Prince

A curious story surrounds this operetta that celebrated its premiere in New York in 1924, became a colossal success, was penned by an American composer born as Sigmund Rosenberg in Imperial and Royal Austria, and evokes glorious boyhood and student days in Biedermeier Heidelberg. The Student Prince by Sigmund Romberg was so popular that Hollywood filmed it not once but twice: in 1927 as a silent film by Ernst Lubitsch and in 1954 as a sound film.

It’s been a little over a year since Prince’s death at the age of 57, and today, on what would have been his 58th birthday, we have this trove of never-before-published photographs of Prince Rogers Nelson by Nicole Nodland, an L.A. photographer who while visiting her family in Minnesota in 1994 cold-called Paisley Park and offered her services. Prince, as he was wont to do—the first-hand accounts are many and never not entertaining—invited this perfect stranger to come by. She arrived at midnight, and ended up sticking around for two years, traveling the world with him on tour (this was during the famous “symbol” years). It’s no surprise that along the way Nodland, who is now the editor of the indie publication Us of America, found many iconic moments to document. Until his death, Prince was a prodigious producer of not just an endless stream of songs—surely, there will be many posthumous releases to come—but of fashion moments and awed anecdotes that only served to enhance his aura.

On his debut album, "For You", Prince shows exceptional skill for arranging and performing mainstream urban R&B and funk, but his songwriting remains conventional. Only on the mildly racy "Soft and Wet" does he demonstrate a personal touch, but the song is still more of a promise than a fulfillment. While "For You" isn't a bad record, it is merely a pleasant one, and it offers very little indication of his staggering talents.

‘From a musical point of view, but especially with regard to the stageworthiness of the work, these cuts represent an absolute improvement’ Bartok wrote to his publisher when he had finished his definitive revision of his Wooden Prince – cutting out much of the music relating to specific stage action, but also generally tightening the symphonic structure, making its large-scale mirror form appear clearer. Normally performed and recorded in its non-revised full-length version, it has been a joy now to follow Bartok’s inspired last wish revision of this mystic, vital, otherworldly, and grotesque fantasy music. (Thomas Dausgaard)

‘From a musical point of view, but especially with regard to the stageworthiness of the work, these cuts represent an absolute improvement’ Bartok wrote to his publisher when he had finished his definitive revision of his Wooden Prince – cutting out much of the music relating to specific stage action, but also generally tightening the symphonic structure, making its large-scale mirror form appear clearer. Normally performed and recorded in its non-revised full-length version, it has been a joy now to follow Bartok’s inspired last wish revision of this mystic, vital, otherworldly, and grotesque fantasy music. (Thomas Dausgaard)

The untitled 14th studio album by American recording artist Prince, and second (and final) to feature his backing band The New Power Generation, was released on October 13, 1992 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The title of the album is an unpronounceable symbol as depicted in its cover art, which Prince adopted as his stage name in 1993. As the symbol was copyrighted under the title "Love Symbol #2", the album is commonly referred to as the Love Symbol Album, Symbol Album, or simply Symbol. The album contains elements of musical styles including funk, R&B, hip hop, jazz, reggae, and synthpop. The album was originally conceived as a "fantasy rock soap opera" with various spoken segues throughout. It has sold over five million copies worldwide.

James Brown had the Apollo. Jimi Hendrix had Monterey Pop. And Prince had Syracuse, New York’s Carrier Dome—the Purple Rain Tour performance that was beamed to millions live via satellite and captured for posterity in the Grammy Award-nominated concert film Prince and The Revolution: Live, and has since gone down in history as one of the most iconic live recordings in pop and rock history.

James Brown had the Apollo. Jimi Hendrix had Monterey Pop. And Prince had Syracuse, New York’s Carrier Dome—the Purple Rain Tour performance that was beamed to millions live via satellite and captured for posterity in the Grammy Award-nominated concert film Prince and The Revolution: Live, and has since gone down in history as one of the most iconic live recordings in pop and rock history.

Le prince ne sera donc jamais devenu roi. L’artiste à la créativité sans limite s’en est allé le 21 avril 2016, dans son studio de Paisley Park. Le Kid de Minneapolis laisse derrière lui un lourd héritage de 39 albums studio, 7 Grammy Awards, un Oscar pour meilleure musique de film avec Purple Rain…

"Dirty Mind" is the 3rd album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on October 8, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records as the follow-up to his self-titled second album, "Prince", (1979). It was produced, arranged, and composed entirely by Prince in his home studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota during May to June of 1980. "Dirty Mind" has been considered by critics as Prince's most creative and boldest album, setting the baseline for his artistic direction in the following years.