongside 11 other works by Adès. As in France, Adès will participate as composer, conductor and pianist. Other EMI performers featuring in the festival include Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker and Ian Bostridge.
Thomas Adès will make his debut with the Oslo Philharmonic in a festival featuring his music in September-October this year. And, finally, Thomas Adès has been appointed as holder of the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie hall for the 2007-2008 season. He will feature as composer, conductor and pianist in a number of concerts, recitals and events throughout the year, beginning in mid-November. ";
news_icpn[75] = "";
news_gac[75] = "128982";
news_news_type[75] = "General";
news_from_date[75] = "Tue, 27 Mar 2007";
news_to_date[75] = "Thu, 19 Jun 2036";
news_title[76] = "RUSSIAN MAESTRO ROSTROPOVICH DIES";
news_teaser[76] = "It is with great sadness that EMI Classics reports today that Mstislav Rostropovich, the celebrated Russian cellist and conductor, has died, just one month after celebrating his 80th birthday and following a long illness.";
news_image1[76] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1678550-1";
news_id[76] = "1678554";
news_text[76] = "LONDON 27 April 2007: It is with great sadness that EMI Classics reports today that Mstislav Rostropovich, the celebrated Russian cellist and conductor, has died, just one month after celebrating his 80th birthday and following a long illness.
'Slava' Rostropovich was not only a musical colossus but a towering cultural figure and moral beacon who lived his life to the fullest and inspired millions. He is irreplaceable.\" said Eric Nicoli, CEO, EMI Group.
Rostropovich was one of classical music's greatest figures and a much loved member of the EMI family, revered around the world and recently honoured by President Vladimir Putin with Russia's \"Order of the Fatherland, First Class\". In the 1970s Rostropovich lived in exile from the then USSR (for his defence of Alexander Solzhenitsyn) and returned in 1991, when communism had collapsed.
His career as a cellist, conductor and pianist spanned 65 years, with his first recording for EMI taking place in 1956 (Nikolay Miaskovsky Cello Concerto), a relationship that was to last his whole life. His musical partners included (amongst others) his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, violinists David Oistrakh, Maxim Vengerov and Itzhak Perlman, pianist Sviatoslav Richter and conductors Herbert von Karajan and Carlo Maria Giulini. His friendships and collaborations with many of the 20th century's finest composers, including Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Britten, Bernstein, Messiaen, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski and Penderecki, resulted in the creation of over 240 new works - there has never been an instrumentalist who has done as much for their instrument as Rostropovich achieved. His collaboration with EMI encompassed recordings of works by, amongst many others, Beethoven, Bloch, Borodin, Brahms, Dutilleux, Dvorak, Glinka, Haydn, Khachaturian, Lutoslawski, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky. Most recently, to celebrate his 80th birthday, EMI in conjunction with iTunes, made his entire discography available digitally which included tracks that had never before been released.
Rostropovich's recorded legacy is second to none and we at EMI are immensely proud to be the custodians of these cultural treasures through which the indomitable spirit of 'Slava' will live forever†said Costa Pilavachi, President EMI Classics.
“The significance of Mstislav Rostropovich's work spreads far beyond his playing of the cello: this versatile and ever-inspiring musician is a great and deep man, a profoundly creative artist, whose contribution to cultural life is immeasurably precious.\" (Dmitri Shostakovich)
\"As a performer, Rostropovich commands an extraordinarily wide range; indeed, his infinite scope is one of the most astonishing aspects of his musicianship. When we hear him perform, we are in the presence of a deeply fascinating artistic personality. He opens up to us a boundless universe through playing that brims with life and glows with the richest of colours. He utterly captivates us while offering us the pleasure of contact with art at its most supreme.\" (Dmitri Shostakovich)
\"Everything about Rostropovich is larger than live: his music-making, his generosity, his embraces, his anger, his appetite, his enthusiasms, his work for charities.......He has left, and continues to leave, a huge imprint on the whole world.\" Steven Isserlis (Guardian, March 2007)
EMI Classics has set up an area of their website to commemorate Rostropovich. At www.rostropovich.net, fans and admirers can listen to three of his concertos (Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn) together with a pod cast celebrating his life. ";
news_icpn[76] = "";
news_gac[76] = "119941";
news_news_type[76] = "General";
news_from_date[76] = "Fri, 27 Apr 2007";
news_to_date[76] = "Sun, 20 Jul 2036";
news_title[77] = "ALEXANDRE THARAUD SIGNED TO VIRGIN CLASSICS";
news_teaser[77] = "";
news_image1[77] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1763940-1";
news_id[77] = "1763944";
news_text[77] = "Virgin Classics is pleased to announce the signature of an exclusive contract with the French pianist Alexandre Tharaud.
Tharaud is now firmly established as a pianist of outstanding international stature. He has acquired a distinctive reputation for his skilfully and personally conceived programming, whether for the concert hall or the recording studio, with his projects around Rameau, Couperin, Bach and Chopin receiving acclaim from critics and audiences around the world.
Alain Lanceron, President of Virgin Classics says: \"I am particularly happy that Alexandre Tharaud, one of the most brilliant and original pianists of the new generation, has chosen Virgin Classics to partner him from now on in his splendid career. We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with Alexandre, who in recent years has been thrilling audiences with his talent, creativity and imagination.
His first CD, Journal Intime will be released in November. It will comprise a number of works by Chopin, whose 200th anniversary falls in 2010.\"
Gramophone has described Alexandre Tharaud as \"a young aristocrat of the keyboard. Cool, supple and elegant, all his performances are in the best French tradition; a fine union of sense and sensibility ... each phrase bringing a renewed sense of delight … the inwardness and grace one associates with true artists\".
For further information on Alexandre Tharaud please click here ";
news_icpn[77] = "";
news_gac[77] = "";
news_news_type[77] = "General";
news_from_date[77] = "Wed, 08 Jul 2009";
news_to_date[77] = "";
news_title[78] = "JOYCE DIDONATO UK TELEVISION EXCLUSIVE";
news_teaser[78] = "";
news_image1[78] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1764097-1";
news_id[78] = "1764101";
news_text[78] = "For the first time on television, Joyce DiDonato has given an exclusive TV interview about her accident.
The self-styled Yankee Diva slipped after singing \"Una voce poco fa\" in Act One of the Barber of Seville, breaking her calf bone. However, she insisted on carrying on, and helped by a crutch she finished the show.
Miss DiDonato, who sings the lead female role of Rosina in the Rossini opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, returned to the stage this week in a plaster cast and wheelchair.
Click HERE to watch the exclusive Channel 4 News interview.
Joyce DiDonato's latest CD on EMI/Virgin Classics Furore - Handel Arias is OUT NOW! ";
news_icpn[78] = "5099951903824";
news_gac[78] = "114303";
news_news_type[78] = "General";
news_from_date[78] = "Mon, 13 Jul 2009";
news_to_date[78] = "Sun, 31 Oct 2010";
news_title[79] = "CLASSIC FM's 50 RECORDINGS THAT CHANGED CLASSICAL MUSIC";
news_teaser[79] = "";
news_image1[79] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1765084-1";
news_id[79] = "1765088";
news_text[79] = "A major feature appears in the September 2009 issue of Classic FM Magazine and uses EMI's new special edition of Nigel Kennedy's Four Seasons as the lead item in a feature listing the 50 Recordings That Changed Classical Music. This list includes 18 titles from the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics catalogue, more than from any other label.
As CLASSIC FM says \"Kennedy's 1989 Four Seasons is one of only a few recordings that have made the world sit up and take notice of a new star, a piece of music or a composer\"
These are the EMI/VIRGIN CLASSICS titles featured on the CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE list:
";
news_icpn[79] = "";
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news_news_type[79] = "General";
news_from_date[79] = "Wed, 05 Aug 2009";
news_to_date[79] = "Thu, 28 Oct 2010";
news_title[80] = "CLASSIC FM GRAMOPHONE AWARDS 2009: THE FINALISTS ";
news_teaser[80] = "";
news_image1[80] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1765495-1";
news_id[80] = "1765499";
news_text[80] = "The thousands of recordings that have been released over the past 12 months have been sifted and sorted by Gramophone Magazine's world-class panel of judges and, after deep consideration, they have arrived at a shortlist for this year's Classic FM Gramophone Awards.
And what a shortlist it is: exceptional recordings across all 15 categories. EMI & Virgin Classics recordings feature prominently in the line-up of finalists at this year's awards.
All the categories are as hotly contested. But why wait for the winners to be announced? Why not get hold of these recordings yourself and see whether you agree with the final selections?
Many congratulations to all the talented artists, producers and engineers in reaching the final stages of this prestigious event, and best of luck to you all! ";
news_icpn[80] = "";
news_gac[80] = "";
news_news_type[80] = "General";
news_from_date[80] = "Fri, 14 Aug 2009";
news_to_date[80] = "Sun, 05 Dec 2010";
news_title[81] = "EMI & VIRGIN CLASSICS VIDEOS SCORE 1 MILLION PLAYS ON YOUTUBE ";
news_teaser[81] = "";
news_image1[81] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1765604-1";
news_id[81] = "1765608";
news_text[81] = "Video viewings on the official EMI & Virgin Classics YouTube Channel have now exceeded the magic 1 million mark; and just one year after the classical music labels began featuring their promotional video content on the site.
The branded channel - www.youtube.com/emiclassics - was launched just under one year ago and aims to bring EMI and Virgin Classics artists and their music to ever-wider global audiences. The offering of fascinating short-documentaries, music videos and performance footage has steadily grown to more than 200 films and represents a library of content unrivalled by any other classical music label.
Alison Balsom's Haydn & Hummel album promo video retains the crown for the most popular video on the channel closely followed by David Fray whose immense popularity in France and Germany enabled his Bach Concertos to become a best-selling album, and a YouTube favourite. French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky also features prominently in the top titles list with his appearance on the Christina Pluhar, L'Arpeggiata album Monteverdi - Teatro d'amore, as well as with his album of melodies françaises from the Belle Époque entitled Opium .
Recently posted videos include Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker on their recording of the Brahms Symphonies; Rolando Villazón leading an all-star line-up of soloists in Verdi's mighty Messa da Requiem, conducted by Antonio Pappano; Leif Ove Andsnes and Rodin Rhode in a unique multimedia concept around Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Diana Damrau with her new recital disc of coloratura arias.
EMI and Virgin Classics have ambitious plans to see the channel grow still further by adding new videos on a regular basis and also mining the archives for rarely seen promotional films. New content to be uploaded over the coming weeks includes short-documentaries about David Fray's forthcoming Schubert recital disc for Virgin Classics, Sarah Chang performing concertos by Bruch and Brahms with Kurt Masur; Ingrid Fliter playing Chopin Waltzes and Philippe Jaroussky's new album of forgotten castrato arias. ";
news_icpn[81] = "";
news_gac[81] = "";
news_news_type[81] = "General";
news_from_date[81] = "Mon, 17 Aug 2009";
news_to_date[81] = "Tue, 09 Nov 2010";
news_title[82] = "ALISON BALSOM AT THE LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS";
news_teaser[82] = "On radio, TV, internet or at the Cinemas all over the world!";
news_image1[82] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1766557-1";
news_id[82] = "1766561";
news_text[82] = "Classical Music's most talked about soloist, the Classical Brit award-winning trumpeter Alison Balsom , is set to continue her extraordinary year as she takes to the stage at the iconic Last Night of the Proms in London on September 12th.
The Last Night brings Alison Balsom, a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, in a concerto by one anniversary composer (Haydn) and Sarah Connolly in a famous lament by another (Purcell), while a third (Handel) provides the main orchestral fireworks. They will perform at the legendary Prom night at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Alison Balsom has cemented an international reputation as a distinctive young artist and one of classical music's great ambassadors. She was crowned Female Artist of the Year at the 2009 Classical BRIT Awards for her Haydn/Hummel: Trumpet Concertos album.
The Last Night of the Proms , one of the most famous and high-profile classical music events in the world, will be broadcast live via satellite from London's Royal Albert Hall to cinemas across the world.
Cineplex Entertainment is the confirmed cinema partner for Canada , where 45 theaters will show the Last Night of the Proms. For further information on the Cinema broadcasts please click here
Wherever you are ...... on radio, TV or at the Cinema......Don't miss it!
______________________________________________
Subscribe to EMICLASSICS.COM to get our newsletter and information about new releases , our catalogue, free downloads and cool stuff!
";
news_icpn[82] = "5099921621307";
news_gac[82] = "";
news_news_type[82] = "General";
news_from_date[82] = "Fri, 11 Sep 2009";
news_to_date[82] = "Tue, 03 Aug 2010";
news_title[83] = "FAREWELL TO ALICIA DE LARROCHA";
news_teaser[83] = "Iconic Spanish pianist dies at 86";
news_image1[83] = "";
news_id[83] = "1767097";
news_text[83] = "Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha (23 May 1923 - 25 September 2009), who thrilled music listeners for decades with polished and enthralling interpretations of great classical works and Spanish masters, has died aged 86.
She was widely considered to be one of the greatest of her generation and esteemed for her elegant Mozart performances and regarded as an incomparable interpreter of Albéniz, Granados, Mompou and other Spanish composers.
In a career that began when she was a child - she made her concert debut at 5, and her first recording at 9 - Alicia De Larrocha cultivated a poetic interpretive style in which gracefulness was prized over technical flashiness or grand, temperamental gestures.
Born in Barcelona, she began studying piano with Frank Marshall in Spain at the age of three. She performed her first concert at the World's Fair in Seville in 1929, and had her orchestral debut at the age of 11. She began touring internationally in 1947, and in 1954 toured North America with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
De Larrocha made numerous recordings of solo piano repertoire and in particular the works of composers of her native Spain, winning her first Grammy Award in 1975 and again, as recently as 1992, at the age of almost seventy. For EMI she recorded a selected list of titles which included works by Granados and Albéniz
As she grew older she began to play a different style of music; more Mozart and Beethoven were featured in her recitals and she became a regular guest at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts's Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. De Larrocha retired from public performing in October 2003, after 75 years as a professional pianist.
Click here to read the full obituary from the New York Times ";
news_icpn[83] = "";
news_gac[83] = "";
news_news_type[83] = "General";
news_from_date[83] = "Sat, 26 Sep 2009";
news_to_date[83] = "Thu, 19 Aug 2010";
news_title[84] = "LISTEN TO INGRID FLITER'S CHOPIN SPOTIFY PLAYLIST";
news_teaser[84] = "The Argentinean pianist shares her favourite Chopin recordings on EMI...";
news_image1[84] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1773611-1";
news_id[84] = "1773617";
news_text[84] = "To celebrate Chopin's 200th Anniversary we asked pianist and Chopin expert Ingrid Fliter to create a Spotify playlist of her favourite Chopin recordings ever on EMI. Here she also talks about her love for his music and how important and relevant Chopin still is in 2010.
My very first memories are related to Chopin. I remember the Arthur Rubinstein recordings sounding everywhere, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the car, my father playing some Waltzes as an amateur pianist. So I grew up loving Chopin’s music and taking it as part of my everyday life. When I started my studies in Argentina I was lucky to be introduced to his music very soon and thanks to him I discovered the beauty of piano playing as well as the importance of developing a singing tone in the instrument. In fact Chopin's music comes out not only from the fingers but from the lunges, as a singer in a Bellini aria would do. His music demands from the interpreter a unique physical communion with the piano, in which one becomes an extension of the other.
Chopin in many aspects is essential and natural. This must have led erroneously to consider him as \"light\" or \"entertainer\" composer. Nothing more far from the truth! Through the years of my studies I was very touched by discovering his darker side, his sense of tragic, which plays a fundamental role in his music as much as the \"joie de vivre\" does. He is not afraid of extremes and one can be dragged, in a very short amount of time, from levitating in the eternity of heaven to the deepest sorrow of existence. But these contrasting emotions are always filtered through the shades of a veil, a veil of reflection, elegancy and nobility. His romanticism is not obvious and requires a strong sense of proportions. Probably a good balance between his romantic soul and his classical expression is one of the most difficult things to achieve while playing his music.
But most of all Chopin speaks directly to the heart of people. The story he tells us is deeply personal. A dear friend who shares the most touching experiences of his life with us. When I play Chopin I feel a warm wave of recognition among the audience towards his music. For this reason I do believe he transcends matters of time or fashion and will always be loved by people from all over the world.
Ingrid Fliter.
An exclusive EMI Classics recording artist, Ingrid Fliter's 2008 debut album drew universal praise. Gramophone Magazine said \"Clearly born for Chopin, her playing is a marvel of the most refined fluency and affection. ... Fliter will make lesser pianists wonder at her effortless musical grace and unfaltering command.\" She is now following this up with a recording of his complete waltzes, released well in time to begin the celebrations in 2010 of the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.
Spotify is a proprietary peer-to-peer music streaming service and application software from a Swedish based company. It allows instant listening to specific tracks or albums, with virtually no buffering delay. Music can be browsed by artist, by album, by record label or by created playlists as well as by direct searches. A link allows the listener to purchase selected material via partner retailers. The service is currently only available from IP addresses assigned to providers in Sweden, Spain, Norway, Finland, France and the United Kingdom, although after signing up it can be used from almost any country for 14 days.
Users from the UK, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Finland can also buy most tracks, if available, from Spotify's download partner 7digital ";
news_icpn[84] = "5099969835124";
news_gac[84] = "228178";
news_news_type[84] = "General";
news_from_date[84] = "Thu, 18 Mar 2010";
news_to_date[84] = "Fri, 31 Dec 2010";
news_title[85] = "HAT-TRICK FOR EMI CLASSICS AT THE 2010 CLASSICAL BRIT AWARDS";
news_teaser[85] = "Angela Gheorghiu, Antonio Pappano and Thomas Adès are the big winners of the night...";
news_image1[85] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1775087-1";
news_id[85] = "1775091";
news_text[85] = "EMI Classics celebrates a hat trick of artist awards at the 2010 Classical BRIT Awards, which took place at London's Royal Albert Hall on 13th May 2010.
Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu was crowned Female Artist of the Year for her recent recording of Puccini's classic opera Madama Butterfly, recorded in Rome with the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the baton of Antonio Pappano. Angela is currently in the studio recording her next EMI Classics album, a collection of popular opera arias.
EMI Classics exclusive artist Thomas Adès scooped the prestigious Composer of the Year award for his recent opera The Tempest, which was recorded live in association with BBC Radio 3 at The Royal Opera House in 2007. The most recent release from Thomas Adès, Tevot, was released earlier this year to great critical acclaim.
British conductor Antonio Pappano, who is Music Director of The Royal Opera House, picked up the Critics' Award for his recording of Verdi's Messa da Requiem, recorded again with his Roman orchestra and choir, the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, with star soloists Rolando Villazon, Anja Harteros, Sonia Ganassi and Rene Pape. The next recording project from Antonio Pappano and his Roman forces, featuring an incredible line up of star soloists, is Rossini's great choral work Stabat Mater, which records in July for an album release this autumn.
EMI Classics also congratulates New Zealand-born soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa who performed live on the night and joins a list of past recipients which includes Plácido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
The Classical BRIT Awards 2009 with NS&I will broadcast on ITV1, Tuesday 18 May at 10:35pm.
We caught up with Angela Gheorghiu backstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London and she left us a very special message. She was thrilled to be at the Classical Brit Awards again. ";
news_icpn[85] = "5099945621529";
news_gac[85] = "101399";
news_news_type[85] = "General";
news_from_date[85] = "Fri, 14 May 2010";
news_to_date[85] = "Fri, 06 Aug 2010";
news_title[86] = "MAY HIGHLIGHTS - NEW RELEASES AND NEWS FROM EMI & VIRGIN CLASSICS";
news_teaser[86] = "";
news_image1[86] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1775274-1";
news_id[86] = "1775278";
news_text[86] = "May sees the release of a 16CD boxed set of Gustav Mahler's Complete Works (The definitive Mahler complete box set, critically acclaimed recordings, made between 1949 and 2010, featuring some of the greatest Mahler conductors, singers and orchestras), Symphony No.2 \"Resurrection\" with star soloists Alice Coote and Natalie Dessay, Nicholas Angelich's insightful survey of Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 (\"This is a magnificent disc, and deserves pride of place in any Brahms-lover's library.\" The Telegraph), a new album from Nigel Kennedy, a bargain 6CD collection of 100 Best Verdi, 4 themed collections comprising Robert Schumann's greatest works, and a unique insight into the world of classical music with Classical Legends - In their own words.
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE!!!!";
news_icpn[86] = "";
news_gac[86] = "";
news_news_type[86] = "General";
news_from_date[86] = "Mon, 24 May 2010";
news_to_date[86] = "Tue, 17 Aug 2010";
news_title[87] = "LEIF OVE ANDSNES RELEASES EXCLUSIVE iTUNES LIVE EP";
news_teaser[87] = "Recorded at the new Apple store on Manhattan's Upper West Side (NYC)...";
news_image1[87] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1775427-1";
news_id[87] = "1775431";
news_text[87] = "In January of this year, on Manhattan's Upper West Side, EMI recording artist, Leif Ove Andsnes, became the first classical pianist to record live at an Apple Store event. Leif Ove Andsnes iTunes Live: Upper West Side is available today exclusively on the iTunes Store. CLICK HERE TO BUY Leif Ove Andsnes iTunes Live: Upper West Side
To envision the atmosphere of that chilly winter evening, one need only picture the usual consumer-filled floor of a bustling Apple Store, except with a Steinway ensconced near the entrance with a world-class pianist entertaining the crowd both inside and outside the space. The result of this recording is an enrapturing account of Leos Janácek's \"In the Mists\", a four-movement suite, as well as an elegant interpretation of Beethoven's \"Moonlight\" Sonata.
Leif Ove Andsnes is no stranger to unconventional artistic expression, whether it is performing live in a stunning, atrium retail space or collaborating with world-renowned visual artists. His most recent EMI offering was the 2009 ground-breaking performance and recording of Pictures Reframed with South African modern artist Robin Rhode. Re-interpreting Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Andsnes and Rhode took the idea further by applying Rhode's visuals to a live performance of the works at New York's storied Lincoln Center and all over the world.
Leif Ove Andsnes iTunes Live: Upper West Side marks the next step in Andsnes's artistic journey.
Leif Ove Andsnes iTunes Live: Upper West Side Recorded January 4, 2010 at the Apple Store: UWS (1981 Broadway NYC)
Leos Janácek (In the Mists) and Ludwig van Beethoven (Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor [Moonlight Sonata]). ";
news_icpn[87] = "";
news_gac[87] = "116162";
news_news_type[87] = "General";
news_from_date[87] = "Thu, 27 May 2010";
news_to_date[87] = "Thu, 19 Aug 2010";
news_title[88] = "YANNICK NEZET-SEGUIN NEW POSITION @ PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA";
news_teaser[88] = "Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been announced today as Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra with immediate effect.";
news_image1[88] = "";
news_id[88] = "1775969";
news_text[88] = "
Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been announced today as Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra with immediate effect.
His appointment with the Philadelphia Orchestra will run concurrently with his other titles.
He became Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest of the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the start of the 2008-2009 season. He has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal since 2000.
In his first season as Music Director (2012-2013), Mr. Nézet-Séguin will conduct 6 weeks of concerts. This will increase to 15 weeks of concerts by the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Mr Nézet-Séguin has made three recordings with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra for EMI Classics, including the Edison Award winning recording of the music of Ravel, and EMI Classics continue to plan future collaborations with these forces.
EMI Classics congratulates Mr Nezet-Seguin on this prestigious appointment, and look forward to continuing to work with him in the coming years.
Further information from www.philorch.org www.emiclassics.com";
news_icpn[88] = "";
news_gac[88] = "244437";
news_news_type[88] = "General";
news_from_date[88] = "Mon, 14 Jun 2010";
news_to_date[88] = "Mon, 06 Sep 2010";
news_title[89] = "I'LL MAKE MUSIC - KARL JENKINS AND HAYLEY WESTENRA (EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW)";
news_teaser[89] = "Listen to an exclusive live performance of 'I'll Make Music' from Karl Jenkin's new release Gloria!";
news_image1[89] = "";
news_id[89] = "1776122";
news_text[89] = "Karl Jenkins' new choral work Gloria will be premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 11 July and a CD of the performance released on the night.
On 12 July, the day after the premiere, EMI Classics will release a studio recording of Gloria, paired with Jenkins' Te Deum, with Jenkins himself conducting the National Youth Chorus of Great Britain, the London Symphony Orchestra and soprano Hayley Westenra.
WATCH AN EXCLUSIVE LIVE PERFORMANCE OF 'I'LL MAKE MUSIC' FROM KARL JENKIN'S NEW RELEASE GLORIA FEATURING HAYLEY WESTENRA!
Hayley Westenra says: \"I first came across Karl's work when I was still living in New Zealand. This led me to recording \"Benedictus\" for my first international album \"Pure\" seven years ago. For many people it soon became the stand out track and I performed it live for my PBS Special U.S. TV show.
Karl's work is so rewarding to sing as he writes such dynamic and beautiful melodies for the voice, and I jumped at the chance to not only perform his music again, but to actually record his Gloria with Karl himself directing.\" ";
news_icpn[89] = "5099964643021";
news_gac[89] = "114783";
news_news_type[89] = "General";
news_from_date[89] = "Fri, 02 Jul 2010";
news_to_date[89] = "Tue, 02 Nov 2010";
news_title[90] = "KARL JENKINS' GLORIA - WORLD PREMIERE";
news_teaser[90] = "Order your CD of tonight's world premiere performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London here!";
news_image1[90] = "";
news_id[90] = "1776350";
news_text[90] = "Karl Jenkins's latest composition, GLORIA , will be premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 11 July 2010 by The Really Big Chorus, with the English Festival Orchestra and student vocal soloists conducted by Brian Kay.
Abbey Road Live will record the concert, which also features Faure's Requiem.
Visit www.karljenkins.com for more information!";
news_icpn[90] = "5099964643021";
news_gac[90] = "";
news_news_type[90] = "General";
news_from_date[90] = "Sun, 11 Jul 2010";
news_to_date[90] = "Sun, 03 Oct 2010";
news_title[91] = "SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS 1925 - 2010";
news_teaser[91] = "Australian conductor known as an authority on Czech music and Mozart dies in London, aged 84";
news_image1[91] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1776388-1";
news_id[91] = "1776392";
news_text[91] = "Sir Charles Mackerras the world-renowned Australian conductor known as an authority on Czech music and Mozart has died in London, aged 84.
Sir Charles Mackerrasrecorded extensively for EMI. We extend our condolences to his family and to the musical community where the loss will be surely felt for a long time to come.
Sir Charles joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as an oboist during World War II, before becoming its principal oboe in 1946. He conducted the first London performance of Janacek's Katya Kabanova in 1951 at Sadler's Wells, where he went on to become musical director, and his discography includes an award-winning cycle of Janacek operas performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the early 1990s.
Over his career he conducted more than 30 operas by 15 different composers at the Royal Opera House. An international figure, Mackerras made frequent appearances at the San Francisco Opera and also associated the with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
He was chosen to conduct the orchestra on the opening night of the Sydney Opera House in 1973, and in 1980, a year after he was knighted, he was the first person from outside the UK to conduct at the highly patriotic Last Night of the Proms.
Sir Charles was due to perform at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival this summer.
Here Sir Charles Mackerras talks about his remarkable career
";
news_icpn[91] = "";
news_gac[91] = "";
news_news_type[91] = "General";
news_from_date[91] = "Thu, 15 Jul 2010";
news_to_date[91] = "Fri, 08 Oct 2010";
news_title[92] = "ECHO KLASSIK 2010 AWARDS: JOYCE DIDONATO WINS SINGER OF THE YEAR ";
news_teaser[92] = "8 winners for EMI & Virgin Classics...";
news_image1[92] = "http://www.mediaextranet.co.uk/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1776541-1";
news_id[92] = "1776545";
news_text[92] = "EMI & VIRGIN CLASSICS WIN 8 MAJOR AWARDS.
Joyce DiDonato will receive the ECHO Klassik Award 2010 of the German Phono-Academy as singer of the year. DiDonato will receive this award for her critically-acclaimed and now award-winning Rossini: Colbran, the Muse (opera arias) album.
Some awards categories have multiple winners. With the ECHO award \"Klassik beyond all frontiers\" the German academy will honour Christina Pluhar and L'Arpeggiata for \"Via Crucis\".
Concert recording of the year will go to Gautier Capucon and Evgeny Kissin
Yannik Nezet-Seguin also receives an ECHO for his Ravel disc (EMI). Vivica Genaux's Pyrotechnics , Belcea Quartet and Leif Ove Andsnes are also ECHO Klassik Awards winners!
The winner of the lifetime achievement award will be presented within the next weeks.
The ECHO Klassik Awards are presented by the Deutsche Phonoakademie, the Cultural institute of the German music Industry Association (BVMI) on Oct. 17, 2010 during a gala at the philharmonic hall in Essen by the German entertainer Thomas Gottschalk.
This year 61 award winners in 21 categories have been chosen by a jury that includes representatives of the phonographic industry. There have been 570 nominations for over 248 records from 59 record companies.
The awards ceremony will be shown on the TV Channel ZDF with a two hour delay on Oct. 17 at 10pm.
\"Since 1992 the award ceremony of the German music award ECHO is one of the highlights of the music year,\" said BVMI's CEO Professor Dieter Gorny in a statement. \"It is the acknowledgement of the great creative works. Being nominated means already to belong to the top artists. From rather modest beginnings the German music-award ECHO developed during the years into a worldwide recognized award.\"
![\"Philadelphia](\"http://www.emiclassics.com/EMICINTERNAL/Yannick.jpg\")