Recording news 2012

Anne Akiko Meyers, Bach "Air" currently No.1

Delighted to see that this new recording with wonderful violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has been greeted with such a warm response.  The London Chamber Symphony played beautifully and I believe that the results show

what a wonderful time we had making this CD.

Chick Corea: The Continents

This is our second collaborative effort.  The first, " Concerto" for large orchestra, won a Grammy.  It's always a thrill to work with my good friend, Chick and the assembly of outstanding Jazz musicians involved with the project was inspired.

Marcello Giordani with Steven Mercurio and the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra

"Ti Voglio Tanto Bene" ("I Love You," my third collaboration with tenor Marcello Giordani was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Just as we did on our second album together (Sicilia Bedda, which I also arranged orchestrated and conducted), Marcello and I sought out to combine some favorites along with quite a few newly discovered Neapolitan songs. The album is an homage to the great tenors of the 20th century and I'm sure that both the connoisseurs and general music lovers will all find something special on this recording of Neapolitan and art songs.

More info, listen to samples and purchase at iTunes >

Steven Featured on Robin Follman's new Dramatic Heroines

Good friend and wonderful soprano Robin Follman and I reveled in the opportunity to discover verismo rarities and other lyric-spinto, dramatic soprano arias. Recorded in Seattle with the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra (members of the Seattle Symphony), we were thrilled to bring works from Mascagni's "Isabeau" and "Zanetto" and Franchetti's "Germania" as well as world-premiere recording of an aria from Franco Vittadini's "Anima Allegra," to life.

More info and purchase at Robin Follmon's website >

January, 2011

Sting Live In Berlin featuring Steven Mercurio Available in DVD and Blu-Ray

The DVD is a wonderful document of a musical collaboration between the multi-talented Sting, London's extraordinary Royal Philharmonic some musicians and myself. Filmed in Berlin, in the midst of the European tour, the challenge of combining the two worlds: "symphonic and the well-known pop world of Sting," into a seamless and original sound was uniquely achieved. The essence of the original songs was maintained while the multi-colored splendor of an orchestra's palette was added thereby creating a template for future crossover possibilities. All in all, it is a wonderful three-dimensional concert experience.

More info and purchase at Amazon.com >

January, 2011

Sting performance draws rave review from The Herald Sun

US conductor Steven Mercurio was a dancing dynamo, determined to extract every iota of energy from his players.

Read the complete article >

Michael Bolton sings for the saints in Assisi

"I feel humbled here," Bolton said after recording the traditional Christmas concert in the frescoed basilica of St Francis of Assisi with Israeli singer Noa and New York conductor Steven Mercurio."I feel humbled to be reminded of the teachings of St Francis, which I was introduced to at a very young age. I don't know anyone who is not moved by his story," he said.

Read the complete article >

December, 2010

Maestro Mercurio's essay on "La Fanciulla del West"

La Fanciulla del West, the life-affirming rescue opera written for the "new world," had its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera one hundred years ago, on December 10, 1910. It is not only a fascinating study of Puccini's compositional technique, special effects, creative detail and exceptional dynamic contrast but a demonstration of his desire to control the theatrical environment both on and off the stage.

With its famously large choruses and Asian percussion effects,Turandot,Puccini's posthumous twelfth opera (written between 1921 and 1924), is generally considered to be the orchestral masterpiece in the composer's canon. What may come as a surprise to many, however, is thatLa Fanciulla del West, Puccini's seventh opera, written after the Illica–Giacosa trilogy (Bohème, Tosca, Butterfly), calls for the largest orchestral forces. The traditional Puccini orchestration (including the one forTurandot)calls for winds in threes, often with only two bassoons. However,Fanciulla – an opera with no dead bodies onstage – calls for winds in fours, in addition to three trumpets, four horns, two harps, celeste, percussion and a few offstage surprises. Turandot is the only other Puccini opera that calls for even two harps.

These forces rival those of the large Wagner and Strauss operas and tone poems. One can only speculate as to why Puccini chose to write for an orchestra beyond his normal scope. Perhaps it was the Met commission, featuring Toscanini on the podium, and the celebrated voices of Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn, that allowed Puccini's orchestral imagination to run wild. Or perhaps Puccini viewed this international commission (new world — New York) as an opportunity to demonstrate the full measure of his orchestral powers; possibly this was even more important in light of the fiasco of Butterfly's premiere at La Scala.

Surely the size of this orchestra startled his publisher, Ricordi. Soon after the New York premiere, Ricordi published an authorized orchestral reduction of the entire opera, featuring winds in twos and one harp, making the orchestra the same size as that for any performance of Carmen. Ricordi realized that there were a limited number of theaters in the world that had the capacity to accommodate such a large pit orchestra.

From the beginning of the prelude, Puccini gives the full measure of his intentions for this large orchestration. Opening with a thirty-five-bar introduction (thirty-four bars of music and one bar empty, wherein Puccini shows exactly where the curtain should come up), the prelude jolts the audience with a power and vibrancy that establishes the tone of the piece. Comprised of essentially two themes — a "redemption" theme that will define the Minnie–Dick Johnson relationship, and a second theme belonging to Dick Johnson (a macho, cakewalk-like, brass-driven motif) — the prelude makes a short, loud curtain-raiser, with a cinematic sound that would ultimately serve as a model and inspiration for film composers.

Read the complete article >

(Top photo courtesy of Clive Barda)