Birmingham-based CBSO conductor signs new record deal
Young maestro Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, has made history by signing to label Deutsche Grammophon.
The Lithuanian musician becomes the first female conductor to sign an exclusive long-term contract with the label that is home to contemporaries such as Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez and Andris Nelsons.
Gražinytė-Tyla will release her debut album on the label in May - a collection of orchestral works by Polish composer Mieczysław Weinberg, whose centenary falls this year - including recordings with the CBSO.
She will go on to present music by her compatriot Raminta Šerkšnytė with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Vilnius Municipal Choir and Kremerata Baltica, a project she will then follow up with an album of works by British composers with the CBSO as the orchestra celebrates its own centenary.
“Deutsche Grammophon was part of my musical upbringing,” she said. “It’s a genuine honour to join DG and to record works that will be new to so many listeners. It’s very exciting that our partnership will document some of the musical adventures that the fabulous CBSO and I are about to embark on together.
"We will celebrate the orchestra’s centenary with an album of landmarks of 20th-century British music. I look forward to this thrilling collaboration with DG and to the musical discoveries we can make together.”
Dr Clemens Trautmann, president of Deutsche Grammophon, said: “Mirga is a very special musician, someone whose passion and commitment is communicated with irresistible eloquence. She has made a profound impression with the CBSO, introducing new repertoire and shining new light on works from the symphonic mainstream.”
In February 2016, Gražinytė-Tyla hit the headlines around the world after she was unanimously chosen to be the new music director of the CBSO – taking over the post formerly held by Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo and Andris Nelsons.
It came just months after making her debut with the orchestra in July 2015. Their partnership has since flourished, with Gražinytė-Tyla praised for her charismatic artistry and innovative repertoire choices.
Her signing to Deutsche Grammophon marks an important milestone in her career. Her first recording was made at Birmingham's Symphony Hall during the CBSO’s critically-acclaimed Weinberg Weekend in November last year, and the album was made with the generous support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
It will be released in May.
