SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA RELEASES LIVE RECORDING OF BERLIOZ’S MONUMENTAL REQUIEM ON SEPTEMBER 14
DIGITAL ALBUM INCLUDES STUDIO SESSION OF
LA MORT D’ORPHÉE FEATURING TENOR KENNETH TARVER
Ludovic Morlot leads the Seattle Symphony in a performance of Berlioz’s Requiem at Benaroya Hall in November 2017. Brass choirs were positioned aloft at each corner of the hall to generate the directional "surround-sound" that Berlioz intended. Photo by Brandon Patoc.
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-SALE AUGUST 31, 2018
ON APPLE MUSIC AND AMAZON
SEATTLE, WA – On September 14 Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony release the live recording of Berlioz’s colossal Requiem featuring an expanded orchestra of 109 players and over 190 choristers from the Seattle Symphony Chorale, Seattle Pro Musica and Vocalpoint! Seattle. Exclusive to the digital release, the Requiem is coupled with the rarely recorded La mort d’Orphée, featuring acclaimed tenor Kenneth Tarver, a “voice of considerable beauty and freedom” (Washington Post).
Eighteen timpani featured on stage at Benaroya Hall during the performance of Berlioz’s Requiem. Photo by Brandon Patoc.
The live performance of the Berlioz Requiem in Benaroya Hall in November 2017 included brass bands positioned aloft at each corner of the hall to generate the directional, “surround-sound” effect that Berlioz intended during the second movement, Dies irae: Prose—Tuba mirum, in addition to an entire row of 18 timpani on stage. Berlioz’s inventive orchestration for the Requiem was specific to the space where the work was premiered; one of the largest cathedrals in Paris, the Church of the Invalides. Morlot stated in the Seattle Times regarding Berlioz’s Requiem, “He had this drive to make his ideas larger than life. It’s not just the size of the forces, but the way the instruments are placed around the space to intensify the drama, the bold harmonies and orchestral colors. That’s why I call Berlioz the ultimate embodiment of Romanticism.” Renowned for his interpretation of the French repertoire, Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot grew up near Berlioz’s childhood home in La Côte-Saint-André in southeastern France.
Digital downloads and CDs are available through all major online music retailers and streaming services and will be available for pre-sale on August 31, 2018. This recording is also available at Acoustic Sounds in an immaculate 5.1 digital surround version engineered by 2017 Grammy Award winner for Best Surround Sound, Dmitriy Lipay.
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
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Requiem
La mort d’Orphée*
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Kenneth Tarver, tenor
Seattle Symphony Chorale
Seattle Pro Musica
Vocalpoint! Seattle
Seattle Symphony
*Available exclusively on the digital edition
Renowned for his interpretation of French repertoire, Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the orchestra return with masterful performances of significant works by Hector Berlioz. On the digital version of this recording, the momentous Requiem is coupled with the rarely recorded La mort d’Orphée, featuring acclaimed tenor Kenneth Tarver, a “voice of considerable beauty and freedom” (Washington Post). 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.
BERLIOZ REQUIEM
Total Timing: 75:53 // Catalog Number: SSM1019 // Producer: Dmitriy Lipay //
Label: Seattle Symphony Media
BERLIOZ REQUIEM AND LA MORT D’ORPHÉE
Total Timing: 88:48 // Catalog Number: SSM1020 // 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.
Berlioz’s Requiem was recorded live in concert on November 9 and 11, 2017. La mort d’Orphée was recorded on February 6, 2015 and June 8, 2016.
The performances of Berlioz’s Requiem were generously underwritten by Rebecca and Barney* Ebsworth, in memory of Muriel Mueller and presented as part of the Delta Air Lines Masterworks Season.
*in memoriam
Digital downloads and CDs are available through iTunes, Amazon, Acoustic Sounds and HD Tracks. Recordings can be streamed through Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Primephonic.
KENNETH TARVER TENOR
Kenneth Tarver is considered one of the outstanding Bel Canto tenors of his generation, acknowledged for his beauty of tone, virtuosic technique, extensive and even vocal range, coupled with an attractive and elegant stage presence. A specialist in Mozart and demanding virtuosic operatic repertoire, he has appeared at the most prestigious opera houses and concert halls around the world, performing both well-known and seldom-performed works with conductors such as René Jacobs, Riccardo Chailly, Pierre Boulez and Claudio Abbado.
He has appeared at leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera House-Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Dresden Semperoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Opéra Comique in Paris, Theatre de La Monnaie in Brussels, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Festival in Aix-en-Provence, cultivating a wide repertoire from Baroque through Classical (Handel, Mozart, Haydn), Bel Canto (Rossini, Donizetti, Berlioz) and contemporary repertoire (Shchedrin, Stravinsky). As a recording artist, Tarver has an extensive catalogue and has been awarded two Grammys.
LUDOVIC MORLOT CONDUCTOR
As the Seattle Symphony’s Music Director, Ludovic Morlot has been received with extraordinary enthusiasm by musicians and audiences alike, who have praised him for his deeply musical interpretations, his innovative programming and his focus on community collaboration. From 2012 to 2014 Morlot was also Chief Conductor of La Monnaie, one of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses.
In the U.S., Ludovic Morlot has conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony. Additionally, he has conducted the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.
Trained as a violinist, Morlot studied conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London and then at the Royal College of Music as recipient of the Norman del Mar Conducting Fellowship. Morlot was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014 in recognition of his significant contributions to music. He is Chair of Orchestral Conducting Studies at the University of Washington School of Music.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA
Launched in 2014, Seattle Symphony Media is the Seattle Symphony’s independent in-house record label. The Symphony has an extensive catalogue of nearly 150 recordings, which have brought forth three Grammy Awards, 23 Grammy Award nominations and two Emmy Awards throughout its history. Under the direction of Music Director Ludovic Morlot, the Symphony's in-house record label features both “core repertoire” and some of the eclectic and contemporary programming for which the Seattle Symphony has become recognized. The label includes both studio recordings and performances captured live in concert, allowing the organization an unprecedented breadth of repertoire choices.
All recordings are made in the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall and engineered by the Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Dmitriy Lipay. Using the Symphony’s own state-of-the-art in-house recording studio, recordings have been engineered to audiophile standards and aim to capture as realistically as possible the sound of the orchestra performing onstage with naturalistic imaging, depth of field and dynamic range. Distributed by Naxos of America, the recordings are available in both physical and digital formats from a variety of retailers. Digital content is available in stereo, “Mastered for iTunes,” 96k 24-bit high resolution and 5.1 surround sound.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
The Seattle Symphony is one of America's leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the Symphony is heard from September through July by more than 500,000 people through live performances and radio broadcasts. It performs in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world — the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall — in downtown Seattle. Its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 65,000 children and adults each year. The Seattle Symphony has a deep commitment to new music, commissioning many works by living composers each season. The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received three Grammy Awards, 23 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. In 2014 the Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media.
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