The music director of Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Jader Bignamini, did not simply provide the first commercial recording of his career.
The piece in question is the performance of DSO of Wynton Marsalis' “Blues Symphony”, a notoriously challenging composition from 2009, both long (seven movements in a little more than an hour) and in its mixture of blues, classical and New Orleans -Jazz motifs. The DSO carried out it in June 2022 and then recorded it during three performances in the Orchestra Hall on the first weekend in December 2023.
“I remember very well this week,” says Bignamini, who came into the DSO in 2020. He looks at the recording “probably a milestone for the orchestra”. It was extremely exciting, but also hard because this piece is very strong, very difficult. But preparation for these recordings was at an extremely high level, and we are lucky enough to have incredible musicians who are … very flexible and are able to play all different music styles. “
And Marsalis, a musician born in New Orleans, which is now the artistic director of Jazz in the Lincoln Center in New York, is the first to sing the praise of this new version of its pioneering composition.
“Man, you did a fantastic job,” bubbles nine-time Grammy Prize winner and the first one who won jazz and classic trophies in the same year (1984). “You put a lot of effort into it, a lot of work. (Bignamini) is such a talented musician and so committed. He brought a lot of intelligence and seriousness with it and it is very easy to work. They just did it as they wanted to do and I liked what they were doing. “
The publication of “Blues Symphony”, on March 14 on the Pentatone label based in the Netherlands, is also important because it begins what Bignamini calls “a new way of recording” for the DSO.
The orchestra has an almost 100-year heritage of recording. It started with 78 RPM publications in 1928 with the second music director Ossip Gabrilowitsch, while a reproduction of Igor Stravinsky “The Rite of Spring” was the first CD in 1982 to receive a Grand Prix du Disque Award in France. The orchestra has recorded over the years for a number of large labels, including its own live -live -Live -Live -Leben from Orchestra Hall Print. In recent years, Paul Paray and Antal Dorati have also been recorded.
A recording of “Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3 and Three Latin Sketches” with Slatkin Directoration was nominated for a Grammy Prize, while the latest publication in August 2023 by John Williams' “Trompet Concert”, also with Slatkin and with DSO -Haupt -Trumpeter Eberly.
“(Recording) is now like her business card for an orchestra,” explains the President and CEO of DSO, Erik Ronmark, a saxophonist himself who acted as a co-executive producer of “Blues Symphony”. “Even in the streaming world, a recording of artistic quality shows. And this contributes to our history of the recordings with wonderful music directors, from Paul on the label Mercury Living Presence via Antal Dorati on Decca and Neeme (Jarvi) and Leonard (Slatkin) and now Jader. “
Bignamini says that “Blues Symphony” was hardly a random selection for recording.
“There were a few reasons,” he notes. “First of all, it's a great piece. (Marsalis) composed the 'Blues Symphony' very well. And when the orchestra played for the first time, it was so good that I immediately thought about taking it because I understood that it was perfect for this orchestra.
“The language of Marsalis music is very close to the soul of this orchestra. It is also very close to the legacy and the culture of this city. “The cover“ Blues Symphony ”is even an indication of the Paradise Theater, a jazz event location that was operated from 1941 to 1951 at the Orchestra Hall location.
Marsalis says that his intention with “Blues Symphony” was to “give the form and the feeling of the blues a symphonic identity, whereby this language is used in the context of an orchestra”. He worked on it “for many years, just as a hobby to learn how to orchestrate without the (standard) rhythm section. So that was a big challenge for me. “He adds with a laugh:” When I played it for the first time, it sounded terrible “before a colleague at Princeton University Marsalis advised to simplify his approach.
“When musicians play it, they always tell you:” That should be better, these parts, “says Marsalis. “I would write down these thoughts from musicians.” What can I do to make parts better? “I have corrected it over time. Nothing in the form or in the melodies has ever changed when the fruit and the expansion of the entire orchestras have changed. It is a lively piece.”
The DSO concert master Robin Bollinger, who serves as a connection between Bignamini and the strings of the orchestra, remembers that “my colleagues had warned me months in advance that 'Blues Symphony' was coming. It's really difficult. So I started studying and going through the score and started going in wooden shoes … because this piece is so virtuoso for the orchestra and it is so tight. They are just pages and sides of black dots. It is very busy. So I really only mastered the material from June (from 2023) to the recording week. “
The recording producer Blanton Alspaugh and the engineer Mark Donahue from Soundmirror from Boston-Beide Grammy winner, the latter already worked with the DSO during the Slatkin-At season. “They swing for the fences that have expired here,” says Alspaugh about the choice “Blues Symphony”. “You start with a brilliant piece, difficult to play devilishly, very detailed.” And also to accept Donahue.
“It is very, very difficult because (Marsalis) used a full orchestra,” says the engineer, who used 55 microphones on stage and for the venue to capture the nuances of the performance. “There is a massive stroke, and each of them is used for a very specific thing, and it is very detailed about what (Marsalis) wants to happen. They have five percussionists walking around and try to cover all of these parts. At any time, the microphone may not be in the right place to get it a certain instrument. So you fight for many things. “
The recording team checked the performance every night and sent it to Marsalis, who would return notes for the next concert. “I had a whole list of things I said during the recording – now it was so long ago that I don't remember specificity,” says Marsalis. “It was usually just general attention to detailing and listening to the development of movements.
“In the seventh movement ('Dialogue in Democracy') I liked the way (Bignamini), which dealt with the structure of how he built a layer over another level, the balance of the instruments. He had a really good understanding of how things should be balanced. So we worked on making things clearer because there are a lot of things. “
Bignamini remembers: “It was very interesting for me and very useful to work side by side with Wynton and (about) his concerns about this special point every day, this bar,” careful “or” I would like to sound there, please go there “. He spent a lot of time and I guess it because he is as serious as I am.
After the concerts, a “patch meeting” was also held to nail loose ends, but Alspaugh, the producer, adds that it was most important to present the performance of the orchestra.
“The vast majority of what you hear on the recording is not made with microphones and finger. It was done with the players and the conductor, ”he explains. “We would talk to them and say:” We need more of it “or” We need less of it “and” we can do this with this figure “, so it is this collaboration with the artist that has received the most of what they hear in relation to balance and perspective and such things.”
The DSO intends to start “Blues Symphony” to start another productive recording period for the orchestra. A performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 has already been recorded, although not yet planned for the publication, and Ronmark says that other meetings are planned for this year. Meanwhile, Bignamini has a ongoing list of recordings that he would like to see during his tenure.
“I think that is very important that an orchestra stays at a high level,” he explains. “To have this kind of challenges, because during the recording you have to pay attention to everything, it is also very useful for the orchestra to have this type of approach even during our regular concerts. This is very important to stay at the level and to show the whole world that this orchestra is one of the best. “
Further information and “Blues Symphony” theory can be found at dso.org or pentatemusic.com.
