PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 600 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA. 15222-3259 Phone: (412) 392-4890 FAX (412) 392-4909

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PITTSBURGH. Mariss Jansons and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will soon share a CD, a first for this artistic partnership. Gideon Toeplitz, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, announced today the collaboration of the Orchestra, Mariss Jansons and EMI Classics on a new recording project. 

This CD project will be produced by the Pittsburgh Symphony beginning in February 2001, when the Orchestra will record Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 during three live performances (February 9 –11) at Heinz Hall. EMI Classics will edit, package and market the CD worldwide. Jansons, who has extensively recorded the works of Shostakovich, has not recorded this symphony, which Shostakovich referred to as his requiem, and a condemnation of the suffering of the Russian people under Stalin. The Shostakovich CD will be released in the fall, in conjunction with the PSO’s Opening Weekend (September 14-16) of the 2001-02 season and the 30^th anniversary of Heinz Hall. Subsequent recordings will be announced in the near future. 

Unlike other commercial recordings, this CD will have a unique element. All of the rehearsals and dialogue between Mariss Jansons and the Orchestra will be recorded and then edited, imparting Mariss Jansons’ interpretation of the score and his relationship with Shostakovich.  

The Pittsburgh Symphony and the musicians agreed that it was essential for the Orchestra, who has an illustrious recording history, to continue on that path. To do so, traditional media models of payment had to be set aside. Using Limited Pressing Formula, which enables a maximum of 10,000 CDs to be produced for the recording, the musicians are paid at a lower rate, making it economically feasible to enter into this venture. Special arrangements have been made for the Pittsburgh Symphony to receive the first 500 CDs for resale in Curtain Call to the Orchestra’s many loyal followers. 

Four years ago, a project like this would not have been pursued, said Gideon Toeplitz. Today, the Pittsburgh Symphony culture -- the spirit of cooperation that exists between management, orchestra, board and volunteers -- actually nurtures and thrives on such initiatives. This recording deal also signals the strong relationship that exists between Mariss Jansons and the Orchestra. The Pittsburgh Symphony under Mariss Jansons is performing at is highest level. It is only natural that we want to share this with the world. Recordings, touring and radio broadcasts help us to bring Pittsburgh to the world. The strength of EMI Classics combined with Mariss Jansons’ long recording history with the company make this project very attractive.

We are delighted to enter into a collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons. Mariss Jansons has a long and happy relationship with our label. EMI Classics is very pleased to continue our ongoing Shostakovich Symphony cycle with the recording of Symphony No. 8, commented Richard Lyttelton, President of EMI Classics. 

Jansons’ relationship with EMI dates back to 1987 when he recorded Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Francesca da Rimini and Romeo & Juliet with the Oslo Philharmonic. That same year, Jansons recorded the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, which would be the first of nine Shostakovich symphonies Jansons would record. Jansons has a total of 40 recordings with EMI/Virgin Classics. The Pittsburgh Symphony also has a history with EMI, having recorded on the Angel label during the André Previn years. 

The Pittsburgh Symphony will fund the production of the tape, which will include assembling an EMI recording team to engineer the CD, using for the first time Pittsburgh Symphony recording equipment, augmented by special microphones provided by EMI. The PSO’s state-of-the-art, fully digital multi-track recording studio was made possible by a special grant from the Emma Clyde Hodge Memorial Fund. Remarking on this newly purchased commercial grade equipment, Toeplitz said, This equipment, which is so cutting edge that some of the instruction manuals haven’t yet been printed, was critical in our ability to enter into this recording contract. Having the capability to record high-end product opens up a world of possibilities. We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Van Dauler, trustee of the foundation, for their support of the Pittsburgh Symphony and for playing a vital role in seeing us regain a presence in the recording industry.

This new recording will complement the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s already extensive recording library, which dates back to May 1941 when Music Director Fritz Reiner and the PSO recorded on the Columbia label, Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre: The Ride of the Valkyries at Carnegie Music Hall. The Orchestra, with Lorin Maazel conducting and Yo-Yo Ma as cello soloist, won a 1992 Grammy award for a Sony disc featuring works by Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. 

Given a classical music market flooded with product, no recordings have been produced by the PSO since December 1996, when the Orchestra recorded Cinema Serenade with five-time Oscar-winner John Williams conducting and violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. This CD, a collection of contemporary film themes, climbed to number one in the Top Classical Crossover category of the Billboard charts. 

The Pittsburgh Symphony enjoys a long and illustrious reputation for its recording and radio broadcasts. The PSO is heard in more than 200 markets in the United States over Public Radio International (PRI), making it the most carried orchestra on the network’s airwaves. Twenty-six programs, which includ subscription season concerts at Heinz Hall as well as selective broadcasts from PSO tours, are produced in cooperation with WQED-FM. These annual broadcasts are made possible by the H.J. Heinz Company Foundation and Musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony.  

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