20th Century & American Classics: Alarmingly attractive New Music series
By means of two delectable new series, EMI is allowing music fans to grace their discographies with some of the defining works of the 20th century at an extremely attractive price. While „American Classics“ researches the ascension of the USA from its humble beginnings to arguably the leading nation in modern music, „20th Century Classics“ is dedicated to providing elaborate introductions to the age's seminal composers. The latter series especially must come as a veritable boon for all who thought contemporary composition offered far too few suitable points of entry: At a mere 12€/$12, each volume offers 2 CDs filled to the brim with original recordings from the 80s and 90s, many of which have by now become unavailable. Starting with ten of these Double-CDs and presenting creative figureheads such as Schönberg, Messiaen, Strawinsky, Prokofiev and Bela Bartok, the series is delineating a remarkably complete territory of fascinating music. EMI's claim of these „20th Century Classics“ representing an „unprecedented discography of modern times in music“ certainly does not sound exagerated.
It has to be stressed that the focus of „20th Century Classics“ is not exclusively on the usual upper eschelons of artists. Danish Carl Nielsen, for example, also makes an appearance, as does Dvořàk's son in law Josef suk – names which you may have heard of, but which may not immediately ring a bell of immediate recognition or come without concrete associations. Access to their work has hardly ever been as easy as on this occasion. And even though some of the composers' names may be unfamilar, the cast of conductors and performers certainly isn't: Rattle, Kubelik, Rostropovich, Previn, Karajan, Argerich, Zimmermann, Maazel and others make for a who's who of the classical and contemporary music scene.
The same, of course, goes for „American Classics“. These albums pay hommage to works which have drastically shaped our current musical landscape and managed the seemingly impossible: To establish a dialogue between the so-called worlds of „serious“ and „popular“ music. Entries into the logbook include John Adams, Charles Ives, Phil Glass, Steve Reich, Samuel Barbe as well as Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin. Also starting with ten volumes, it will be intersting to see this edition develop after it has opened with this league of bigwigs.
Homepage: EMI Classical Recordings
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Classical, Contemporary Composition, EMI Classics, International, John Adams, News, Olivier Messiaen, Philip Glass, Prokofiev, Steve Reich, Stravinsky,Partner sites
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