SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA RELEASES BERIO’S SINFONIA FEATURING GRAMMY-WINNING ENSEMBLE ROOMFUL OF TEETH ON JULY 20
SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA RELEASES BERIO’S SINFONIA FEATURING GRAMMY-WINNING ENSEMBLE ROOMFUL OF TEETH ON JULY 20
ALBUM INCLUDES VIBRANT PERFORMANCES OF
BOULEZ’S NOTATIONS I–IV AND RAVEL’S LA VALSE
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-SALE JULY 6 ON AMAZON AND ITUNES
SEATTLE, WA – On the latest Seattle Symphony Media release featuring works by Berio, Boulez and Ravel, Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony present exhilarating performances of works by composers that mirror the innovative and vibrant spirit of the orchestra. The July 20 release of the “unforgettable, kaleidoscopic performance” (Seattle Times) of Berio’s Sinfonia featuring Grammy Award-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth coupled with Boulez’s Notations I–IV for Orchestra and Ravel’s La valse create a sonic spectrum unlike any other.
“These three composers drew on the Viennese tradition — Berio from Mahler, Boulez from Schoenberg, Ravel from J. Strauss — and expanded it to create amazingly rich orchestral scores through their incredible skill as orchestrators,” said Music Director Ludovic Morlot. “What a delight it was to work with Roomful of Teeth, whose outstanding versatility makes them ideal champions for this repertoire.”
Berio’s Sinfonia was born out of the social and cultural upheavals of 1968 and 1969, demonstrating the profound power that music has to respond to cultural events. The struggles, protests and hopes of the era are all given voice in the swirling textures of the Sinfonia. Dedicated to Leonard Bernstein, who commissioned Berio in honor of the New York Philharmonic’s 125th anniversary, the Sinfonia began as a response to the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968. The work includes a collage of musical quotations and fragments of text from Samuel Beckett’s The Unnamable and phrases written by students on the wall of the Sorbonne during the May 1968 revolts in Paris, which the composer witnessed.
Digital downloads and CDs are available through all major online music retailers and streaming services and will be available for pre-sale on July 6, 2018.
To obtain a physical or digital review copy of the release, photos, liner notes or any other information on Seattle Symphony Media, please contact Shiva Shafii at shiva.shafii@seattlesymphony.org.
RECORDING DETAILS
LUCIANO BERIO
Sinfonia for Eight Voices and Orchestra
PIERRE BOULEZ
Notations I–IV for Orchestra
MAURICE RAVEL
La valse
Roomful of Teeth
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Seattle Symphony
The eight-voice, Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth joins the Seattle Symphony and Ludovic Morlot in an exhilarating live performance of Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia. Morlot has paired Berio’s Sinfonia with Boulez’s Notations I–IV for Orchestra and Ravel’s La valse, creating a sonic spectrum unlike any other. This recording is also available in an immaculate 5.1 digital surround version engineered by 2017 Grammy Award winner for Best Surround Sound, Dmitriy Lipay.
Total Timing: 58:20 // Catalog Number: SSM1018 // Producer: Dmitriy Lipay //
Label: Seattle Symphony Media
The Seattle Symphony is grateful to Joan Watjen for her generous support of SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA CDs in memory of her husband Craig.
Recorded in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington. Berio’s Sinfonia was recorded live in concert on February 4 and 6, 2016. Boulez’s Notations I–IV was recorded live in concert on November 7 and 9, 2013. Ravel’s La valse was recorded live in concert on February 5, 7 and 8, 2015.
The performances of Berio’s Sinfonia, Boulez’s Notations I–IV and Ravel’s La valse were presented as part of the Delta Air Lines Masterworks Season. Additional support for Sinfonia was provided by Microsoft, and for La valse by the Nesholm Family Foundation.
Digital downloads and CDs are available through iTunes, Amazon, Qobuz, Primephonic, Acoustic Sounds and HD Tracks. Recordings can be streamed through Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Google Play, Rhapsody and Microsoft Groove.