BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND ANDRIS NELSONS RELEASE FIRST RECORDING OF THEIR NEW PARTNERSHIP

:
November 18, 2014

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND ANDRIS NELSONS
RELEASE FIRST RECORDING OF THEIR NEW PARTNERSHIP

NEW BSO CD CAPTURES LIVE PERFORMANCES OF WAGNER’S TANNHÄUSER OVERTURE FROM MR. NELSONS’ INAUGURAL CONCERT WITH THE BSO ON SEPTEMBER 27, AND SIBELIUS’S SYMPHONY NO. 2, RECORDED IN CONCERT NOVEMBER 6-11 AT SYMPHONY HALL

CD AND DOWNLOAD FORMATS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE IN EARLY DECEMBER;
PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW ON BSO.ORG THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE FIRST

RECORDING BY THE BSO AND ANDRIS NELSONS
COINCIDES WITH MR. NELSONS’ 36TH BIRTHDAY

Click here for audio clips from Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture
and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2

The Boston Symphony Orchestra will release its first CD and digital download with Music Director Andris Nelsons on BSO Classics in early December, featuring  Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture—the first piece Mr. Nelsons conducted as BSO Music Director—and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, recorded from live performances during Andris Nelsons’ first few programs as the BSO’s new music director. Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture was recorded during Andris Nelsons’ inaugural concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on September 27, 2014, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 was recorded November 6-11, 2014. Both selections are particularly meaningful to Mr. Nelsons: it was hearing Wagner’s opera when he was just five years old that made Andris Nelsons want to be a conductor; the Sibelius reflects his strong interest in music of the Scandinavian and Slavic countries, while also building upon the BSO’s distinguished history of past Sibelius recordings, which includes a complete Sibelius symphony cycle led by Colin Davis that is still regarded as a landmark.  This announcement about the first recording of the BSO/Andris Nelsons partnership is being released on Mr. Nelsons’ 36th birthday—Tuesday, November 18, 2014.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra surprised Music Director Andris Nelsons with a party for his 36th birthday on Tuesday, November 18, with a Symphony Hall-themed cake designed by Montilio’s Baking Company. Mr. Nelsons shares his birthday with BSO founder Henry Lee Higginson, who would be 180 today. In celebration of Mr. Nelsons’ birthday, the BSO announced its first CD recording collaboration with Mr. Nelsons, featuring Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, available for pre-order now on BSO.org. (Photo credit: Winslow Townson)

“I am thrilled that the Boston Symphony Orchestra and I will be releasing our first recording in early December—Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 and the overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser,” said Andris Nelsons, BSO Music Director.  “These first few weeks of our musical journey together have been extraordinarily special and I am thrilled to have this chance to capture the spirit of our new and beautiful relationship with this new recording, which includes the Tannhäuser overture—the piece that, at age 5, set me off in my life as a musician. I truly believe that BSO fans near and far will revel in the singular music-making of their masterful orchestra, as the performances our first recording captures went beyond my greatest imaginings of what we could achieve together as a musical family.  Most important, I hope this recording reflects the tremendous gratitude I feel toward my Boston Symphony Orchestra, and for our incredibly enthusiastic audiences and generous donors who have supported us during these first few weeks of our life together in music.”
Released on BSO Classics, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s own record label, the recording will be available as a CD priced at $17.95, and as a digital download priced from $9.99-$13.99 (depending on format) at www.bso.org/digital. The digital recording will be available in five formats—MP3, 88.2/24bit AIFF (stereo) and 88.2/24bit FLAC (stereo), available in early December, and 88.2/24bit AIFF (5-channel) and 88.2/24bit FLAC (5-channel), available late in December. All formats of the album are also available as part of the BSO Digital Music Subscription that allows subscribers to permanently download all the music in the BSO’s and Boston Pops’ self-produced library of releases for a pre-defined subscription period.  BSO Digital Music Subscriptions are available as a 12-month subscription for $50.

The recording will be available for purchase in early December at the Symphony Shop and online at www.bso.org, as well as from Amazon.com and iTunes. To pre-order for shipping in early December, please visit www.bso.org.

In the new year, the Boston Symphony Orchestra will announce a wide range of additional broadcast, CD, and digital download recording projects, including new works and repertoire staples, focusing on Mr. Nelsons’ work with the orchestra during the rest of the 2014-15 season and beyond.

When Mr. Nelsons assumed the title of BSO Music Director on September 27, at age 35, he became the youngest conductor to hold that title with the orchestra in over 100 years. The fifteenth music director since the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s founding in 1881, Mr. Nelsons is also the first Latvian-born conductor to assume the post.  Click here for more on Andris Nelsons.

Recording personnel responsible for producing the BSO’s new recording of the overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2  are Shawn Murphy, Producer and Engineer; Nick Squire, Recording Engineer and Editing Engineer; Robert Wolff, Editing Engineer; and Tim Martyn of Phoenix Audio, Mastering Engineer.

#      #      #

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons conducting

WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2

Live recordings:
September 27, 2014 (Wagner)
November 6-11, 2014 (Sibelius)
Symphony Hall, Boston

To read the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s program notes on the overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser, click here. To read the BSO’s program notes on Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, click here.

ANDRIS NELSONS CD BOOKLET MESSAGE

Dear Friends,

What you now hold in your hands, my very first compact disc recording with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is of course very special to me. I have loved Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser since I was a child. In fact, my parents took me to see a performance of the opera when I was just five years old—which made me want to be a conductor. It was the performance of the overture on this disc that opened my very first concert as the BSO’s music director.

Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 is a piece I am always very excited to conduct, and which represents my strong interest in music of the Scandinavian and Slavic countries. Sibelius’ music has also played a very special part in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During his twenty-five years as BSO music director, the legendary Serge Koussevitzky was a great champion of Sibelius’ music. Koussevitzky conducted all seven of his symphonies with the BSO during the composer’s lifetime and made two recordings of the Symphony No. 2. In the 1970s, Colin Davis recorded a complete Sibelius symphony cycle with the orchestra that is still considered a landmark. So it is really a great privilege for me to have this symphony on my first recording for BSO Classics as I look forward to many more releases with this great orchestra.

Warmest wishes,
Andris Nelsons

FOLLOW US ON: