LSO adds NSO to its label

LSO adds NSO to its label

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norman lebrecht

November 12, 2019

The National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC has joined LSO Live for record distribution.

First release will be Copland’s suite from Billy the Kid coupled Dvořák’s New World Symphony, recorded live in June 2019.

LSO Live also distributes the recordings of Mariinsky Theatre, King’s College Cambridge and Colin Currie Records.

The NSO’s music diretor Gianandrea Noseda is principal guest of the LSO with several recordings on its label.

 

Comments

  • MacroV says:

    Billy the Kid can probably use another recording, though why not the complete ballet? I don’t think the world needs another New World recording. But the NSO is sounding good under Noseda. Now I just hope they’ll get an audience that can appreciate them; DC is a tough crowd and the Kennedy Center not the warmest of venues.

    • Calvin says:

      I wouldn’t necessarily have the highest hopes for the NSO’s take on this, but if, as it appears, the Slatkin/St.Louis version of Billy is out of a print (as perhaps the best alternative to the Bernstein/NY standard), I am more than willing to give it a shot. I have even less optimism for the Dvořák.

  • Barry Guerrero says:

    I’m sorry to be negative, but those two works hardly constitute a ‘calling card’ for the NSO. They’re not a youth orchestra. They’ve already recording all 15 Shostakovich symphonies with Rostroprovich for Teldec (now just WEA). In nearby Norfolk, Virginia, JoAnn Falletta performed and recorded a really good Mahler 8 (Virginia Symphony) in 2012. Amazon 55 pages worth of “New World” listings.

    • Jason S says:

      I see no valid reason for any record company to record a new New World Symphony or Billy the Kid suite. These record companies record standard works over and over again, then scratch their heads and wonder why the newest versions don’t sell.
      There are many neglected works and composers that are vastly under-recorded.

      • Mick the Knife says:

        Players change, conductors change, new versions are needed. Check the evolution of the Cleveland Orchestra from Szell-Dohnányi-Welser-Möst.

      • The View from America says:

        That’s for sure. Especially since these are releases under the orchestra’s own label, the usual “commercial sales factors” don’t apply, and so being a little more adventuresome in the repertoire department would certainly be welcomed by more seasoned classical music listeners.

        For starters, how about one of Dvorak’s early symphonies? At least those aren’t “done to death” and several of them are nearly as masterful as the 9th in addition to being very rewarding listening.

    • Old Man in the Midwest says:

      I think it’s conductor ego.
      Why are there so many Beethoven cycles?

      Every conductor that has an important orchestra thinks the world needs another Beethoven, Brahms, or Schumann recording cycle.

      No wonder the only label that makes money is Naxos which continually finds new works worthy of recording and is able to keep their costs low and retain the rights of the performance for future revenue streams like film.

    • Paul Pellay says:

      The NSO did record several DSCH symphonies with Slava, but not all 15: his cycle was split between the NSO and the LSO (they recorded 2, 3, 10, 12 & 15; the NSO did the rest).

  • David A, Boxwell says:

    We love the Maestro here in Washington DC, even if we have difficulty pronouncing his name.

  • Peter says:

    Of course, it would great & wonderful if other music was chosen. There’s a huge amount of excellent American music from late Romantic to Impressionistic, all kinds of neo, repetitive-minimalistic… etc. And plenty of craggy symphonies and symphonic poems by a host of brillant mavericks.
    But would it sell?

  • Gustavo says:

    Hard to top Noseda with BBC Phil on Chandos.

  • Mathias Broucek says:

    The American SO (Botstein) has the right idea. Lots of recordings of less well known repertoire – Bantock, Miaskovsky, Langgaard etc.

  • Mock Mahler says:

    Noseda has shown some adventurous programming in Washington; let’s hope this is reflected in later releases. (Just last week he led a concert featuring J Strauss, Piazzolla, Florence Price, Stravinsky, and Duke Ellington.

  • bobby says:

    Dvorak 9? Are you serious? Of all of Dvorak’s symphonies why 9? Why not 3, 4, 5, or 6? All great works. Is Beethoven 5 next?

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