Chris Alder has finished the post-production work on two Chopin recordings: a solo recital with Maurizio Pollini which is due for release in Fall 2008 and both concertos with Lang Lang, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta due out shortly, both for Deutsche Grammophon.

The DVD release of the Berlin Staatsoper production of Massenet's Manon with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón is in August. Directed by Vincent Paterson and conducted by Daniel Barenboim, Chris Alder was the audio producer for Unitel.

At the Lucerne Festival this year, Chris Alder will be the audio producer for the TV broadcasts and DVD production for EuroArts of the concerts with Hélène Grimaud, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado. The programme includes Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.

Deutsche Grammophon's big opera release for 2008 has just come out
Puccini's La Bohème with an all-star cast of Anna Netrebko, Nicole Cabell, Rolando Villazón, Boaz Daniel, Vitalij Kowaljow and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bertrand de Billy. Chris Alder was the executive and recording producer. Recorded last April in Munich, the soundtrack is also the basis for a film directed by Robert Dornhelm which will be in cinemas worldwide in Autumn.

Chris was recording another opera, Donizetti's I Capuletti e i Montecchi in Vienna in the last two weeks of April. Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca and Joseph Calleja, accompanied by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi.


Historic NY Phil concert in North Korea
Chris Alder was in Pyongyang as audio producer for EuroArts - part of an international team from both Koreas, Germany, and France –who were responsible for the broadcast and recorded the “unprecedented concert” (Reuters) given by the New York Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel on 26 February, which made headlines around the world. The first time in over 50 years that a US cultural organisation has been allowed into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the concert was telecast live in both North and South Korea, and was watched the same day by over 200 million viewers in the USA, Japan and Europe.


2008 started for Chris Alder in Beijing, China, where he was asked to be the audio producer by the national broadcaster CCTV for the New Year Concert which marks the opening season of the National Centre for the Performing Arts. The spectacular building on Tiananmen Square designed by Paul Andreu houses an opera house, a theatre and a concert hall. The concert included the violinist Vadim Rapin, the soprano Kathleen Battle, Jiang Jianhua on erhu, and China’s most famous classical artist, Lang Lang. The programme ranged from Offenbach, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, and Puccini to a new piece for organ and orchestra by Ye Xiao Gang and ended with Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Seiji Ozawa conducting the China National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

In January, Chris is recording in Vienna with the Vienna Philharmonic (Puccini Arias with Violeta Urmana, Plácido Domingo) and Leoncavallo’s opera “Fedora” in Brussels with Plácido Domingo and Angela Gheorghiú, Alberto Veronesi conducting.


2007 Grammy Award Nominations 6th December.
Anna Netrebko's "The Russian Album" was nominated in the category of 'Best Vocal Album'. Chris Alder was both Executive and Recording Producer for this disc, which was recorded in the Mariinsky Theatre, St.Petersburg with Valery Gergiev conducting. The winner wil be announced in February 2008.


Three recordings which Chris Alder produced are awarded the ECHO prize, Germany’s most prestigious accoloade in classical music: Best Concerto recording for Pollini’s recording of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 17 and 21 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; as Best DVD the DEAG Waldbühne Concert with Netrebko, Domingo and Villazón; and Best Seller the Russian Album with Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev conducting the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.


Often a quiet time of year for recordings because of the Festivals, this year Chris was busy on several projects, including a world première recording of Leoncavallo’s opera I Medici with a cast including Plácido Domingo and Carlos Alvarez, in Florence, Alberto Veronesi conducting (release 2008); in Prague the debut album for DECCA of the outstanding young German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, accompanied by the Prague Philharmonic and Marco Armiliato conducting : TV and DVD production of an Opera Gala from Baden-Baden, with Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Ramon Vargas, Ludovic Tezier, the Südwest Rundfunk Orchester and Marco Armiliato conducting; TV broadcast from Bonn with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.


A busy month, with recordings of Mozart Piano Concertos in Vienna with the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra and Maurizio Pollini playing and directing; Bach Cantatas in Berlin with Dorothea Röschmann and Thomas Quasthoff, accompanied by the Berliner Barocksolisten directed by Rainer Kussmaul: Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.2 and the Ravel G major Piano Concerto with Yundi Li partnered by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Seiji Ozawa. Chris was the audio producer for a live broadcast for TV and production for DVD of Massenet’s Manon from the Berlin State Opera, starring Anna Netrebko and Rolkando Villazón, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.


The CD of Duets with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón is released internationally. In Germany it enters the pop charts at number 3 and goes straight to the top of the classical charts in several European countries.

Recording of Puccini’s La Bohème in Munich with an all-star cast including Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Nicole Cabell, and Bertrand de Billy conducting the Bavarian State Radio Symphony Orchestra (due for release in early 2008)


At France’s annual “Victoires de la Musique Classique” awards ceremony week, televised in prime time at the end of February, Maurizio Pollini’s recording of Chopin Nocturnes won the prize for “Classical Recording of the Year”

Maurizio Pollini
Chopin
Nocturnes
2 CD 477 5718

• Los Angeles: Grammy Award for Chopin’s complete Nocturnes (Maurizio Pollini) – for which Alder was both Executive and Recording Producer – in the category “Best Instrumental Soloist Performance”
• Grammy Award for Intimate Voices (Emerson String Quartet) as “Best Chamber Music Performance” (Chris Alder was Executive Producer, Recording Producer: Da-Hong Seetoo)

Four of Chris Alder’s recordings are nominated for the 49th Annual Grammy awards:

• Chopin’s complete Nocturnes (Maurizio Pollini) – for which Alder was both Executive and Recording Producer – in the category “Best Instrumental Soloist Performance”
• plus three discs for which Alder served as Executive Producer: Intimate Voices (Emerson String Quartet) as “Best Chamber Music Performance”; Consider, My Soul (Betrachte, meine Seel) (Thomas Quasthoff) as “Best Classical Vocal Performance”; and Mozart’s C minor Mass (Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort & Players) as “Best Choral Performance”.

• DVD release of this year’s concert from the Berlin Waldbühne, with Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón and Plácido Domingo. It achieves Gold status in Germany within three weeks of release.
• Maurizio Pollini’s recording of the complete Chopin Nocturnes is nominated by French critics as “Record of the Year” (La Victoire de la Musique)

• Anna Netrebko’s Russian Album with the Mariinsky Opera Orchestra under Valery Gergiev is released and enters the German pop charts at number 8 – the highest entry of a classical album since the legendary “3 Tenors” CD in 1990. It achieves Gold status in Germany and Austria in four weeks and easily achieves six-figure sales internationally. Gramophone magazine writes that “the recording, especially the balance between voice and orchestra, is fine throughout. This is the best disc Netrebko has made so far.”
• Gramophone names Mozart’s Zauberflöte conducted by Abbado as “Best Opera Recording” in their annual awards in London.

Release of Mozart Piano Concertos K453 and K467 with Maurizio Pollini playing and directing the Vienna Philharmonic:

“Listening to this new CD…you hear a man in love…. He plays Mozart with real feeling, leading us into the music’s depth, its inner melodies, never content with the surface…the music always moves forward, developing, growing, with the subtlest range of colours …These are performances of conversational intimacy”– The Times (London).


Recording sessions take place in Dresden for the Duet Album of Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, with the Staatskapelle conducted by Nicola Luisotti. Composers include Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, Massenet, Gounod, Tchaikovsky and Moreno Torroba. Release will be spring 2007.


The Mozart Album is released, a specially recorded collection of the composer’s most famous arias with Anna Netrebko*, Erika Miklósa*, Elina Garanca, Christoph Strehl*, Thomas Quasthoff, Bryn Terfel, René Pape*, Mahler Chamber Orchestra*, Orchestra Mozart*, Claudio Abbado*, Scottish Chamber Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras, Staatskapelle Dresden, Sebastian Weigle. Elina Garanca
* Christopher Alder, producer


International release of Die Zauberflöte with a brilliant young cast and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra recorded in conjunction with performances at the Teatro Comunale of Modena.

“It is Abbado's conducting that compels attention, making this as good as any new version of Zauberflöte released on disc since Otto Klemperer's set more than 40 years ago.” – The Guardian (London)

“It's hard to remain level-headed with the sound of Claudio Abbado's new version of Die Zauberflöte – recorded in Modena last year during his tour of the work – ringing in the ears…Every bar matters, and every detail is considered afresh…It doesn't matter how many Zauberflöte recordings you own, you will need this one too.” – Opera (London)

“Clear-textured, articulate and wondrously natural…You will seldom hear such unmannered and graceful Mozart playing.” – The New York Times

“Claudio Abbado leads this “live” performance of The Magic Flute with a nimble, light hand, stressing the playful elements of the score and turning the experience into a sheer delight…Excellent sonics.” – Classics Today.com