Newly Merged Classical Division Also Ends Its First Year With Four Grammy
Nominations, Plus Three Newly Released Film Soundtracks Contending for
Golden Globes
NEW YORK, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- In the first year since Sony Classical
and BMG Classics merged to form Sony BMG Masterworks, the label has taken the
No. 1 spot in every Classical category in Billboard's 2005 year-end issue,
including Top Classical Label. Under the direction of Gilbert Hetherwick, who
was named President of the division in January 2005, Masterworks has released
five of the year's seven Top Classical Albums, and four of its artists are
among the eight Top Classical Artists.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051222/NYTH026 )
These honors were announced shortly after Masterworks received four
nominations for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. Two nominations went to five-
time Oscar(R)-winning composer/conductor John Williams for the original
soundtrack recording of "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" -- in the
category of Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or
Other Visual Media, and in the category of Best Instrumental Composition, for
the "Anakin's Betrayal" track. One nomination each went to pianist Evgeny
Kissin for his recording of Russian piano music, and to Sony Classical
producer Steven Epstein, as Producer of the Year Classical for three
recordings, two of which were Masterworks releases. The 48th Annual Grammy
Awards will be presented in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS on Wednesday
February 8, 2006.
Billboard named Masterworks the year's Top Classical Label, with 11 titles
charting during 2005. Sony Classical was named Top Combined Classical
Imprint, with 20 titles that charted in 2005.
Sony Classical's "Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone" -- with cellist Ma
playing the film music of Morricone, conducted by the composer -- was the
year's No. 1 Top Classical Album, followed at No. 2 by Red Seal's "The 5
Browns," introducing the five-piano ensemble of brothers and sisters. The top
15 titles in that category also included Sony Classical's "Silk Road Journeys:
Beyond the Horizon" with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble (No. 4); Sony
Classical's "Romance of the Violin" with violinist Joshua Bell (2004's No. 1
Top Classical Album, continuing this year at No. 5); and Sony Classical's
"Vivaldi's Cello" with Ma, conductor Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque
Orchestra (No. 7).
Not surprisingly, Yo-Yo Ma was named the year's No. 1 Top Classical
Artist, with four releases. The 5 Browns followed at No. 3, with Joshua Bell
at No. 5, and The Silk Road Ensemble at No. 8.
In the Classical Crossover categories, Masterworks came in No. 4 among the
Top Classical Crossover Labels, with 10 charting titles. Additionally, Sony
Classical was the No. 3 Top Classical Crossover Imprint. Among Top Classical
Crossover Artists, the London Symphony Orchestra came in at No. 4 for a pair
of charting Sony Classical releases, and composer/conductor John Williams came
in at No. 7 for two Sony Classical releases. In the category of Top Classical
Crossover Albums, Sony Classical's "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the
Sith" came in at No. 4, and singer Mario Frangoulis's "Follow Your Heart," for
Sony Classical, was No. 10.
Continuing its unparalleled success with score soundtrack recordings,
Masterworks released three soundtracks in December that immediately began to
figure in the year-end awards races. The buzz is building for all three --
"Memoirs of a Geisha," "The Producers: The Movie Musical" and "Syriana" -- in
a busy season that culminates in the January 31 announcement of the
nominations for the 78th Annual Academy Awards, to be presented on March 5,
2006 and broadcast live on ABC.
The original scores for "Memoirs of a Geisha" (by John Williams) and
"Syriana" (by Alexandre Desplat) were nominated for Golden Globes in the
category of Best Original Score, and the song "There's Nothing Like a Show on
Broadway" from "The Producers: The Movie Musical," with music and lyrics by
Mel Brooks, is a Golden Globe nominee for Best Original Song. The 63rd Annual
Golden Globe Awards will be presented in Los Angeles and broadcast on NBC on
January 16, 2006. All three soundtrack recordings from Masterworks are
currently in stores.
In addition, "The Producers: The Movie Musical" was nominated for Best
Soundtrack and, for his score for "Memoirs of a Geisha," John Williams was
nominated for Best Composer in the 11th Annual Critic's Choice Awards of the
Broadcast Film Critics Association, the world's largest and most prominent
film critics group, to be presented Monday, January 9, 2006, and broadcast on
the WB Network. The International Press Academy, an association of
international journalists who cover Hollywood, named Harry Gregson-Williams'
score for Kingdom of Heaven the year's best in the group's Golden Satellite
Awards, presented on December 17, 2005. Sony Classical released the original
soundtrack recording of "Kingdom of Heaven" in the Spring of 2005.
Hitting the top 10 on Billboard's Classical Crossover chart each week
since its release, the soundtrack of "Memoirs of a Geisha" features a
sumptuous John Williams score that was written with its stellar soloists in
mind -- cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman. Ma and Williams are
slated to perform a selection from the score in a rare joint TV appearance on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday, February 6, 2006.
RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, and Arte Nova are
labels of SONY BMG MASTERWORKS. For e-mail updates and information regarding
RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi and Arte Nova artists,
promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit
http://www.sonybmgmasterworks.com.
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