Elliot Goldenthal's musical memorial to the Vietnam War “is exactly the kind of music classical record labels need to be identified with today,” said Peter Gelb, president of Sony Classical.
Sony is lending its prestige, marketing prowess and distribution muscle to the Pacific Symphony's project, including one of the Hamburg-based label's top artists.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will play a cello solo on the recording, which will be added in post-production. Sony will record ‘Fire Water Paper’ in April 29-30 sessions at Segerstrom Hall. The producer is Steve Epstein and release is scheduled for October.
“We want to have a very long association with Elliot,” Gelb said. “He writes music that is imbued with artistic integrity, yet at the same time is very accessible.”
Gelb, 40, took over as president of Sony Classical just a few months after former president Gunther Breest resigned in December. Some reports, which Sony has denied, said Breest left in a dispute over whether the label should pursue more crossover projects, aimed at broader markets than the traditional classical audience.
“For many years, new music in this country has been written by an insiders club of composers more for each other than an audience, unfortunately,” Gelb said.
“The time has come to change,” Gelb said. “It should become more the business of record companies, and at Sony we are making it our business, to seek out composers like Elliot and help them reach their potential.”