m. t. Anderson

Positioned squarely in the mainstream, at home in the worlds of jazz and pop standards as well as the blues, comfortable with small groups and big bands, Ernestine Anderson regularly received a lot of airplay on traditional jazz radio stations. She fit those demographics well with her tasty, slightly gritty, moderately swinging contralto; she rarely probed too deeply into emotional quagmires (and thus didn't disturb the dispositions of those who use the radio as background) but always gave listeners an honest musical account.

In September 1941, Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history - almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943-1944. More than a million citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets, their relatives having neither the means nor the strength to bury them. Residents burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and - eventually - one another to stay alive.

This recording features one of today’s most sought-after conductors, Vladimir Jurowski, who was appointed Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, with many of his recordings on the LPO Label being chosen for special mentions by BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone Magazine. This recording of In lieblicher Bläue is taken from its world premiere performance at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 14 March 2015. The recordings of Alleluia and The Stations of the Sun are also taken from live concert recordings at the Royal Festival Hall in March 2014 and December 2013 respectively. As Composer in Residence from 2010–14, Julian Anderson has a close affinity with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and this CD is a celebration of his time at the LPO. This is Julian’s second release on the LPO label, featuring premiere recordings of Alleluia and In lieblicher Bläue.