(Kansas City) – The Kansas City Symphony, led by Music Director Michael Stern, will release their second CD for award-winning audiophile label Reference Recordings on November 10, 2009. Titled Britten’s Orchestra, this project explores the compositional genius of British composer Benjamin Britten’s music. Recording sessions were held in June in the outstanding acoustics of the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Missouri.
Included is music from Britten’s dramatic score to Peter Grimes, one of the true operatic masterpieces of the 20th century. His important, controversial Sinfonia da Requiem is rooted in the darkness of World War II. The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a delightful piece used in music education for decades as an introduction to the orchestra’s different instrumental families.
"These works by Britten are all very close to my heart, and we all put a lot of ourselves into these performances. Above all, I am very proud of how everyone in the Kansas City Symphony plays on this recording. Working with Reference Recordings and with David Frost on this project was also very special experience. I think that the recorded sound they captured is tremendous, and it makes us all very excited as we plan our next collaborations,” said Stern.
This new release was produced by four-time Grammy Award winner David Frost. Frost says he is honored to work with Reference Recordings engineer “Prof.” Keith Johnson for the first time.
“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Reference Recordings and look forward to building on the great success of our first project together. I feel that Britten’s Orchestra is superior both sonically and musically, and look forward to sharing it with music lovers worldwide,” said Executive Director Frank Byrne.
The Kansas City Symphony's first project for Reference Recordings, The Tempest, debuted to critical acclaim. It is a high-resolution recording of two sets of incidental music to Shakespeare's The Tempest, by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jean Sibelius.
The Kansas City Symphony has previously recorded for Naxos, and Michael Stern has recorded for Sony, Arabesque, Denon, Hyperion, and Naxos.
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About the Kansas City Symphony
Led by Music Director Michael Stern, the Kansas City Symphony’s 80-member orchestra performs more than 50 concerts on three series (Classical, Family, Pops) during its 42-week season, September through June. In addition, the Symphony performs non-series concerts such as Bank of America Celebration at the Station and Symphony in the Flint Hills, educational programs, community outreach performances, and serves as the orchestra for the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Ballet. Classical performances are broadcast weekly on KCUR 89.3 FM during the Kansas City Symphony Hour, Thursdays at 9 pm. Visit the Kansas City Symphony online at kcsymphony.org.
About Reference Recordings
For more than 30 years, Reference Recordings has been one of the most innovative and respected independent labels in the music business. Founded on the premise that most commercial recordings sound nothing like the live performance experience, Tam Henderson’s productions for Reference Recordings have been widely and lavishly praised for their dedication to high quality sound in the service of great music. In 1978, Henderson began working with engineer Keith O. Johnson, who was already becoming an audio legend for his innovative approach to realistic recordings. Some 100 discs later, RR is still recording what many consider to be the finest-sounding classical and jazz discs in the world.
Reference Recordings has won two Grammy Awards and many other nominations, including a nomination for Producer of the Year in 1998 and seven nominations for Best Engineered Album. In addition, RR has received numerous awards and citations from industry organizations and publications. RR has recorded many world premieres, and has pioneered many technological innovations—most recently the introduction of HRx, high resolution digital files for home music servers, and the widely praised HDCD digital encoding process (co-invented by Keith O. Johnson). As President, Producer and Director of A&R, Tam Henderson has brought Reference Recordings to a position of prominence and respect achieved by few independent labels.
Contact: Megan Felling
816.218.2621
mfelling@kcsymphony.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 23, 2009
Labels: audiophile, Britten's Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Reference Recordings