London - DEC 2004

 Classic Sound has 2 nominations for the 2005 Grammy Awards.                                          

Sir Colin Davis's LSO Live recording of Britten's Peter Grimes starring Glenn Winslade and Janice Watson has been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album.

Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra) Bliss: Piano Concerto; Piano Sonata, Naxos

London - JULY 2004

Jonathan Stokes recorded Shostakovich Symphony No.5 with Rostropovich conducting the LSO in DSD Surround Sound.

amsterdam - JUNE 2004

Jonathan Stokes recorded Mahler's 9th Symphony in the Concertgebouw with the RCOA conducted by Ricardo Chailly.

 This recording was recorded in DSD using the Genex 9048 DSD recorder. Not only is the final recording to complete the Mahler Cycle but it is also the final recording between Universal Classics, the Orchestra and conductor.

London - JUNE 2004

Classic Sound completed the set of Brahms symphonies with Haitink conducting the LSO.the recording of the 3rd & 4th Symphonies was  on the DSD format. This compliments Symphonies 1 & 2 released in 2003.

London - May 2004

 Jonathan Stokes made a whistle stop visit to Milan in order to Produce and Engineer  Bartok's  Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste for Universal Classics. The Saito Kinen orchestra from Japan was directed by Seiji Ozawa. This was the last concert of a european tour and the recording comprised of a live concert and a patch session recorded on both Pro-tools HD and DA98HR.

London - May 2004

Classic Sound were delighted to hear that Dan Jones, composer for the Filmscore 'Max' won the Ivor Novello award for his efforts. Jonathan Stokes recorded the filmscore on location in Budapest. The Film Directed by Menno Meyjes stars John Cussack and looks at the life of Adolf Hitler. See reviews at  http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=119805&page=1

London - May 2004

Classic Sound, the only recording studio in the UK dedicated to classical music and film, has recently invested in a new Genex 9048 DSD Recorder, the first to be purchased in the UK.

Classic Sound took delivery of an 8-track machine, via distribution company HHB, at the end of April. Plans to expand to a possible 48-track version are currently being discussed should the studio require it.

The Genex GX9048 combines 48-channels of 24-bit/192Khz PCM recording and playback, with 48-channels of DSD recording and playback, to deliver unrivalled levels of performance and flexibility. Seamless punch in & out in DSD mode elevates Direct Stream Digital far beyond its traditional archiving and mastering applications, enabling all the post-production flexibility associated with existing PCM formats.

Tim Shaxon, Pro Audio Sales Manager for HHB said of the sale; 'Classic Sound has a reputation for producing outstanding audio across the board, utilizing the very latest in technological development. We are therefore delighted that they have chosen to invest in a new Genex GX9048, the first studio to do so in the country !, and feel confident that the cutting edge facilities offered by the DSD recorder will soon see other recrding studios following suit.'.

London - May 2004

Classic Sound complete their second Opera recording with LSO Live this year. Sir Colin Davis directed this concert performance with a star-studded cast including Pertusi, Alvarez and Henschel with the LSO and LSO Chorus providing and excellent backdrop.

Edward Seckerson  'Independant'   In a concert performance as good as this one, the orchestration can render the mise-en-scene redundant. Exploding from bar one like an irrepressible life force, it brings Windsor magically to the City of London before Verdi has introduced a single voice.

No one really dropped a stitch the whole evening - quite an achievement with no easy sight-lines to the conductor. But more than that, the spirit of a stage performance was always there. You'd have sworn bodies were darting hither and thither in the mayhem of the scene in Ford's house. Hold the scenery; this was heaven.

Tim Ashley  'Guardian'     'this was a magnificent interpretation that ranks among the finest.'

Richard Morrison   'The Times'   Once again I emerge from a concert performance of an opera wondering why we bother with the cumbersome palaver of sets, costumes and (most irritating of all) the spurious 'concepts' of directors. What we got was the white-hot essence of Verdi: the music, and nothing but the music. But it was music performed with such seasoned understanding that the Fat Knight's amorous misadventures were brought vividly to life on the most potent stage of all - the theatre of the imagination.

It is a rare treat to hear the opera's myriad subtle depictions of mood or character so tellingly captured, and perfromers responding to a conductor's promptings with such evident enjoyment.

VISIT  www.lso.co.uk/recordings/lsolive/  for further information.

London - May 2004

Jonathan Stokes engineered 2 days of recording with Singapore Violinist Min Lee in Abbey Road Studio No.1. Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted the RPO.  Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev Concerto No.2 for Violin were recorded.  Producer Andrew Cornall for Universal Classics.

London - May 2004

Jonathan Stokes with Producer James Mallinson embarked on a ten day recording period of the Prokofiev Symphonies with the LSO under the direction of Valery Gergiev.

London - MaRCH 2004

Classic Sound provide extensive facilities at London's Henry Wood Hall for the score recording of a new film by Mira Nair of the classic novel 'Vanity Fair' .

Composer Mycheal Danna, Engineer Brad Haehnel and Music Editor Jennifer Dunnington were based at Henry Wood Hall for three days for sessions with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

The score was recorded with Classic Sound's Neumann M50 array through a combination of Millenia and DAV mic amps direct to Pro-tools HD. Monitoring provided by Classic Sound's 40 Channel in-line Raindirk Symphony mixer.

The Film is currently in the final stages of post production and scheduled for release autumn 2004.

London - MaRCH 2004

Classic Sound provide extensive facilities at London's Watford Collosium  for the recording of a disc of Handel Arias with Renee Fleming and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Recorded in DSD surroound for SACD release on Decca. Andrew Cornall producer. Post Production began immediately for a release later in the year.

London - February 2004

Classic Sound provide equipment and staff for the recording of Volumes 3 & 4 of Monteverdi Sacred Music with The Kings Consort under the direction of Robert King at St. Judes Hampstead Garden Suburb. Recorded in DSD Surround for the Hyperion Label with Ben Turner Producing.

London - BUCHAREST FEB 2004

Voice recording in Classic Sounds' booth with Billy Boyd for the film 'Seed of Chuckey' for High Frame Films. Ian Watson, Editor then heads for Bucharest with portable Pro-tools rig where he starts the location edit of dialogue. Finally when all  items are finished files uploaded to FTP site.

London - FEBRUARY 2004

Final Edit in 8 Track DSD suuround of Mahler Symphony No.3 with Ricardo Chailly and The Royal Concertgeboeuw Orchestra of Amsterdam. Andrew Cornall producer for Decca Music Group for SACD Hybrid release.

'Chailly's Mahler Third offers us a graphic narrative, a fantastical refuge, cosseted and balanced

so even the stunning standard CDs sound three dimensional.'   Rob Cowan Gramophone Magazine

London - JANUARY 2004

Final Edit and Dub of the Albeniz Opera  ' Merlin' for DVD release on Opus Arte. 32 Track PCM recording from Madrid perfromances was mixed to picture in Stereo and 5.1 Surround for DVD release.

London - JANUARY 2004

On the first working day of the New Year Classic Sound moved back into the Barbican for the LSO Live recording of Britten's Opera  'Peter Grimes' with the London  Symphony Orchestra, Cast and Sir Colin Davies directing. Recorded to 8 Track DSD.

London - JANUARY 2004

A Recording of vocal music by Dufay and Binchois for Hyperion at All Saints Tooting with Mark Brown Producing.

London - JANUARY 2004

The Final Edit and Mix of Handel's Oratorio Saul with The Gabrieli Consort under the direction of Paul McCreesh. To be released on the Deutsche Gramophon Label.

London - SEPTEMBER 2003

Classic Sound have been appointed by the London Symphony Orchestra to provide engineering and recording facilities for all their Live recordings due for release on the LSO Live Label.

The first project Brahms Symphonies 1 & 2 and Double Concerto under the direction of Bernhard Haitink, was released in early 2004 to rave reviews causing Richard Osborne to write in the Gramophone ' the recording rich and immediate, brings out in gratifying measure the tactile quality of Brahms' writing.'

Soon to be released are Sibelius Symphonies 3,5 & 7 under the direction of Sir Colin Davis.

Currently in Post-Production is a critically acclaimed performance of Britten's Opera Peter Grimes.

All LSO Live recordings are recorded and edited using state of the art DSD equipment. Only being reduced to 16bit PCM for the final CD production.

London - SEPTEMBER 2003

Classic Sound ship nearly one tonne of equipment to St. Petersburg, Russia for a recording of Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker and Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije and Dukas Scorcerers Aprrentice.

The recording in the Large Hall of the Philhrmonie was with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under the direction of Maestro Uri Termikanov. Anna Barry was the Producer and after the post-production is complete the project awaits the inclusion of the narration to be recorded by a well known Hollywood actress.

London - FEBRUARY 2003

Following the recent recording of the Beethoven and Mendelsohnn Violin Concertos with Mullova under the direction of John Elliot Gardiner the editing and mixing of this project is taking place in both DSD and PCM 96Khz formats simultaneously for a direct comparison.

London - FEBRUARY-MARCH 2003

Universal Classics are mixing a series of live recordings from the Marinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg with Valery Gergiev conducting the Kirov Orchestra. Repertoire includes Shostakovitch Symphonies 4,5 & 7, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky. All are being mixed to Stereo and 5.1 for CD and SACD release.

London - FEBRUARY 2003

Classic Sound's Neil Hutchinson works with Bristol based composer Dan Jones on an orchestral score for new BBC Flagship Drama 'Strange'. Over two hours of music was recorded at Watford Colliseum with  Classic Sound's Location Recording Equipment. This included a range of vintage mics outboard mic amps routed direct to tracks of a Tascam MX 2424 running at 24bit 48Khz. The music was subsequently mixed to picture at Classic Sound where the final mixes were laid back to Logic Audio for additional electro-acoustic elements to be added. The series is due to be screened summer 2003.

London - JANUARY 2003

Dario Marieneli chooses Classic Sound to Record & Mix the new BBC Film Logo for cinema and TV releases. The music was recorded at Henry Wood Hall and mixed for stereo and 5.1 at Classic Sound.

London - DECEMBER 2002

EMI Classics take up residence at Classic Sound to Mix Mahler Symphony No.5 with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The mix was turned around ultra-quickly allowing the product to be in the shops within two weeks of the inaugural concert. It was released on CD, DVDA and DVDV formats.

London - DECEMBER 2002

EMI Classics choose Classic Sound to Mix a new complete set of Beethoven Symphonies with Sir Simon Rattle and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded live at the Musikverien in Vienna the cycle was mixed over a period of four weeks with the final mastering also being handled by Classic Sound.

London - OCTOBER 2002

Classic Sounds' Neil Hutchinson and Jonathan Stokes were at Glyndebourne to Engineer the live broadcast of Bizet's Carmen for BBC TV. The Opera was broadcast live on BBC 1 and recorded to 72 Tracks of Tascam MX 2424 at 24bit 48Khz. The project was then edited as 72 Tracks on Classic Sound's Sadie Editing System and then mixed at our facility for Worldwide Broadcast and DVD 5.1 Release. 

London - SEPTEMBER 2002

Brangwyn Hall Swansea. Producer Phil Ramone uses Classic Sound Equipment and Staff for a complex recording of Broadway show tunes with Bryn Terfyl and Renee Fleming. The Welsh National Opera provided the accompaniment. The sessions were recorded to Sony 3348 over a period of five days. 

London - SEPTEMBER 2002

September 2002 saw the release of 'Sentimento' an album of duets between Andrea Bocelli and Lorin Maazael. The London Symphony Orchestra were recrded in BBC Maida Vale Studios. Editing and mixing for both CD and DVD 5.1 Surround were undertaken by Classic Sound. 

London - May 2002

Jonathan Stokes and Neil Hutchinson, the Grammy Award winning engineers who head up Classic Sound studios, have been presented with a Platinum disc to mark their involvement in Andrea Bocelli’s Verdi album, which has sold over 1.5 million copies since it was released by Philips last year. 

The Classic Sound team recorded the album on location at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv with the Israel Philharmonic orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta. The project involved two separate recording sessions and on both occasions over three tonnes of audio equipment were shipped out to Israel, including a 24-track Genex set-up with Tascam back-up. Once the recordings were completed, Classic Sound engineers brought the tapes back to the North London facility to be mixed.

Clive Bennett, Executive Producer in charge of Andrea Bocelli's classical recordings, says "The crew at Classic Sound is one of the Decca Music Group's most highly rated Recording and Editing teams and this Platinum disc represents only the tip of the iceberg of the recognition they deserve for their outstanding technical contribution to the many classical recordings they have made for us over the years."

Sales of the Bocelli album have taken the classical world by a storm as it is highly unusual for an album to sell in such large quantities.  “Such high sales figures are usually reserved for classical crossover albums, so we were all very pleased when a project of Verdi Arias did so well,” Neil Hutchinson says. “We are delighted to have been part of that success and thrilled that our work has been recognised with a Platinum disc.”

London - May 2002

LONDON - MAY 2002

LONDON - MAY 2002

LONDON - MAY 2002

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Kirov Orchestra of Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg ; Valery Gergiev PHILIPS –  Recorded from live concerts 23-25 November 2001, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia, mixed and post produced at Classic Sound for release in Japan July 2002, and September 02 for the rest of the world.

Classic Sound Ltd