Concertgoers at Symphony Hall to take away instantly-produced CD
Oct 13 2009 by Terry Grimley, Birmingham Post
Concertgoers attending a unique Anglo-Russian spectacular at Symphony Hall this week will be able to take away an instantly-produced CD of the performance.
In its first venture of the kind, EMI Classics will record two performances of Berlioz’s huge Requiem, given jointly by the CBSO and its chorus with the orchestra and chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, tomorrow and Thursday.
The recording is being made in association with LiveHereNow, which has pioneered instant “souvenir” live recordings of rock bands including Throbbing Gristle, Status Quo and Ocean Colour Scene.
The CDs will be prepared in Symphony Hall’s foyer and go on sale within minutes of the performance ending. They will be unique to each performance and will only be available on the night of the concert.
Stephen Johns, head of artists & repertoire at EMI Classics, said: “Through history, recordings have endeavoured to capture the essence of the live experience and make it available for listeners to appreciate again and again.
“EMI Classics, who have been making recordings for more than 112 years, are pleased to announce their first live recording to be available to the audience on CD immediately following the recorded performance. The unique nature of this project is heightened by the one-off combination of performers – the joint orchestras and choirs of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Mariinsky Theatre, conducted by one of the great musicians of our time, Valery Gergiev.”
The Mariinsky, which was known as the Kirov during the Soviet era, is one of Russia’s most venerable cultural institutions. Founded in the 18th century, its orchestra has given world premieres of works by Glinka, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Khachaturian.
Valery Gergiev, who has been its artistic and general director since 1988, has also been principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra since 2007.
Berlioz’s Requiem, also known as the Grande Messe des morts, dates from 1830 and was written in memory of the fallen of the French Revolution.
It requires massive choral and orchestral forces, including four brass bands and ten timpanists. Four hundred performers took part in the first performance in the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides in Paris, with about 380 being in this week’s performances at one of the few UK venues capable of staging the work.
In a mammoth programme the 75-minute Requiem will be preceded by a 40-minute rarity from the Soviet era – Prokofiev’s Cantata for the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution. Symphony Hall, which is promoting and funding the unique pair of concerts, has a long-standing relationship with the Mariinsky company since 1991 when the Kirov, as it was then known, became the first opera company to perform in the newly-opened hall.
