The latest game-changer in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s quest to blaze a singular path to artistic growth was the creation in late 2010 of ASO Media, a new record label that ensures the continuation of the Orchestra’s legacy of recorded excellence.
At a time when classical labels are struggling, if not folding, the Orchestra has been one of the country’s most prolific recording ensembles, thanks to its four-decade partnership with classical imprint Telarc International, which has produced a number of Grammy Awards. Once Telarc was sold, however, the Orchestra sought to establish its own recording identity.
“This is both an exciting and important initiative for us, which has been several years in the making” explains John Sparrow, vice president of Orchestra Initiatives and general manager, who also oversees label operations. “The Orchestra is known nationally and internationally for its high quality recordings and we are thrilled that we can continue to contribute the larger world of music in this way.”
ASO Media’s inaugural recording, released February 22, features Music Director Robert Spano conducting works by two members of his Atlanta School of Composers: On A Wire, a concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon, with the chamber ensemble eighth blackbird; and QED: Engaging Richard Feynman, a choral work by Michael Gandolfi, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
That ASO Media’s debut release showcases the Atlanta School is not unexpected. The school has produced “new orchestral music commissioned and performed with regularity; happy audiences, composers, and musicians,” said Susan Elliott of Musical America three years ago when the magazine named Mr. Spano Conductor of the Year.
“No other orchestra in this country has commissioned and performed as much new work in a similar time frame as have Robert Spano and his players,” reported Elliott.
Naxos of America came on board early on to distribute all ASO Media physical and digital producs, which are available at leading download sites such as iTunes.
“We are proud to partner with an orchestra that clearly values not only beloved classical orchestral repertoire, but also that of living American composers,” says Naxos Chief Executive Officer Jim Selby.
Orchestra President Stanley Romanstein is equally upbeat. “This is an exciting time in our history of performing great music and presenting great artists,” he says. “We are especially thrilled about our new venture with Naxos, [which] will ensure our recordings are available to music lovers around the globe.”
Long-time Orchestra recording partners, producer Elaine Martone and recording engineer Michael Bishop, contributed to the Higdon-Gandolfi disc. Both were part of the Telarc Records-Orchestra relationship, a collaboration that helped pave the way for ASO Media, acknowledges Music Director Robert Spano.
“We have a great recording history with Telarc,” Mr. Spano points out. “Our new relationship provides the opportunity to perpetuate this legacy and ensure our recording history remaining a vital and integral part of our future.”
Two additional ASO Media recordings with Mr. Spano are scheduled to be released in the 2010-11 season: an early summer release of Atlanta School member Christopher Theofanidis’s Symphony — an Orchestra commission – and Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs, with mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor; and an all-Rachmaninov disc in the fall with Symphonic Dances and the superb Garrick Ohlsson playing the Piano Concerto No. 3.
