Susan Graham: What's New


	NEW RECORDING FOR GRAMMY AWARD-WINNER SUSAN GRAHAM, TO BE RELEASED BY WARNER CLASSICS ON MARCH 29 ON HER POÈMES DE L'AMOUR CD, GRAHAM DELVES INTO LUSCIOUS SONGS WITH ORCHESTRA BY RAVEL, DEBUSSY AND CHAUSSON YAN PASCAL TORTELIER LEADS THE BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ON GRAHAM'S NEWEST DISC "The superb American mezzo at the peak of her powers" - The Times (London) On the heels of her Grammy win for Best Classical Vocal Performance, Susan Graham is poised for the release of her newest recording, *Poèmes de l'amour. Warner Classics will release the CD on Tuesday, March 29, satisfying Susan Graham's eager and expectant fans with a program of exquisite large-scale French orchestral songs. For Poèmes de l'amour, Ms. Graham - hailed as "America's leading mezzo-soprano" by Gramophone* magazine - sings Chausson's dreamy Poème de l'amour et de la mer, Ravel's exquisite and sensual Shéhérazade, and John Adams's 1993 orchestration of four of Debussy's Baudelaire songs. In December 2004 the London public had the good fortune to hear Susan Graham sing this program live with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier. The Times of London did not hold back its enthusiasm for the performance, giving the concert a four-star review: "The temperature rose with the mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, a superb interpreter of French music who gave one of the most intense accounts imaginable of Ravel's Shéhérazade. Few singers sound quite so involved here. Graham spun seamless phrases with Arabian Nights-like enchantment. Her warm tone was matched by an atmospheric accompaniment from the orchestra to voluptuous effect. In Le livre de Baudelaire, John Adams' arrangements of four Debussy songs, Graham phrased with caressing lightness." Poèmes de l'amour - The Music The grand-scale songs with orchestra on "Poèmes de l'amour" are by three of France's finest 19th-century composers: Ernest Chausson (1855-1899), Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). The four Debussy songs are heard here in arrangements by John Adams (born 1947), as their original "environment" was the solo piano. The nine vocal tracks on the disc are some of the most romantic works in the mezzo-soprano repertoire, ranking with any by Schumann, Brahms, Mahler or even Berlioz, Franck, Fauré, or Massenet. Indeed, for all the variety of German song, the French hold their own with their Teutonic rivals in the area of "mélodies," possibly even as a result of the atmosphere surrounding the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. In general, France gallantly met the challenge presented by the hegemony of German music (especially Wagner, of course) dating from the mid-18th century, while Italy seemed satisfied to "win" on the grounds of opera alone. Chausson's three-part Poème de l'amour et de la mer, lending its name to the record title (and not to be confused with his concert work for violin entitled "Poème"), comprises two poems by the contemporary French poet and dramatist Maurice Bouchor, separated by a lush interlude. "Perfumed" is the word usually applied to such grand works of music with text (the opening line, "The air is pregnant with the aroma of lilac" hits the nail on the head). The crux of these works transcends the poetry itself: it is the rich sound of the female alto voice in combination with the orchestra's colors. A case in point is Ravel's Shéhérazade of 1903, composed to the trendy Tristan Klingsor's poems "Asie," "La Flûte enchantée," and "I'Indifférent." Tristan Klingsor was in fact the psydonym of Arthur Justin Léon Leclère (1874-1966), a friend of Ravel. Debussy turned to the hugely gifted Charles Baudelaire for his Livre de Baudelaire, and four of its five songs are heard here in orchestrations made in 1993 by prolific American composer John Adams. Ravel's Shéhérazade dates from the "new" century, 1903 - the same time as his lone String Quartet and long before the hugely successful works for "pure" orchestra that were to make him internationally famous. For Susan Graham, a First Grammy Award Last month, Susan Graham was honored with her first Grammy. She received the award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her Warner Classics recording of Ives songs, with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, released in June 2004. The recording quickly became a critical favorite, garnering a Gramophone magazine "Editor's Choice" and "Best of 2004" picks from the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. The latter summed up the recording: "My newest favorite Ives recording ... Smartly chosen, elegantly sung", while Billboard's Classical Score columnist wrote "Graham's clarion tone perfectly suits the contours of Ives's material, and her lyrical sensitivity draws out the songs' character." The Gramophone wrote of the recording: "A splendid addition to the Ives discography and a fine tribute 50 years after his death from two superlative musicians." Press comments about Susan Graham singing Ravel, Chausson and Debussy: "If everybody yearned like Graham, our concert halls would be much happier places. She colored her instrument, enforced a wide dynamic palette and delivered the final passages [of Chausson's Poème de l'amour et de la mer] with a stylized resignation that was exquisite." - San Francisco Chronicle "Graham is already at the top of her world, a star from London to San Francisco. She's blessed with one of the loveliest, most lustrous lyric mezzos anywhere, supported by a keen musical intelligence and an unforced delivery. [in the Chausson] she provided the ravishing highlight of the evening. She turns a phrase so elegantly, so effortlessly, that she communicates directly to the listener." - Atlanta Journal and Constitution "Susan Graham sang Ravel's "Sheherazade" with ravishing intensity" - The New York Times "Susan Graham's delicious Monday night recital left no doubt that she ranks among the most capable, versatile and altogether winning mezzo-sopranos now before the public. Her voice has power, gravity and luster; her interpretations combine an openhearted, distinctly American directness of expression with a full command of Old World subtleties. Debussy's "Proses Lyriques," were all but perfect -- how luscious and ripe French phonemes sound as they float from Graham's lips! She paid Debussy one of the highest compliments a performer can pay this composer -- she trusted his work enough to let it speak directly, nobly, rather than attempting to smother it in cosmetic smear and nuance. (Malcolm Martineau was her unfailingly sensitive pianist.)" - Washington Post Warner Classics recording in stores Tuesday, March 29 (track list below) Susan Graham - Poèmes de l'amour (Poems of Love) Chausson • Ravel • Debussy BBC Symphony Orchestra / Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor Warner Classics 2564 61938-2 Susan Graham's concert and opera appearances at home and abroad Mar. 11, 15, 18, 26, 30; Apr. 2: DER ROSENKAVALIER (Octavian): Metropolitan Opera (Runnicles) Apr. 13: SOLO RECITAL: Cal Performances, Berkeley, CA (Malcolm Martineau) Apr 17: SOLO RECITAL: LA Opera, Los Angeles, CA (Malcolm Martineau) - LOS ANGELES RECITAL DEBUT May 19, 22, 26, 29; Jun 1, 4, 6, 9, 12: CLEMENZA DI TITO (Sesto): Opera National de Paris (Palais Garnier) Jul. 16, 20, 29; August 4, 10 (6 performance): LUCIO SILLA (Cecilio): Santa Fe Opera TRACK LIST FOR SUSAN GRAHAM'S POÈMES DE L'AMOUR ERNEST CHAUSSON (1855-1899): Poème de l'amour et de la mer 01 I La Fleur des eaux 02 Interlude 03 II La Mort de l'amour MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937): Shéhérazade 04 I Asie 05 II La Flûte enchantée 06 III L'Indifférent Claude Debussy (1862-1918), orch. JOHN ADAMS (b.1947) Le Livre de Baudelaire 07 I Le Balcon 08 II Harmonie du soir 09 III Le Jet d'eau 10 IV Recueillement BBC Symphony Orchestra Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor Warner Classics 2564 61938-2 top of page