March 19, 2014—The Seattle Symphony and Music Director Ludovic Morlot announce the launch of Seattle Symphony Media, the Symphony’s in-house record label, with its first three recordings scheduled for release in April.
The first three releases on the new label feature Ludovic Morlot conducting the Seattle Symphony in works by French and American composers, celebrating the flourishing relationship between French conductor and American orchestra that has electrified audiences in Seattle. The discs include works by Charles Ives, Elliott Carter, George Gershwin, Henri Dutilleux, Maurice Ravel, and Camille Saint-Saëns.
The Seattle Symphony has an extensive catalogue of over 140 recordings, which have brought forth twelve Grammy Award nominations throughout its history. Under the leadership of Ludovic Morlot, now in his third season as Music Director, and Executive Director Simon Woods, the Symphony plans to build a new discography to include both live and in-studio recordings spanning genres and time periods and including both “core repertoire” and some of the eclectic and contemporary programming the Seattle Symphony has become recognized for at home.
The launch of the label has been made possible through an innovative media agreement with the Seattle Symphony’s musicians, agreed as part of a new contract ratified in 2013. Under the agreement, the organization – unusual among American orchestras – is able to release a significant number of recordings each year from both live concerts and “studio” sessions, which will allow the building of a significant catalog over a relatively short period. The Symphony’s musicians will share in the label’s net revenue, and have a voice in planning and contractual matters. All recordings are made in the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall using the Symphony’s own state-of-the art in-house recording facility, supervised by audio engineer Dmitriy Lipay.
An important characteristic of the label is the combination of live and studio recordings which allows the organization an unprecedented breadth of repertoire choices that are less easily achieved with an “all-live” label. Recordings, which are being distributed by Naxos of America, will be available in both physical and digital formats from a variety of retailers.
The recordings have been engineered to audiophile standards and aim to capture as realistically as possible the sound of the orchestra performing on the Benaroya Hall stage, with naturalistic imaging, depth of field and dynamic range. Digital content will be available in four formats: regular stereo, “Mastered for iTunes,” 96k 24-bit high resolution, and 5.1 surround sound. See below for list of online outlets.
Executive Director Simon Woods, who holds nearly a decade of experience in the recording industry, explains, “Over the past three years, this orchestra has developed a highly sophisticated sound under Ludovic Morlot’s leadership, producing night after night of inspired music making. Our new label will not only introduce this partnership to a global audience, but also reflect the creative and imaginative programming that we have become known for at home.”
The Seattle Symphony is grateful to Joan Watjen for her generosity in underwriting the launch and initial recordings on Seattle Symphony Media in honor of her late husband, Craig, who was a member of the Seattle Symphony’s Board of Directors. The couple supported the construction and installation of the Watjen Concert Organ which is featured in the new recording of the Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony.
RECORDINGS
“The repertoire we have chosen for these first three releases reflects the intimacy and excitement that the orchestra and I feel in playing French and American music,” commented Morlot. “All of the works on these discs are personal to me, and I’m proud to be able to see the work that the Seattle musicians and I have done together over the past three years represented on disc. In particular, the works by Elliott Carter and Henri Dutilleux are very special for me. Both composers sadly passed in recent years, but I shall never forget the way in which their mentorship and inspiration contributed towards my development as a musician. May these recordings stand as my own small personal tribute to their friendship and their immense achievements.”
Henri Dutilleux: Symphony No. 1, Tout un monde lointain, The Shadows of Time
In the first of three projected discs surveying the orchestral works of Henri Dutilleux, the Seattle Symphony has selected the composer’s Symphony No. 1, the cello concerto Tout un monde lointain (“A Whole Distant World”) with cellist Xavier Phillips, and The Shadows of Time with boy sopranos Benjamin Richardson, Kepler Swanson and Andrew Torgelson. Symphony No. 1 and Tout un monde lointain were recorded in studio sessions and The Shadows of Time was recorded live.
Regarding The Shadows of Time, Morlot recalls, “I first met Henri Dutilleux in the fall of 2001 after having spent the summer as a student at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home. The Boston Symphony commissioned The Shadows of Time and I had the privilege of sitting next to Dutilleux during rehearsals as he reworked his score from its previous premiere. I witnessed firsthand his considerable creative powers, as he was a perfectionist in the best sense of the word and always engaged. We subsequently met over martinis in Paris, discussing music and literature. He made an important era of 20th century music come alive for me, and in the process deepened and enriched my understanding. I feel grateful to have known him.”
Ravel: Orchestral Works, Saint Saëns: Organ Symphony
The repertoire for the second recording, which was all recorded live in concert, is a tribute to Ludovic Morlot’s French heritage. Featured on this disc are Maurice Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, Pavane pour une infante défunte and Rapsodie espagnole, three orchestral works reflecting Spanish dances and folklore. Also included on the disc is Camille Saint Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 with organ soloist Joseph Adam.
Symphony No. 3, also known as the “Organ” Symphony, features the Watjen Concert Organ, a 4,489-pipe instrument, conceived as part of the original design for the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium in Benaroya Hall. The instrument, which was unveiled in 2000, was made possible by a generous gift from Craig and Joan Watjen.
Ives: Symphony No. 2, Carter: Instances, Gershwin: An American in Paris
This disc is dominated by two masterpieces of early 20th century American music, which reflect eclectic influences of jazz club, church hall and military band. Elliott Carter’s last orchestral work and his penultimate composition of any kind, Instances, received its world premiere in February 2013 in Seattle Symphony’s Benaroya Hall. The work was a co-commission by the Seattle Symphony and Tanglewood Music Center and the first live performance of this single-movement piece is featured on this recording. Carter dedicated Instances to Ludovic Morlot, who, in his words, “has performed many of my works so beautifully.”
The first three discs on the Seattle Symphony Media label are available now for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes. The download street date is April 1, and the physical street date is April 29. Additional retailers will include Google Play, HDtracks and eClassical.
SSM1001
Henri Dutilleux: Symphony No. 1, Tout un monde lointain, The Shadows of Time
SSM 1002
Ravel: Orchestral Works, Saint Saëns: Organ Symphony
SSM 1003
Ives: Symphony No. 2, Carter: Instances, Gershwin: An American in Paris
Future Recordings
The next release, scheduled for June 2014, will be an all-Fauré disc, including Masques et bergamasques, Pelléas et Mélisande, Dolly, Pavane and works for solo instrument with orchestra. Future plans include two recordings completing the Dutilleux orchestra cycle, further orchestral works of Ives, and music by Stravinsky, Varése, and Ravel as well as recent commissions by the Seattle Symphony.
