Wagner, R.: Tristan Und Isolde, Prelude / Berlioz, H.: Romeo Et Juliette, Love Scene / Tchaikovksy, P.I.: Romeo and Juliet

Featuring

James DePreist
Oregon Symphony
Richard Wagner
Hector Berlioz
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Compositional Technique

Richard Wagner, who composed both the music and text for 'Tristan und Isolde', based his musical concept on creating and manipulating distinctive musical phrases, or motives.

Composition History

Piotr Tchaikovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture' was suggested by his friend and mentor, Mily Balakirev, who also outlined its musical structure.

Album & Artwork

The album title 'Tragic Lovers' accurately describes the main characters in Richard Wagner's opera 'Tristan und Isolde', whose love culminates in death.

Performer Biography

James DePreist is the nephew of the legendary contralto Marian Anderson and has received the National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence.

Composer Biography

Hector Berlioz, the composer of 'Romeo et Juliette', was so overwhelmed by an 1827 performance of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' that he considered Shakespeare 'the closest thing to a god that existed.'

Critical Reception

Tchaikovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture' was not initially successful at its St. Petersburg premiere and only became a masterwork after two complete revisions.

Performer Biography

James DePreist, the conductor on this album, is Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at The Juilliard School and Laureate Music Director of the Oregon Symphony.