American Classical Music Hall of Fame Inducts New Members

On Thursday, May 12, 2011, the American Classical Music Hall of Fame held an induction ceremony in honor of their 2010 inductees at The Juilliard School in New York City. The inductees are conductor Marin Alsop, composers William Bolcom and Philip Glass, the Emerson String Quartet, educator Dr. Joseph William Polisi, and the music service organizations ASCAP and BMI.



On hand to accept their awards were the Emerson String Quartet, Dr. Polisi, ASCAP, and BMI. Philip Glass will be honored in Cincinnati this fall, William Bolcom in Ann Arbor, and Marin Alsop at a location and time to be determined.



The American Classical Music Hall of Fame, a national institution, is dedicated to honoring and celebrating the many facets of American classical music. The Hall of Fame seeks to recognize those who have made significant contributions to classical music and by doing so aspires to sustain and build interest in classical music. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are nominated by a specialist field of musicians, music educators, leaders in the music industry and its living inductees. Nominations are made in six categories: composer, conductor, performer, educator, performing ensemble and institution devoted to music. Nominations are reviewed by the distinguished National Artistic Directorate members who recommend a final slate for endorsement by the Board of Trustees of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.



The Emerson String Quartet stands alone in the history of string quartets with an incomparable list of achievements over three decades: nine Grammy Awards (including two for Best Classical Album, an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group), three Gramophone Awards, the coveted Avery Fisher Prize and an international reputation for groundbreaking chamber music projects.



Dr. Joseph William Polisi became the sixth and current president of The Juilliard School in September 1984, bringing to that position his previous experience as a college administrator, a writer in the fields of music, public policy and the arts, and an accomplished bassoonist.



The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 410,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership.



Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is an American performing right organization that represents more than 475,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million works. BMI has represented the most popular and beloved music from around the world for 70 years. The U.S. corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.



In September 2007, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the twelfth music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the first woman to head a major American orchestra. This mirrored her ongoing success in the United Kingdom where she was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony from 2002-08 and is now Conductor Emeritus.



Named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America, and honored with multiple Grammy Awards for his groundbreaking setting of Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, William Bolcom is a composer of cabaret songs, concertos, sonatas, operas, symphonies, and much more. He was awarded the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Twelve New Etudes for piano. As a pianist he has recorded for Advance, Jazzology, Musical Heritage, Nonesuch, Vox, and Omega.



Philip Glass was born in 1937 and grew up in Baltimore. He studied at the University of Chicago, The Juilliard School and in Aspen with Darius Milhaud. In the past 25 years, Glass has composed more than twenty operas; eight symphonies (with others already on the way); piano concertos; film soundtracks; string quartets; a growing body of work for solo piano and organ. He presents lectures, workshops, and solo keyboard performances around the world, and continues to appear regularly with the Philip Glass Ensemble.



For more information on the Classical Music Hall of Fame, you can visit their Web site at http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/01/index.html.



Kirshbaum Demler & Associates

JJP

Historical Piano Study Center

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing two albums (from different record companies) that used vintage pianos on loan from the same historical piano collection. I had no idea there even was a historical piano collection in the country. Because it is an important and fascinating place, here are some details about it from their brochure.



The Historical Piano Study Center:

The Historical Piano Study Center, showcasing the Frederick Historical Piano Collection, is open to the public for individual and group tours. Its mission is to provide opportunities  for listening to, playing on, and learning about the piano, as known to important composers and pianists from Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven through Debussy and Ravel.



The Study Center can provide a forum for lecture-recitals, master classes, seminars, panel discussions, and such, on matters concerning the relationship of compositional style and performance practice to the instruments for which the standard repertoire was composed.



A tour of the Piano Collection takes three hours, due to the number and variety of pianos to be encountered, and the need to introduce each type with a few words, and with appropriate musical selections. Visitors may play the pianos.



The Study Center is open Thursdays, 10:00 to 4:00; Saturdays, 1:00 to 4:00, and at other times by appointment, year 'round. In winter, to maintain optimum humidity for the pianos, the temperature is kept at 50°f. Visitors are advised to dress warmly. Appointments may be made by phone or by e-mail (piano.fred@juno.com).



While there is no fee for a tour, the Study Center depends upon (deductible) freewill donations for maintaining its building and supporting its musical programs. The Piano Study Center is fully handicapped accessible.



The Frederick Piano Collection:

The Frederick Collection of historical grand pianos includes two dozen instruments by leading makers in Vienna, Paris, London, Leipzig, and the United States, from about 1790 to 1928.



Each piano represents a major type known to and played by a specific composer or generation of composers and pianists from Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, through the nineteenth to the early twentieth century.



Collection of Pianos on Display:

(By unknown maker), Vienna (?) c.1790-1795

Brodmann, Vienna c.1800-1805

Katholnig, Vienna c.1805-1810

Clementi, London 1805

Bösendorfer, Vienna c.1828-1832

Conrad Graf, Vienna c.1828-1829

Tröndlin, Leipzig c. 1830

Stodart , London c. 1830

Erard, Paris 1840

Pleyel, Paris 1845

Bösendorfer, Vienna 1845

Streicher, Vienna 1846

Chickering, Boston 1862

Steinway, New York 1866

Streicher, Vienna 1868

Streicher, Vienna 1871

Broadwood, London 1871

Bösendorfer, Vienna 1877

Blüthner, Leipzig 1877

Erard, Paris 1877

Mason & Hamlin, Boston c. 1885

Erard, Paris  1893

Blüthner, Leipzig 1907

Erard, Paris 1928



Historical Piano Concerts Series:

Established in October, 1985, the Concert Series is held in the spring and fall at the Ashburnham Community Church, 9 Chapel Street, at the corner of Main Street (Route 12).



Concerts have included music for solo piano, piano duo, piano with violin and/or cello, lieder, and French art songs, performed by outstanding professional musicians.



Each concert matches a single historical piano from the Frederick Collection to the repertoire best suited to it: For example, Chopin's music on the 1845 Pleyel or 1840 Erard; Brahms's on the 1868 or 1871 Streicher; Debussy's on the 1877 or the 1893 Erard or the 1907 Blüthner.



The church, built around 1835 and renovated in the mid-1960s, is a light, airy space with superb acoustics. It can seat two hundred people and is fully handicapped accessible.



The concerts, at 4:00 o'clock on Sunday afternoons in September-October and May-June, last about an hour and three quarters.  Admission is $10.00 per person, children and students free. There are no advance ticket sales or reserve seats. To learn of upcoming events, either consult our Web site (http://www.frederickcollection.org) or ask to be on the mailing list. Fliers announcing concerts are mailed only twice a year, in spring and fall.



JJP

Ludovic Morlot Announces First Season as Seattle Symphony Music Director

Seattle Symphony Board Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly and Music Director Designate Ludovic Morlot today announced the 2011–2012 Seattle Symphony Season, marking Morlot's first season as Music Director, and current Music Director Gerard Schwarz's first season as Conductor Laureate.



"I am inspired and thrilled to unveil the first season designed by our next Music Director, Ludovic Morlot," Chihuly stated. "It is a spectacular season full of exciting new repertoire along with treasured favorites. I know that everyone in our community will want to take part in what Seattle Symphony has to offer, from our free Day of Music community event this September, to any number of the magnificent concerts we will present."



"To use an Americanism, I'm champing at the bit," Morlot commented. "I can't wait to make music with my colleagues in this excellent orchestra, have these programs vividly come to life in Benaroya Hall and to share them with the city. My family and I couldn't be more excited about moving here and becoming Seattleites."



Simon Woods, who becomes Seattle Symphony Executive Director in May 2011, said, "Ludovic Morlot's eclectic embrace of an enormous range of musical styles is strongly in evidence in this wonderful season, and will bring something very special to the Seattle region and indeed to American musical life in general. This is a pivotal moment for this dynamic organization, and it is an enormous privilege to be able to work with Ludovic—and of course with Gerard Schwarz in his new role as Conductor Laureate—as  we march into an exciting future together!"



The Opening Night Concert & Gala honoring Morlot's Inaugural Season as Music Director will be held on Saturday, September 17, and will feature former Seattle Symphony Principal Cellist and local favorite Joshua Roman as soloist. Morlot will conduct Beethoven's Consecration of the House Overture, Gulda's Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra, Gershwin's An American in Paris and Ravel's Boléro.



The Masterworks Season is the core of Seattle Symphony's repertoire, and next season nine of its 21 weeks will be conducted by Ludovic Morlot. The series opens with September performances of Frank Zappa's Dupree's Paradise from The Perfect Stranger, Henri Dutilleux's The Tree of Dreams with violinist Renaud Capuçon, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica," conducted by Morlot. The series concludes in July when Morlot leads performances of The Planets – An HD Odyssey, featuring state-of-the-art, high-definition images from NASA's exploration of the solar system, originally created by the Houston Symphony. Additional Masterworks Season highlights include Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring; Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust, featuring Seattle Symphony Chorale, Northwest Boychoir and distinguished soloists; Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 with soloist Stephen Hough; Ives' Symphony No. 2; Brahms' Violin Concerto with soloist Jennifer Koh; and Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Marc-André Hamelin.



Also featured next season are composers whose works are new to Seattle Symphony, including Henri Dutilleux, Oliver Knussen and Nico Muhly. Dutilleux's compositions, described by the Los Angeles Times as occupying "a sonic world of [their] own," feature prominently on the Masterworks Season with performances of: The Tree of Dreams with violinist Renaud Capuçon; Cello Concerto, A Whole Remote World, with cellist Xavier Phillips; and Symphony No. 1. His works for small ensemble will also be explored by a number of Seattle Symphony musicians performing on the Chamber Series next season. Oliver Knussen will conduct his own Violin Concerto on the Masterworks Season, with guest violinist Leila Josefowicz. Additionally, Knussen's works will be explored on the Chamber Series. A world premiere by 29-year-old Muhly will be performed during the Masterworks Season, conducted by Ludovic Morlot.



Following 26 years as Music Director, Gerard Schwarz will become Conductor Laureate in the 2011–2012 Season. Schwarz is widely known for leading Seattle Symphony to international prominence by raising the artistic quality of the Orchestra, advocating for the construction of the acoustically excellent Benaroya Hall, generating more than 140 recordings, and garnering 12 Grammy nominations.



Seattle Symphony

JJP

Cedille Records Founder Receives $25,000 Arts Achievement Award

CHICAGO, Dec. 22, 2010 — James Ginsburg, founder and president of Cedille Records, Chicago's acclaimed independent, nonprofit classical label, was recently honored with an arts achievement award bestowed by a local foundation.



The Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier Charitable Foundation selected Ginsburg as one of four 2010 Meier Achievement Award honorees, each of whom received $25,000, plus funds to cover income tax liability.



At Ginsburg's request, the total award check for $33,333 was made payable to The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation, Cedille Records' parent organization.



The Grammy Award-winning Cedille label, which Ginsburg launched in 1989, champions exceptional classical artists and composers in and from Chicago — a trove of talent long overlooked by the international recording conglomerates.



In a letter to Ginsburg, Helen Coburn Meier, president and co-founder of the Wilmette, Ill., foundation, said, "Something had to be done, and you did it. Among the many thank-yous from living musicians, please add our appreciation for the special part you play in our cultural life."



The Meir Foundation "recognizes Chicago-based artists in mid-career who push the artistic envelope," according to a foundation statement. The organization relies on nominators, with the final selections made by its board. "There are no applications, no project to submit, and no outcome measurements."



Other 2010 award recipients are sculptor Terrence Karpowicz, multimedia artist Miroslaw Rogala, and dancer and choreographer Molly Shanahan.



The Meier Foundation is online at www.meierfoundation.org. Cedille Records is at www.cedillerecords.org.



Nat Silverman

Nathan J. Silverman Co. PR

JJP

Opus Arte Relaunches Web Site

In 2010, the Opus Arte Web site relaunched as an on-line classical music store.



Opus Arte is a classical music production and distribution company, owned by the Royal Opera House. It releases approximately thirty opera, ballet, and classical music titles on DVD and Blu-ray per year, along with a selection of CDs.



In 2010, the Opus Arte Web site (http://www.opusarte.com/en/) was relaunched as an on-line classical music store, selling music across all formats (CD, DVD, Blu-ray, MP3, digital video download) from the world's leading classical music labels. Opus Arte is pioneering new methods for classical music consumption, championing track and video downloads, as well as offering bundles of digital and hardware content.



Opus Arte was first established in 1999 by Managing Director Hans Petri and Television Director Dirk Jan Bijke. The company has produced and directed programmes that have been broadcast in over sixty countries and won numerous awards.



For an introduction to the site, see their online video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtHOx4CJ_wM



Fiona Moseley

The 7th Chamber, Diffusion Media Group

JJP

Simon Woods Appointed Executive Director of Seattle Symphony

Woods is Currently Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra



Seattle, WA – The Seattle Symphony Board of Directors has named orchestra and recording industry executive Simon Woods as its new Executive Director. Woods joins the organization at a key time as Seattle Symphony celebrates the leadership of its Music Director of 26 years, Gerard Schwarz, and prepares to welcome Music Director Designate, Ludovic Morlot, who will become Music Director in the 2011– 2012 season. Woods will begin working with Seattle Symphony immediately on key institutional decisions, and will take up his new role full-time in May 2011.



Woods comes to Seattle from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, one of the United Kingdom's leading symphony orchestras, where he is Chief Executive. He has achieved considerable success there in the areas of artistic leadership, fund raising, marketing, public relations, and education and community engagement. Prior to this, Woods worked in the United States as President and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and as Vice President, Artistic Planning and Operations, at The Philadelphia Orchestra. Earlier, he worked in London as a record producer with EMI Classics, where he initiated and produced recordings with many of the world's foremost classical artists and ensembles.



"Simon Woods is a proven leader in our field, and we are excited he will become our organization's next Executive Director," Board of Directors Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly stated. "His passion for symphonic music and creating enthusiasm for the art form in the community is inspiring, and his experience in the executive role is key to fulfilling the objectives in our strategic plan. He is well suited to ensure a smooth transition for all of our constituents as we move from artistic leadership under our esteemed Music Director, Gerard Schwarz, to the new leadership of Maestro Ludovic Morlot."



"The Seattle Symphony is a great orchestra, based in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world, in a vibrant and beautiful city," commented Woods. "The organization is highly energized right now as it celebrates the incredible legacy of Gerard Schwarz and prepares for a new era under its much-admired new music director. It's a privilege to join the team at this tremendous moment. In particular, I look forward to being part of the special relationship that Seattle Symphony has with the people of this great city, and finding new ways to inspire as many people as possible, from all ages and all backgrounds, with the Symphony's world-class music-making."



"I've worked with Simon both in Philadelphia and New Jersey and found him to be an outstanding leader with an infectious passion for orchestras," commented Schwarz. "He has very deep knowledge of music and, most importantly, he is a man of impeccable taste and integrity."



Music Director Designate Ludovic Morlot stated, "I am thrilled to welcome Simon Woods as the new Executive Director of the Seattle Symphony. I look forward to our creative partnership with great anticipation. Simon is simply brilliant and this appointment is a vital step as the Orchestra continues to build a beautiful future for itself."



"The musicians enthusiastically welcome Simon Woods," said Timothy Hale, Violist, Chair of the Players' Organization, and member of the Executive Director Search Committee. "He has demonstrated wisdom, vision and strong leadership while serving in the administrations of other major orchestras. Most importantly, he understands the pursuit of artistic excellence. He will be a dynamic partner with the musicians and Maestro Morlot as we move forward together."



As Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) since August 2005, Woods has led the orchestra through a period that is considered to be among the most successful in its recent history, with the introduction of new concert series, significant increase in the orchestra's commitment to young people, innovative community engagement programs, the expansion of international touring, and an increased presence on radio and recordings. He also launched a major fund-raising initiative that generated significant new annual fund donations, and more than doubled the number of subscribers.



From 1997 to 2005, Woods worked in the United States. From 2004–2005, he was President and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, leading the orchestra through a period of major and positive change as it experienced institutional upheaval. From 1997 to 2004, Woods was Artistic Administrator, and later, Vice President, Artistic Planning and Operations at The Philadelphia Orchestra, working closely with Music Directors Wolfgang Sawallisch and Christoph Eschenbach, overseeing touring, operations, recordings, broadcasting, education and community partnerships, and the orchestra's operational relationship with the Kimmel Center.



From 1988 to 1997, Woods worked in London as a record producer with EMI Classics where he initiated, planned, budgeted, produced and edited recordings with many of the world's foremost classical artists and ensembles. Earlier, he managed corporate sponsorships for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He holds a music degree from the University of Cambridge, England, and a postgraduate diploma in conducting from the Guildhall School of Music in London.



Woods, who is British, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of British Orchestras. From 1999 to 2002 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Composers Forum. During his time in the United States he was an active participant in the League of American Orchestras' professional development programs, and has led seminars on concert programming and artistic administration.



Woods and his wife, Karin Brookes, will relocate to Seattle along with their 12-year-old son, Barnaby, and 9-year-old daughter, Isabel.



Seattle Symphony PR

JJP

Daniel Barenboim Joins Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics

World-Renowned Conductor-Pianist Signs Major Recording Agreement



BERLIN, November 2, 2010--Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics are delighted to announce the signing of a wide-ranging recording agreement with conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim. Music director of Berlin's Staatsoper and Staatskapelle and Maestro Scaligero at Milan's Teatro alla Scala, with projects including a new Ring production at both houses, Barenboim has been called by The Times (London) "one of the few musicians in the world today who could accurately be described as legendary."



Among the many important releases in extensive plans stretching beyond 2012 – when the artist celebrates his 70th birthday--are Barenboim's first-ever recordings of the Chopin and Liszt piano concertos, a new Beethoven symphony cycle with his inspiring West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, and a new Bruckner recording with the Staatskapelle, as well as several solo piano recordings. Many of these recordings are co-produced by Daniel Barenboim's long-term partner UNITEL.



The first releases on Deutsche Grammophon--early in 2011, to mark the 60th (!) anniversary of Barenboim's performing debut--will be devoted to Chopin: a solo recital recorded in Warsaw as well as the two concertos with Barenboim accompanied by the Berlin Staatskapelle under Andris Nelsons. Later in the year, a new recording with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra will appear on Decca Classics to coincide with their annual tour: Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" Symphony and Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra.



2011 is also the Liszt bicentenary year, and Deutsche Grammophon will release Barenboim's first recording of the two concertos, with Pierre Boulez conducting the Berlin Staatskapelle, together with solo piano works, some of them debut recordings for Maestro Barenboim.



"I am very happy and grateful to be beginning a strong partnership with these two great recording companies, Deutsche Grammophon and Decca", says Daniel Barenboim. "I made my very first recording in the 1950s for Philips, so in a way, this marks a homecoming for me.What makes me particularly happy is that this unique collaboration allows me to prioritise my work with the Staatskapelle and the West-Eastern Divan in equal measure. The Staatskapelle has played an extremely important role in the formation of the Divan and in this new partnership with Deutsche Grammophon and Decca, our musical community is represented beautifully. I am looking forward to our future together, and to many exciting recordings."



Max Hole, Chief Operating Officer, Universal Music Group International, comments: "We are honoured that Daniel Barenboim has decided to make Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics the homes for his new recordings and new projects, to add to his already extraordinary body of work. We fully appreciate and share his vision of the future of classical music, to reinvigorate and strengthen it, and to reach for new audiences. Daniel is one of the world's most inspiring individuals.  There is no better ambassador for music."



Michael Lang, President, Deutsche Grammophon, and Paul Moseley, General Manager, Decca Classics, will lead their respective labels' association with Barenboim, preparing initially for the release of the first recordings under the agreement. Deutsche Grammophon renews a collaboration with the artist which previously yielded landmark recordings of solo music by Beethoven, Chopin and Mendelssohn, and of orchestral works by Bruckner, Debussy and Ravel. For Decca Classics, this brand new collaboration with Maestro Barenboim marks an exciting chapter in its programme of expansion as a world-class core classical label.



Olga Makrias, Decca Label Group

JJP

Dame Joan Sutherland Dies

It is with great sadness that we reflect upon the death of the great Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, known by her legions of fans as "La Stupenda," who has died at the age of 83.

October 11, 2010:  The sheer breadth and variety of recordings Joan Sutherland made over more than 30 years recording for Decca is impressive by any standard. They include 40 recordings of 33 different operas, as well as operatic highlights, anthologies and specially conceived collections of music ranging from baroque rarities to selections from operetta and songs by Noel Coward who was a personal friend.



Joan Sutherland's unique association with Decca began in 1959 with an LP of opera arias that included two scenes from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. It was in this role that she had rocketed to international stardom overnight, when Franco Zefirelli's Covent Garden production premiered on February 17, 1959. A complete Decca recording was made in 1961 under Sir John Pritchard, and a second recording, conducted by her husband and mentor Richard Bonynge and featuring Luciano Pavarotti was made in 1971. During her career Joan Sutherland sang the role of Lucia 233 times.



Joan Sutherland's connection with Decca was first established in 1958 with Handel's Acis and Galatea, which appeared on the company's L'Oiseau-Lyre label, and during the late 1950s and 1960s both she and Richard Bonynge (they married in 1954) were at the forefront of the Handel revival. It was during Venice performances of Handel's Alcina in 1960 that a journalist first dubbed her "La Stupenda."



In 1960 Joan Sutherland recorded what can only be described as one of the most famous vocal recitals in the history of the gramophone, The Art of the Prima Donna. Conceived and devised as a homage to prime donne of a bygone era, the album (released on two LPs) became an instant best-seller, won a Dutch Edison Award in 1961, and has never been out of the catalogue. It was also in 1961 that Joan Sutherland won a Grammy for the best classical performer of the year.



Decca sends its deepest appreciation and condolences to her husband Richard Bonynge and their son Adam.



Olga Makrias

Vice President, Publicity

Decca Label Group/Universal Music Classical

Sony Music Launches Public Beta For Classical Music Store

One-stop shopping solution for classical CDs and digital downloads from more than 50 major and independent labels at Ariama.com. Enhanced search tools make buying music easier and more enjoyable.



New York, NY, October 5th, 2010. Sony Music Entertainment launched the public beta for www.Ariama.com, a new on-line store dedicated to classical music that revolutionizes how fans can discover and conveniently acquire classical music on the Web.



Offering music from more than 50 major and leading independent labels, Ariama is an elegant one-stop destination for CDs, high-quality MP3s, and lossless digital downloads. Ariama optimizes the on-line buying experience by combining this unrivaled convenience and choice for purchasing recordings with powerful new search and discovery tools designed specifically for the needs of classical music shoppers.



The site's rich search function extends beyond the limited track/artist/album filter options and offers users the ability to browse and filter music by important elements like composition, period, instrumentation, conductor, ensemble, and soloist.



"We are thrilled to announce the beta launch of Ariama.com," said Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business, U.S. Sales, and Corporate Strategy, Sony Music Entertainment. "We think classical consumers are an important under-served segment of the music buying population, and we have designed Ariama as the answer for fans experiencing an increasingly difficult time finding compelling retail options for classical CDs and downloads. As a company that is home to one of the world's richest classical music libraries, Sony Music understands the unique requirements of the classical music consumer, and we have tailored Ariama to meet them."



In the coming weeks, as Ariama further develops the service, additional content and features will be added to the site. Major brand partnerships within the classical music world also will be announced. Already Ariama features exclusive editorial features, record recommendations, and artist interviews, as well as content from partnerships with leading publications including Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine.



Ariama.com represents the new standard for classical music commerce on-line. With its deep selection of music, compelling search tools, and valuable recommendations, Ariama is an ideal shopping environment for everyone from the new classical fan to the knowledgeable collector.



Rebecca Davis, Rebecca Davis PR

JJP

National Philharmonic Kicks Off New Season

The National Philharmonic's 2010-2011 season at the Music Center at Strathmore kicks off with Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony.



North Bethesda, MD, August 24, 2010 - Maestro Piotr Gajewski will lead the National Philharmonic in its first concert of the 2010-2011 season at the Music Center at Strathmore on Saturday, October 9, 2010, at 8 pm. The concert will feature one of Gustav Mahler's most renowned works, the Symphony No. 2 in C minor, known as the "Resurrection," and showcase soprano Iwona Sobotka, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wór, and the National Philharmonic's nearly 200-voice, all-volunteer chorale.



Composed during the years 1888-1894, Mahler's Resurrection Symphony premiered in 1895 and went on to become one of the composer's most recognized and successful works during his lifetime. It is his first major work that expressed his lifelong view of the beauty of afterlife and resurrection. Mahler devised a narrative program for the work, in which the first movement represents a funeral and asks questions such as "Is there life after death?"; the second is a remembrance of happy times in the deceased's life; the third presents a view of life as meaningless; the fourth is a wish for release from life without meaning; and the fifth ends with hope for everlasting, transcendent renewal.



Soprano Iwona Sobotka achieved instant international acclaim as the Grand Prix winner of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium in 2004. Other awards include first prizes at the East and West Artists International Auditions in New York, the Warsaw Polish Art Song Competition, and in the Bydgoszcz Paderewski Competition.



She has performed all over Europe, in the Americas and Japan, in such prestigious venues as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, the Palais de Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.



Ms. Sobotka has worked with such distinguished conductors as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Sylvain Cambreling, Thomas Hengelbrock, Walter Proost, Jerzy Maksymiuk and Antoni Wit.  She has performed with the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestra della Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Staatskapelle Weimar, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and with all the major Polish orchestras.



Ms. Sobotka has performed at various music festivals, such as Musical Olympus in St. Petersburg, Kraków's Festival of Polish Music, the MDR Music Summer festival in Saxony and the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. She is also regularly invited to the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Music Festival where she was awarded the 2007 audience prize.



She graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and continued her studies with renowned artist and pedagogue Tom Krause at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.



Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wór was the first-place winner of the Heinz Rehfuss Vocal Competition (2005), a Metropolitan Opera Competition national finalist (2002), a winner of the Mozart Society of Atlanta Competition, an alumna of the San Francisco Opera's Merola Summer Opera Program and Chautauqua Music Institution's Marlena Malas Voice Program, and St. Louis Opera Theatre's Gerdine Young Artist Program. Ms. Wór was a member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera from 2006-2008. She has appeared with the Metropolita Opera, National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and New Trinity Baroque. A polish native, Wór has lived in the United States since 1991.  She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in vocal performance from Georgia State University.



The program will also include Andreas Makris' Aegean Festival Overture, the composer's reflections on his Greek origins, and Mieczysaw Karowicz's A Sorrowful Tale, a symphonic tone poem.



A free pre-concert lecture will be offered at 7 p.m. in the Education Center at the Music Center at Strathmore. To purchase tickets to National Philharmonic's concert on October 9, 2010 at 8p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore, please visit nationalphilharmonic.org, or call the Strathmore ticket office at (301) 581-5100. Tickets are $32-$79; kids 7-17 are FREE through the ALL KIDS, ALL FREE, ALL THE TIME program (sponsored by The Gazette).



National Philharmonic PR

JJP

Naxos and Warner Classics Announce Physical Distribution Partnership for United States

Naxos will offer more than 2000 products, including previously unavailable titles.



London/Nashville: Naxos, one of the world's leading Classical music companies, and Warner Classics today announced a partnership for Naxos to distribute Warner Classic's audio content on CD in the United States. Beginning September 1st, Naxos will offer repertoire from Warner Classics, encompassing specialist titles on the Teldec, Das Alte Werk, Erato, and Warner Classics imprints, as well as the Lontano and Apex labels. As part of the agreement, Naxos will make available more than 2000 classical products, including a range of titles which are currently unavailable in the U.S.



Naxos of America's CEO, Jim Selby, commented, "At Naxos of America, Inc. we strive to partner with labels that have a mission similar to Naxos and our family of distributed labels and to provide services to our labels that enable them to grow and manage their businesses more effectively. Warner Classics and its imprints have decades of recorded history and we are excited and honored to be able to represent this fine label and its world-class artists."



John Kelleher, Head of Warner Classics & Jazz, added "Naxos is widely recognized as one of the most expert Classical music companies and one of the largest independent CD distributors in the world. By harnessing Naxos' dedicated classical resources, this partnership will broaden the range of specialist titles we offer in the US and generate new commercial opportunities. At the same time, it enables Warner Classics to re-focus our efforts on growing our digital business in the region, as well as bolstering our A&R activities."



Artists currently working with Warner Classics include recently signed young English violinist Charlie Siem, composer/pianist Joanna MacGregor, the Endellion String Quartet, Swiss violinist Rachel Kolly D'Alba, and New York based, Uruguayan-born, international conductor José Serebrier. Warner Classics' repertoire also includes recordings from many legends of the classical genre, such as the iconic Spanish tenors José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, Nobel Peace Prize-nominated conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, renowned conductor William Christie, Dutch keyboard player and conductor Ton Koopman, veteran French organist Marie-Claire Alain, violinist Maxim Vengerov, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, Korean soprano Sumi Jo, American soprano Susan Graham, San Francisco-based all-male vocal group Chanticleer, and pre-eminent American early music ensemble Boston Camerata.



Naxos Public Relations

JJP

Naxos to Distribute Compass Records

July 21, 2010, Nashville, TN and Franklin, TN: Beginning September 1, 2010, Naxos begins distribution of the Nashville-based roots music company, Compass Records Group.



The Compass Records Group was formed in 1994 by musicians Alison Brown and Garry West. Compass Records, the group's initial imprint, is considered by many to be the best of the new breed of roots-music labels: eclectic, sophisticated, and artist-friendly. With a catalog of over 250 releases, Compass Records has been described by Billboard Magazine as "one of the greatest independent labels to emerge in the last decade." The label's diverse catalog includes releases from Colin Hay, Solas, The Waifs, Altan, Catie Curtis, Victor Wooten, Kate Rusby, Alison Brown, Old Blind Dogs, Richard Julian, Dale Ann Bradley, and the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band.



In 2006, the Compass Records Group acquired the rights to the Green Linnet catalog. Founded over 30 years ago, Green Linnet has been the home to many Celtic artists worldwide and boasts over 200 recordings from many of the best known artists of the genre, including Niamh Parsons, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Altan, Eileen Ivers, Cherish The Ladies, Lunasa, Kevin Burke, Old Blind Dogs, Patrick Street, and Tannahill Weavers. Green Linnet's world music imprint Xenophile includes several seminal world music artists such as Tarika, Inti-Illimani, Ad Vielle Que Pourra, and Samite.



In 2008, the Compass Records Group acquired Dublin, Ireland-based legacy Irish music label Mulligan Records, home of cornerstone releases from The Bothy Band, Andy Irvine & Paul Brady, and Matt Molloy; with that acquisition, the Compass Records Group became the largest catalog of Celtic music in the world.



Garry West, Compass's co-founder, commented, "We are tremendously excited by our new relationship with Naxos of America. It's a new day at record retail, and specialization--whether through the artist/fan relationship or the distributor/retailer relationship--is the way forward. Naxos's deep and varied account base coupled with their knowledge, service, efficiency, and infrastructure, makes them particularly well-suited to deal with the changing marketplace, and a perfect fit for the Compass Records Group of labels and artists."



Naxos CEO, Jim Selby, added, "Naxos of America is delighted to embark upon this new relationship with Compass Records Group. Compass's intelligent and refined approach to recording, promoting, and exploring the heritage of roots music makes them leaders in their field. We believe that the partnership between our two vibrant companies will forge new ground in the world of independent music promotion and distribution."



Paula Mlyn, Naxos of America

JJP

More People Attending Concerts

Birmingham, England. More people than ever are turning to the delights of classical music according to England's City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which has once again seen a record-breaking season.



The increase in concertgoers--to 114,474--is the fourth rise in consecutive years and illustrates a 3.5% increase in the average attendance at Symphony Hall, where the CBSO is resident. Having been at the heart of the Midlands' cultural life for almost ninety years, this sustained growth and passion for the Orchestra comes at a time of challenge for the arts when the need to provide artistic excellence and vision along with investment in communities and the future of musical education is coupled with tighter budgets and uncertainty.



Stephen Maddock, CBSO chief executive, said: "It can be tough for the arts because when money is tight, it's sometimes the first thing that people feel they have to lose from their lives. But this seems to not be the case in Birmingham, where the demand for our main concert season has once again exceeded expectations. Not only is it great for the CBSO but also for the local economy and for people's overall quality of life during a difficult period."



With Music Director Andris Nelsons at the helm, one of the brightest talents on the world conducting stage, the CBSO is about to celebrate its ninetieth year in style with a busy forthcoming season of concerts looking to a future of innovative and inspiring music. The season will also pay homage to its celebrated past that features such great names as Elgar, Oramo, and Rattle, all of whom have made a significant contribution to the success of the Orchestra and celebrating the name of Birmingham on the international stage.



Maddock continued: "As an ambassador for the city and for the UK as a whole, through our significant worldwide reputation and touring programme, we're always striving to ensure that we are at the forefront of new music and of shaping the future for symphony orchestras in the twenty-first century. We are firmly committed to the future of music, as demonstrated by our choral and educational programme, the largest of any orchestra in the country".



For details on next season's CBSO concerts, visit www.cbso.co.uk.



Ruth Green

Communications Manager

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra



JJP

National Philharmonic Fosters Young Musicians

North Bethesda, MD, July 8, 2010:  From July 19 to August 13, 2010, the National Philharmonic will engage some of the area's most promising young musicians through its Summer Strings and Choral Institutes.



The Institutes, for middle and high school string players and high school vocal performers, nurture young talent and teach musical skills and techniques while preparing the participants for a performance. "Nurturing the next generation of audiences and performers is at the heart of our mission in the community," said National Philharmonic's Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski.



The Summer Choral Institute (July 19-23, 2010) offers young singers an intensive, weeklong immersion in voice building, musical interpretation, and performance techniques. The Institute, produced through a partnership between the National Philharmonic and Montgomery College Institute, is led by Dr. Stan Engebretson, Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Chorale, and Dr. Molly Donnelly, Professor of Music at Montgomery College. The week culminates in a free public concert at Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville, MD on Friday, July 23, 2010, at 7:30 pm.



The Summer String Institutes (High School String Institute August 2-6; Middle School String Institute August 9-13) immerse talented and aspiring middle school and high school string musicians in an intensive week of mentoring, chamber music coaching, individual lessons, and rehearsals led by Maestro Piotr Gajewski, National Philharmonic Assistant Conductor, and String Institutes Director Victoria Gau, musicians of the Philharmonic, and other recognized music pedagogues. Gau is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Capital City Symphony (DC) and is an opera coach/conductor at George Mason University. She is a familiar face in the Washington area, having conducted such groups as the Washington Savoyards, the IN-Series, the Other Opera Company (which she co-founded), and the Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra. She holds degrees in Viola Performance and Conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she received the Phi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship.



This year marks the thirteenth anniversary of the High School String Institute and the twelfth year of the Middle School String Institute. The High School String Institute will culminate in a free public performance at the Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 7611 Clarendon Rd, Bethesda, MD, on Friday, August 6, at 7:30 pm and on Friday, August 13, at 7:30 pm for the middle school session. For more information on the Summer String and Choral Institutes, visit nationalphilharmonic.org.



Deborah Birnbaum, Marketing Manager

JJP

Ludovic Morlot to Head Seattle Symphony

SEATTLE, WA. Seattle Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly and Interim Executive Director Mark McCampbell announced today that French conductor Ludovic Morlot has been named Music Director Designate, beginning in the 2010-2011 season.



Maestro Morlot will assume the role of Music Director at the beginning of the 2011-2012 season with an initial six-year contract. Seattle Symphony's current Music Director, Gerard Schwarz, who has held that role since 1985, will assume the title of Conductor Laureate after his final season in 2010-2011.



"I am thrilled and grateful to be given this wonderful opportunity to lead the Seattle Symphony into a new era," remarked Morlot. "I am eager to share many musical moments and emotions with the Orchestra and its faithful audience, and to meet new concertgoers in the beautiful Benaroya Hall. My family and I feel privileged that we will soon become part of the Seattle community."



During Morlot's first season as Music Director in 2011-2012, he will conduct a minimum of eight weeks during the regular concert season. He will conduct a minimum of thirteen weeks each season through the end of his initial contract in 2017.



When the then thirty-five-year-old Morlot made his debut with the Seattle Symphony in October 2009, the Seattle Times' Melinda Bargreen praised his "quick, snappy gestures and mercurial intensity [that] seemed to energize the orchestra." He was re-engaged later this season, when a schedule change prevented Roberto Abbado from appearing with the symphony. However, travel disruptions caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland forced Morlot to miss two rehearsals and change the program on short notice. Under these challenging circumstances he delivered strong and exciting performances that underscored his remarkable poise, artistic presence and leadership qualities. The Music Director Search Committee then voted unanimously to recommend Mr. Morlot to the Board.



Kirshbaum Demler & Associates, PR

Cedille Records Offers CD-Quality Downloads

Cedille Records, Chicago's Grammy Award-winning independent classical record label, has begun selling CD-quality digital downloads of its albums as of April 20 via its Web site, http://www.cedillerecords.org.



The downloads, utilizing the FLAC audio format, are priced at $10 or less per album.



The FLAC format, which stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, yields compressed sound files with all of the data--and audio fidelity--of the original compact disc, compared to "lossy" compression methods such as MP3.



According to the FLAC Web site (http://flac.sourceforge.net), "this is similar to how Zip works, except with FLAC you will get much better compression because it is designed specifically for audio."



Cedille's new CD-quality downloads are 16-bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC files.



FLAC files can be imported and played directly on a variety of hardware and software media players, such as Winamp for Windows or VLC for Mac. Some players, such as Windows Media Player and Apple's iTunes, require plug-ins to play FLAC files. But FLAC files can always be converted back into original uncompressed .wav files, using free and widely available transcoding software, and played in any media player.



In addition to the new FLAC downloads, Cedille continues to offer all albums in its catalog as unusually high-quality MP3 downloads at twice the bit rate of those sold on most other download sites--256 kbps (kilobits per second) versus the industry standard 128 kbps.



Visitors to Cedille's Web site don't have to download an album at all to get the accompanying CD booklet. They can download a free PDF of the booklet via the CD's Web page before deciding whether to buy the recording.



Cedille (pronounced say-DEE), which embarked on its 20th anniversary season in November, has been selling MP3 album downloads directly to the public from its Web site since May 2008.



Cedille features world-class musicians in and from the Chicago area. The label's catalog has 116 principal CD titles ranging from solo keyboard works to complete symphonies and operas. These include world-premiere recordings and CD premieres of important compositions, plus the commercial recording debuts of some celebrated artists.



The label's newest release is the recording debut of Baroque Band, Chicago's new and highly acclaimed period-instrument ensemble, in works by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Arriving later this month is The Balkan Project, the label's second album with the Cavatina Duo (flutist Eugenia Moliner and guitarist Denis Azabagic). May will bring the world-premiere recording of Beethoven's recently discovered Piano Trio in E-flat, Hess 47, with the Beethoven Project Trio, which gave the world-premiere performance last year in Chicago.



Nathan J. Silverman PR

JJP

Passionato: Download Site Launches

April 19, 2010, marked the launch of Passionato, a new destination for classical music connoisseurs on the Web, with an unprecedented catalogue of CD-quality downloads from major and independent labels. Visit Passionato at www.passionato.com.



Passionato is the Web's latest classical-music download site, its aim to thoroughly replicate a "corner record store" experience with a reach far beyond the corner. According to their press release, Passionato offers classical music lovers the largest available collection of CD-quality, DRM-free classical music downloads on the Web. With no subscription, no membership requirements, and nothing to sign-up for, Passionato provides a wide-ranging collection of recordings from major labels (including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Virgin, and EMI Classics) along with numerous independent labels (such as Naxos, Chandos, Telarc, and BIS).



Designed for classical music lovers, Passionato caters to the entire classical music enthusiast community by offering recordings in digital download form, free of digital rights management (DRM) software, transferable to any portable device, and burnable to CD. Downloads will be offered both as high quality 320kbps DRM-free MP3 files and in the CD-quality lossless FLAC format. The Passionato store will also offer an unprecedented level of recording information made up of original editorial content as well as reviews, profiles, and recording information provided by All Music Guide, Oxford University Press, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, the Penguin Guide, and Fanfare.  Of course, vitally important to making sure consumers find the artist and repertoire they are looking for from the vast number of recordings now available, Passionato offers the ability to search their extensive catalogue of recordings using multiple fields and intuitive search functionality.



Though the site offers music  in high quality 320-mbps MP3 format, the Passionato store is dedicated to offering customers the easiest and most effective way to experience lossless CD-quality FLAC files from the largest library of such files anywhere, in any genre of music. With unsurpassed sound quality, gapless play, and backwards compatibility (a FLAC file can be used to create an MP3 of any quality for any player), FLAC is the most versatile music format available. Passionato is supporting FLAC because it has become the most widely supported lossless audio codec. Passionato also believes that audiophiles can depend on FLAC for archival-quality digital storage because it is the only open-standards, lossless format unencumbered by patents, and FLAC has been implemented in a wide spectrum of open-source projects.



Opened in a soft-launch phase in February of this year, Passionato has found that FLAC has indeed proven to be the most popular format on the site, representing nearly two-thirds of total sales.  Passionato also offers a free player that can play MP3 and FLAC files. Created for Passionato by MediaMonkey, the Passionato Player can play files and arrange a library as well as sync up to devices like iPods and all mobile phones. All MP3 tracks purchased on the Passionato service can also be played and stored on popular music players such as iTunes (and iPod), Windows Media, and Real Player. FLAC files can be played on a variety of players, including the Passionato Player by MediaMonkey. For Mac users, Passionato has asked MacWorld writer Kirk McElhern to create a guide for downloading and converting FLAC files into the Apple Lossless format that can then be played on iTunes and transferred to Apple's music-playing devices, like iPods, iPhones, and iPads.



"Passionato is a classical boutique founded and run by the very audience it aims to serve," says Passionato founder James Glicker. "I wanted to have a place where I could access, search and organize CD-quality downloads of virtually any classical recording available, now about 40,000 and counting, in a way that provides complete information, a comprehensive catalogue, and intuitive search--basically everything the classical collector needs. I believe we have done just that. No other site can offer what Passionato can."



Passionato Partners with Gramophone

Passionato launches with a partnership with Gramophone magazine, one of the preeminent classical music brands. Passionato will be the sole downloading partner for Gramophone. This relationship includes Gramophone and Passionato linking to new and archival reviews on Gramophone.net, as well as reviews found in Gramophone magazine.  "Since our first edition in 1923, Gramophone has embraced every technological development that has brought classical music enthusiasts closer to the greatest performances," says Gramophone's Martin Cullingford. "The Internet is the natural extension of that – both through downloading, which offers more music than you could listen to in a lifetime at the click of a button, or by allowing Gramophone to reach an ever-wider audience through news, features, our forum and our digital archive. It's the music itself of course --the artists, the composers, the recordings--that always remains our central focus. Passionato.com--with more than 300,000 classical music tracks from the world's leading labels--draws all this together in a download shop designed for, and by, classical music enthusiasts, which is why we're very happy to be partnering with them." Visit Passionato at www.passionato.com



The People at Passionato

Passionato was founded by James Glicker, an American music industry legend who has worked in all aspects of the business in such  diverse posts as first President/CEO of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (where, among other accomplishments, he appointed Marin Alsop as Music Director); President of MusicNow (now part of Napster); and head of worldwide marketing at BMG Classics (now part of Sony Classics).



Rebecca Davis Public Relations

JJP

Cedille Records Celebrates Twenty Years

Chicago, Nov. 29, 2009.  Cedille Records, the Grammy Award-winning, internationally distributed classical record label born two decades ago in a student apartment on Chicago's South Side, embarks this month on its 20th anniversary year.



Cedille (pronounced say-DEE) made its debut in November, 1989, with its first CD release, a program of solo piano pieces performed by Chicago-based Soviet émigré pianist Dmitry Paperno. With that initial, small-scale project, Cedille founder James Ginsburg, then 24, launched the first Chicago-based classical record company since the heyday of Mercury Records in the 1950s and 60s.



Since then, Cedille's catalog, which features world-class musicians in and from the Chicago area, has grown and diversified, while attracting critical accolades, an international clientele, and praise from its artists.  Cedille has 115 principal CD titles ranging from solo keyboard works to complete symphonies and operas. These include world-premiere recordings and CD premieres of important compositions, plus the commercial recording debuts of some celebrated artists.



A point of pride for the label is that its regular music downloads are 256 kbps MP3 files, twice the industry standard for sound quality. What's more, in the coming year, Cedille plans to offer premium-priced CD-quality digital downloads in the lossless FLAC format via its Web site (http://www.cedillerecords.org).  In addition, Cedille recently launched a "free-download-of-the-week" feature on its Web site and released a 20th anniversary sampler CD available free to purchasers of physical Cedille CDs in the U.S. and Canada.



"I'm still pinching myself," Ginsburg says, as surprised as anyone that the entrepreneurial sideline he launched as a first-year law student at the University of Chicago would evolve into a record label of international distinction--and that his life's work would be as a classical record producer and label impresario rather than a lawyer. Ginsburg, now 44 and president of the label, also continues to produce most of its CDs.



Ginsburg, who left law school in 1992 to tend to the record label full time, comes from a family of prominent attorneys and legal scholars.  His mother, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His father, Martin D. Ginsburg, is a noted tax law authority and professor at Georgetown University Law Center. His sister, Jane C. Ginsburg, is a law professor at Columbia University, specializing in intellectual property rights.



From the outset, Ginsburg says his goal was to showcase Chicago's finest musicians in fresh and imaginative programs on audiophile-quality recordings.  The native New Yorker saw in Chicago an abundance of stellar musicians who were ignored by East Coast, West Coast, and European record labels. With the right recording projects, Ginsburg believed he could advance their careers and serve the listening public in equal measure. Cedille would concentrate on attractive, off-the-beaten-path repertoire overlooked by the major labels. Mainstream classical works would show up rarely--and only in the context of innovative programs by artists who have enlightening and compelling interpretations.



Cedille remains Chicago's only free-standing classical label. (The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has its own in-house recording operation.) Could Cedille have gotten off the ground today? Ginsburg has his doubts, mainly because of the difficulty of securing an effective wholesale distributor to sell to retail outlets.  Physical CDs are still a vital part of the classical record business, even as digital downloads have gained in popularity, Ginsburg says. "There are only a few good independent distributors, and they're not likely nowadays to bother with a fledgling classical label with only a couple of discs in its catalog."



Nathan J. Silverman, PR

JJP

Naxos Launches Naxos Video Library

New Streaming Video Service Launches With More Than 250 Full-Length Videos of Concerts, Operas, Ballets, and Documentaries



On February 1, 2010, Naxos--one of the world's leading classical music labels and an industry leader in streaming audio and music education--launches Naxos Video Library, a new and unique streaming subscription music service.



The Naxos Video Library (www.NaxosVideoLibrary.com) kicks off with more than 250 full-length videos of concerts, operas, ballets, and documentaries from prestigious performing arts labels such as Arthaus Musik, Dacapo, Dynamic, EuroArts, Ondine, Opus Arte, Medici Arts, Naxos, and TDK. Featuring performances from legendary artists including Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Martha Argerich, Gerald Finley and many more, videos are available to stream at 700 kbps (standard quality) and 2 mbps (high quality), and the service is compatible with both PC and Mac computers. Within three months, NVL expects to make approximately 500 titles available to stream.



A separate, yet complementary service to the company's existing suite of library music services, Naxos Video Library includes the following special features:



    * Ability to stream videos in standard and high resolutions;

    * Create custom clips, which can be edited and added to individual playlists;

    * Access to pre-defined video chapters, as well as individual arias and scene breaks;

    * Subtitles in up to five languages;

    * The ability to follow along with scrolling libretto text

    * Advanced search functionality, including the ability to search by category, role, composer, artist, production, personnel, work venue or festival.



In 2004, Naxos launched Naxos Music Library, which has become the industry standard in streaming audio music education, with more than 562,000 tracks of music. In addition to the Naxos Music Library, Naxos also offers the Naxos Music Library Jazz database, Naxos Spoken Word Library, an audiobook resource, and the NML Sheet Music, a downloadable sheet music database. All of these services firmly support Naxos' commitment to Music Education.

Seattle Symphony Names 17-Year-Old Conductor

Seattle, WA – Seattle Symphony is pleased to welcome 17-year-old conductor Alexander Prior to an unprecedented Chairman's Fellow position, Assistant to the Guest Conductors.



Prior, who is rapidly becoming known in the international music world, will play an essential role in assisting the many high-profile guest conductors coming to Seattle from January through July, 2010 as part of the Music Director Search.



The Chairman's Fellow position was created by Board Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly, who remarked, "We are thrilled to have such a promising young conductor as Alex Prior joining our conducting team. His work will be an asset to us, and we look forward to nurturing his artistic development."



Although Prior's role as "cover conductor" is behind-the-scenes, he will play an important role on the Seattle Symphony's conducting staff by being prepared to step in at a moment's notice if a guest conductor is unable to conduct a rehearsal or performance. Serving on the conducting staff of a major orchestra is a key professional development opportunity for young conductors, although most are not given the opportunity at such a young age.



Prior has already conducted major orchestras in Europe and Russia, but this position with Seattle Symphony is his first professional appointment. Prior has been selected as one of only 12 participants in this February's International Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Bamberg, Germany, the very same competition in which Gustavo Dudamel first came to international prominence. He was Runner-Up in the 2009 Leeds Conductors Competition, and additional conducting engagements include an April 2010 performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican in London, and a Conducting Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival during the 2010 festival.



In the UK, Prior has conducted The National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North and Northern Sinfonia, among others. He also has conducted the New Opera Orchestra at the Kremlin and The State St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.



Prior is known to television audiences in the UK following a commission by Channel 4 to compose and conduct the premiere of a concerto featuring extraordinarily talented young musicians. The three-part TV series was broadcast on primetime television in 2009. Prior has been awarded the Patriarch of Russia's Cultural Award for his musical projects that bring culture to disadvantaged children, and he has received the Blue Cross Order for his work in the arts.



Alexander Prior has completed his fourth year at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, with distinction. He is a great-great-grandson of Constantine Stanislavsky, the famous Russian theatre reformer and founder of "method acting."