It’s about time. And isn’t it interesting that the orchestra has chosen to showcase Levine’s recording of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloë, a party piece for former BSO maestro Charles Munch? Both of Munch’s commercial recordings with the BSO are among the greatest glories of the RCA Red Seal catalogue, and an extraordinary 1962 stereo aircheck from Tanglewood has also circulated among collectors for some time. Full press release below the break…
JAMES LEVINE TO PRESENT
FIRST MAJOR RECORDINGS WITH
THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, AT 1:30 P.M.
AT SYMPHONY HALL
IN ADDITION, MR. LEVINE WILL ANNOUNCE HIS PROGRAMS FOR THE 2009-10 BOSTON SYMPHONY SEASON
R.S.V.P., BSO PRESS OFFICE, 617-638-9280
On Thursday, February 19, James Levine will present his first major recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra—four new releases, including Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé, at a press conference, at 1:30 p.m., at Symphony Hall. The four new releases, under the auspices of BSO Classics, are drawn from recordings that took place during live performances by James Levine and the orchestra at Symphony Hall, part of an ongoing project to record all of Mr. Levine’s BSO concerts for both possible recording consideration and archival purposes. The recordings–two of which will be available on CD, all four of which will be available for download–will go on sale to the public at www.bso.org and other online outlets, as well as the Symphony Shop, as of February 19.
On December 1, in anticipation of the new releases, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, through its highly successful website bso.org, launched the first orchestral music download service with tracks available in both standard MP3 and HD Surround, an audio format that uses multi-channel sound to enrich the listener’s experience and reveal details lacking in traditional MP3 format downloads. The February 19 press conference will include a sound demonstration of this technology using the new BSO releases. Since its launch on December 1, the new bso.org download service has offered a selection of historic BSO, Pops, Chamber Players, and Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra recordings.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Bernadette Horgan, Director of Public Relations (bhorgan@bso.org)—617-638-9285
Kathleen Drohan, Associate Director of Public Relations (kdrohan@bso.org)—617-638-9286