''Tragic Lovers'' is a classical music album by the

Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. I ...

under the

artistic direction An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since th ...

James DePreist James Anderson DePreist (November 21, 1936 – February 8, 2013) was an American conductor. DePreist was one of the first African-American conductors on the world stage. He was the director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at T ...

, released by the record label

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island ar ...

in 2008. It contains three works inspired by

tragic Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

love stories in literature:

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's Prelude and "Liebestod" from ''

Tristan and Isolde Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

'' (1865),

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

's "Love Scene" from '' Roméo et Juliette'', Op. 17, and

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

''. Amelia Haygood and Carol Rosenberger served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

s of the album; the recording producers were Michael Fine and Adam Stern. The album's creation was financially supported by the Gretchen Brooks Recording Fund, which supported two recording sessions per year for each of DePreist's final five years as music director. ''Tragic Lovers'' was the orchestra's final recording with DePreist — who left the Oregon Symphony in April 2003 — as conductor and its final contribution to Delos's "Virtual Reality Recording" series. Compositions from the album have been broadcast on several stations, including

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

WDAV WDAV (89.9 MHz "Classical 89.9") is a non-commercial public radio station licensed to Davidson, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station, licensed to the Board of Trustees of Davidson College, airs classical music ...

, New England Public Radio (

WFCR WFCR (88.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ...

) and

Northwest Public Radio Northwest Public Broadcasting is the public radio and public television service of Washington State University. It is an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio Exchange and American Public Media. It operates 19 radio stations and 13 tr ...

. WFCR broadcast the Tchaikovsky recording in November 2011 in recognition of DePreist's 75th birthday, and the Berlioz track in February 2013, following DePreist's death. The Classical Music Sentinel published a positive review of the album, comparing it to a three-movement symphony.

Composition

''Tragic Lovers'', released by the record label

in 2008, contains three works inspired by

love stories in literature:

's Prelude and "Liebestod" from ''

'',

's "Love Scene" from '' Roméo et Juliette'', Op. 17, and

's ''

''. The album contains three tracks, each one comprising a single composition and running more than fifteen minutes in length. Amelia Haygood and Carol Rosenberger served as

s; the recording producers were Michael Fine for the Wagner and Berlioz works and Adam Stern for the Tchaikovsky composition. The album was

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

by John Eargle, with Andrés Villalta serving as associate engineer for the Wagner and Berlioz recordings.

Editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

was completed by Fine (Wagner, Berlioz) and Stern (Tchaikovsky). The album marked the orchestra's final recording with DePreist as conductor and its final contribution to Delos's "Virtual Reality Recording" series.

Broadcasts

All three compositions were featured on the

program "Compact Discoveries"; the Berlioz and Tchaikovsky recordings aired on an episode titled "Famous Lovers: Romeo & Juliet", and the Wagner recording was part of the following episode, titled "More Famous Lovers". In June 2009, Joe Brant featured the album on his

program "New Classics", which highlights newly released classical music recordings. New England Public Radio (

) aired two tracks from the album: the Tchaikovsky recording was broadcast in November 2011 in recognition of DePreist's 75th birthday, and the Berlioz track aired in November 2010 and again on February 11, 2013, following DePreist's death on February 8. The Berlioz recording also aired on the

program "Classical Music with Robin Rilette" on February 1, 2013.

Reception

Jean-Yves Duperron of the Classical Music Sentinel appreciated the continuity of the subject matter and compared the album to a three-movement symphony. Referring to the opener as the first movement of this hypothetical symphony, Duperron wrote that Wagner's composition "works perfectly" by setting the tone for the album. He appreciated the Berlioz composition as a "central movement" for its more "pleasant" mood and lighter musical textures, and Tchaikovsky's work as the finale for its dramatic and "tumultuous" qualities. Duperron complimented DePreist and the orchestra for conveying the emotions depicted in each of the compositions "loud and clear", and specifically highlighted the "massive walls of sound" produced by the strings. He also commended Delos for effectively capturing the performances "with clean and powerful dynamics throughout" and concluded the review by quipping: "This perfectly coordinated collection should be part of every collection!"

Track listing

#"Prelude and 'Liebestod' from ''Tristan and Isolde''" (

) – 17:14 #"'Love Scene' from ''Roméo et Juliette'', Op. 17" (

) – 15:59 #"''Romeo and Juliet'' Fantasy-Overture" (

) – 21:10 Track listing adapted from the album's liner notes.

Personnel

– conductor *John Eargle –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

*Mark Evans –

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscip ...

*Michael Fine –

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

(tracks 1–2), recording producer (tracks 1–2) *Tamra Saylor Fine –

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

(tracks 1–2) *Amelia S. Haygood –

*Wendy Leher –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

– primary artist *Harry Pack –

creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

*Carol Rosenberger – executive producer *Adam Stern – editor (track 3), recording producer (track 3) *Jim Svejda – liner notes *Andrés Villalta – associate engineer (tracks 1–2) Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

and the album's liner notes.

References

External links

*
Amelia Haygood, 1919–2007
by Jason Victor Serinus, ''

Stereophile ''Stereophile'' is a monthly American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, such as loudspeakers and amplifiers, and audio-related news. History Founded in 1962 by J. Gordon Holt. ''Stereophile'' is the highest-circulation ...

'' (2007) {{Romeo and Juliet 2008 classical albums 2008 in Portland, Oregon Albums recorded at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Oregon Symphony albums Tragedies (dramas)