The many admirers of Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony will have been delighted to hear the recent announcement of their 15th Grammy® award - and just as pleased to discover that the live concert recording which was voted Best Orchestral Performance is now available to buy. This is the 8th award for MTT and the Symphony on its own SFS Media label - the previous seven Grammys having been won for the recent recording cycle of works by Gustav Mahler.
This latest achievement is an all-San Francisco affair. The two works on the CD were both written by Bay Area composer, John Adams - his Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast Machine, which were released in March 2012 in conjunction with the Orchestra’s month-long American Mavericks festival and tour.
Harmonielehre was commissioned by the SF Symphony, and premiered and recorded in March 1985, during the time of Adams’ tenure as SFS composer in residence. Listen to Adams and MTT talking about the work at http://bit.ly/YTHarmonielehre.
Michael Tilson Thomas commissioned Short Ride in a Fast Machine from John Adams in 1986. Adams and Tilson Thomas talk about the origins of this piece in a video at http://bit.ly/YTShortRide, and a video excerpt of the Grammy-winning performance - recorded at the Orchestra’s Centennial Season Opening Gala in September 2011- can be viewed at http://bit.ly/13fiNce.
This recording is available on the SFS Media label (Catalogue No SFS0053) as a hybrid SACD, playable in conventional CD players as well as in SACD stereo and SACD surround formats. It’s also available as a studio master quality digital download. All SFS Media recordings can be purchased from the Symphony Store in Davies Symphony Hall, online at sfsymphony.org/store, and from other major retailers. They are also available as downloads from iTunes and other digital outlets.
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