N.C. Symphony scores international recording contract

RALEIGH -- The N.C. Symphony announced Tuesday that it has achieved its longstanding goal to record on a commercial label: Three-time Grammy-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis will be featured on the first of two CDs that will be distributed internationally.

The disc, which is expected to be released in about a year, will feature contemporary American composers, including world-premiere recordings of three works. Among them will be "Escapades" by John Williams, who recrafted the piece for Marsalis from music he wrote for the Steven Spielberg film "Catch Me If You Can."

Along with radio broadcasts and, eventually, touring outside of North Carolina, the recording contract with Sweden's BIS Records is part of the orchestra's plans to build its reputation.

"Not to have a discography really does limit your marketability," symphony music director Grant Llewellyn said Tuesday. "It will be wonderful to have quality CDs as a calling card."

Marsalis, who has lived in Durham since 2002, joined the symphony's board of trustees in June. He performed "Escapades" in his first appearance with the orchestra in February 2006. At the time, he told The News & Observer that he branched out from his jazz career into symphonic music as a challenge to his skills. His previous classical music ventures included albums released in 1986 and 2001.

In November, the Branford Marsalis Quartet performed Ned Rorem's "Lions," which will also be on the CD released in 2009.

Also in the works

The symphony's second disc, set for 2010 release, will feature Russian-born pianist Yevgeny Sudbin in a pair of piano concertos by Russian composers. The Daily Telegraph of London has called Sudbin, 28, "potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century." Sudbin is in the Triangle this week to perform one of the featured works, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4, with the orchestra.

Recording sessions will begin next week in closed sessions at Meymandi Concert Hall. BIS is known for its focus on contemporary and early classical music and neglected or unknown repertoire. The 35-year-old company distributes in the United States, Europe and the Far East.

The symphony said that six-figure gifts by patrons Sandra Henson of Chapel Hill and Bob and Connie Eby of Pittsboro will pay for the recordings.