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A Sowerby Celebration
In honor of his 125th birthday, Cedille reflects on its first Sowerby recording
Cedille Records has a 30-year history of recording and sharing the artistry of Chicago’s outstanding classical talent — past and present — with a worldwide audience, including the exceptional work of Leo Sowerby (1895–1968). In honor of his 125th birthday anniversary (May 1), we’re delighted to share the special history of our first recording to feature the distinguished Chicago composer.
Since 1997, Cedille has been “sweet on Sowerby”
In July 1997, Cedille released Prairie: Tone Poems by Leo Sowerby, featuring Sowerby orchestral works conducted by Chicago’s Paul Freeman. This was the first time Sowerby’s work appeared on the Cedille label, prompting a special marketing campaign that would surely leave a tasteful impression.
Nat Silverman, Cedille’s PR director, devised a campaign to promote the release in the sweetest way by including another Chicago creation in the press package: a box of sweet and sour Lemohead candies with customized packaging highlighting details of the release.
This specialty campaign was well received, and gained recognition in the classical column of Billboard Magazine.
Since then, Cedille has gone on to produce four more albums comprising Sowerby works including: Symphony No. 2 — and other works, The Pulitzer Project, American Works for Organ and Orchestra, and our most recent Sowerby release, Selected Works for Solo & Duo Piano.
We hope that this bit of Cedille history brightens your day, and inspires you to explore more of our Leo Sowerby catalog.
Recommended
Leo Sowerby, Paul Freeman, Chicago Sinfonietta, Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Leo Sowerby: Symphony No. 2 & Other Works
Grant Park Orchestra, Grant Park Chorus, Carlos Kalmar
The Pulitzer Project
David Schrader, Grant Park Orchestra, Carlos Kalmar
American Works for Organ and Orchestra
Gail Quillman, Julia Tsien
Leo Sowerby: Selected Works for Solo & Duo Piano
Recommended
Cedille’s newest digital single, Mischa Zupko: Harpsichord Concerto is available to stream everywhere. Scored for harpsichord and string quartet, the concerto exhibits highly idiomatic harpsichord writing, brought brilliantly into the present by Zupko’s ingenious reshaping of older musical styles into a thoroughly modern expression.
From Chicago-based composter Stacy Garrop comes INVICTUS, Latin for “unconquered.” The work unfolds across four movements and an interlude, moving between lyrical introspection, fierce determination, and triumphant resolve, with Grammy-nominated pianist Marta Aznavoorian and the Chicago Philharmonic under the direction of Artistic Director Scott Speck. Available 5/8.
Haymarket Opera Company presents early-18th-century master Leonardo Vinci’s rare operatic gem, Artaserse (1730). A prominent figure of the Neapolitan School of opera, whose work influenced composers such as Johann Adolph Hasse and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Vinci’s three-act opera seria centers on the Persian prince, Artaserse, who must bring his father’s murderer to justice amidst betrayal, deceit, and mistaken identity.
In celebration of the June 12 digital single release of Mischa Zupko:Harpsichord Concerto, this month’s playlist features that very instrument and its many personalities. There’s delicacy in Lully’s Passacaille contrasted by Soler’s muscular Keyboard Sonata No. 81 in G Minor. Appearing both accompanied and unaccompanied, the harpsichord takes center stage this month.
Enjoy Cedille’s Weekly Featured Release.