Sarah Brightman was joined by Andrea Boccelli in a dazzling performance of 'Canto Della Terra' from her new album "Symphony", heading an all-star line-up at at the 2008 Classical BRIT Awards last night. Other performances included 'Navarra' a piece for 2 violins performed Valeriy Sokolov and by David Garrett, and accompanied by rising-star guitarist Xuefei Yang.
Write an album review at www.emiclassics.co.uk for the chance to WIN a stack of EMI Classics or Virgin Classics CDs of your choice!
Do you read the classical album reviews in the magazines and newspapers and secretly think to yourself "I'd love to do that"?!
Our complete online catalogue at www.emiclassics.co.uk allows you to add reviews for any of our currently available recordings on the EMI and Virgin Classics labels. You can share your thoughts with the world - whether enthusing about your favourite albums, or criticising those you feel didn't quite hit the mark - it's up to you. All your reviews are published on our website, whether overwhelmingly positive or devastatingly critical!
With over 111 years of recording history behind us at EMI, there are plenty of recordings to write about, so get scribbling!
Prize winners for the very best album reviews submitted will be chosen by our guest judge, James Jolly.
James Jolly is Editor-in-Chief at Gramophone magazine and co-presents the BBC Radio 3 programme Classical Collection (weekdays 10.00 - 12.00).
The prizes on offer are as follows:
1st Prize - 20 discs of your choice (worth of up to £300!) *
2nd Prize - 10 discs of your choice (worth of up to £150!) *
3rd Prize - 5 discs of your choice (worth of up to £75!) *
Plus - 10 runner-up prizes of 1 single disc CD of your choice*
* Note: Prize equals the total number of discs, so a 3CD set counts as 3 discs. Titles to be selected by the winners from the currently available online catalogue at www.emiclassics.co.uk. No cash alternatives available. The reviewer retains full copyright, EMI is granted full exclusive use of all reviews submitted. The judge's decision is final.
Here's how to enter:
1) Search our complete online catalogue at www.emiclassics.co.uk by typing in a keyword - artist, composer, work title or even CD catalogue or barcode number to find the recordings you'd like to write about.
2) Click on your desired album, and simply type in your name, your email address (be extra-careful to make sure you type it in correctly!) and write your review in the form at the bottom of the page. When you are finished, click the 'submit' button and you are done!
3) We'll be keeping a very close eye on all your reviews posted from today (Monday 7th April) until midnight, Sunday 1st June, after which our guest judge James Jolly will select the winners!
Good luck!
Yesterday Nigel Kennedy launched the BBC 2008 Proms season, announcing his return to the series after a gap of 21 years, with a unique performance of the theme tune to the BBC TV series Dr Who, which will have it's own dedicated Prom. Nigel kennedy performs at the BBC Proms on 19th July where he will perform the Elgar Violin Concerto along with a late-night Jazz Prom.
The BBC Music Magazine Awards 2008 were announced today, 9 April. EMI & Virgin Classics took 4 of the awards, the most awards won by a single label. The awards were won by:
The Opera Award went to Emmanuelle Haim for Handel's: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno - the Opera Award. Described by the jury as "Technically superb, reassuringly stylish".
Martha Argerich in the Orchestral category for Shostakovich Piano Concerto No 1 - "A truly charismatic and exhilarating experince" - BBC Awards Jury
Best Newcomer - Jury Award - was presented to David Fray for his debut disc of JS Bach and Boulez. The jury spoke of his "impeccable technique"
DVD Documentary - Jury Award - went to Maxim Vengerov for the Living the Dream film, described by the Jury as a "must see".
We were delighted that Maxim Vengerov, Emmanuelle Haim and David Fray were all able to come to London to collect their awards in person - many congratulations to all our winners!
The crossover compilation album "Morning has Broken" is this week at #1 on the official UK Classical Compilation Chart! The album features popular Easy Listening and Classical Crossover favourites by todays biggest stars including Sarah Brightman, G4 featuring Jonathan Ansell, Eva Cassidy, Alfie Boe, Libera, Aled Jones, Myleene Klass, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Ball and Lesley Garrett.
15th March sees the World premiere performance of Karl Jenkin's 'Stabat Mater', commisioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as part of Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008. The premiere takes place at Liverpool Cathedral. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Karl Jenkins. The recording of the work will be released on EMI Classics in March.
Keep in touch with what's new at EMI Classics - subscribe today to our eNewsletter for a regular round-up of our new releases sent to you every month by eMail!
This Summer hails the release of three new works by contemporary composer Craig Armstrong.
A Royal Academy of Music graduate, Craig Armstrong is one of the world's most sought-after and respected composers and arrangers in the film and music industry. Starting out as house composer for the Tron Theatre Company in his native Glasgow, Craig Armstrong went on to compose and arrange music for some of the biggest names in music including Madonna, U2 and Massive Attack. His emotionally charged, highly accessible music has graced films such as ‘Romeo & Juliet’, ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Ray’, ‘Love Actually’, ‘Plunkett & Macleane’, ‘World Trade Center’ and ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’.
“I wanted to find a direct language using tonality but being firmly routed in the 21st century. An abstract defuse way of writing much like the way an abstract painting where the images are blurred. And in this case melodies are hidden and slowly revealed. I have always had a fascination with sonority and orchestration in much a similar way in the way a painter deals with the subtle nuances of colour.‿ Craig Armstrong
The three works were composed over the last four years, a period that saw Craig Armstrong search for a personal style of composition which reflected his musical influences, developing his approach to the acoustic classical world with processes he had used in recording electronic music.
‘Immer’, his Violin Concerto No. 1, was composed in 2007 for Clio Gould (today principal violin of the London Sinfonietta), with whom Craig Armstrong collaborated when she was artistic director to the Scottish Ensemble. She is regularly involved in the performance of contemporary solo repertoire.
In ‘Immer’ Armstrong creates a specific acoustic sonority with techniques found in contemporary music software, using slow loops that phase in and out with one another, creating a blurred tonality, with the solo violin singing above the orchestra - a technique which also has its roots in early music; repetition, canons, fugues etc.
‘One Minute’ is a work composed of 15 one-minute pieces for orchestra, each minute functioning as a self-contained piece. It was commissioned by the Horse Cross Trust for the opening of the new Concert Hall in Perth.
‘Memory Takes My Hand’ was a commission from the Glasgow City Council to write a new concert work for the reopening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in October 2006. Craig Armstrong collaborated with the playwright Peter Arnott for the words, in this work sung by the British soprano Lucy Crowe.
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