Cover art c/o Deutsche Grammophon
Black & white photo of Kaija Saariaho
Text on photo:
Kaija Saariaho
Adriana Mater
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Fleur Barron Axelle Fano Nicholas Phan Christopher Purves
San Francisco Symphony San Francisco Symphony Chorus
DG logo
The world premiere recording of Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater was released a few weeks ago by Deutsche Grammophon. It's drawn from performances at the San Francisco Symphony in June, 2023, just days after Saariaho's death from glioblastoma. The performers are listed above in my description of the artwork accompanying the release; I think that alt text doesn't actually work on Blogger.
The performances were a deeply emotional event for the performers and director Peter Sellars. Salonen and Saariaho had been friends since their school days and Sellars directed the premieres of her first two operas, L'amour de loin and Adriana.
The recording is currently available only as a download, but physical media will become available next year.
UPDATE, February 8, 2025: This recording won a Grammy for Best Opera Recording. You can stream it on major platforms. I haven't seen anything yet about physical media; I'll buy the CDs if that format is available.
6 comments:
I was just informed two people will be doing trials for the principal horn position over the next two weeks. I won't be able to attend either of the programs, but I'll be interested to hear your take on them.
Oh I'm glad to hear this. I'll check with SFS about who they are and will try to report back.
Thank you!
Last week: Valerie Sly, principal horn of the Alabama Symphony. This week: Ryan Little, principal horn of the Atlanta Symphony. I wonder whether these auditions are working like the principal flute auditions, where they hired for both of the open chairs.
I hope it works that way. The horn section has several seats to fill.
Four of six positions!!
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