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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT \\
After many months of brainstorming, selecting,
making up Vienna’s famous symphonic orchestra:
recording and discarding songs, the project on hand
Wiener Symphoniker! It was so intimidating to work
“From Vienna With Love” together with the Wiener
on this project with such renowned and devoted
Symphoniker has finally become a reality! If you read
musicians at first, being the solitary voice against
these lines, the gala concert will have taken place
the musical immenseness that you represent.
and will be kept forever as my fondest memory.
Thank you Johannes Neubert and your team. I am forever thankful and in awe to have even had this
Thank you Doro Freiberger for this collaboration
opportunity to work with all of you!
through all these months which was all the more enjoyable because you’re such a kind
I am equally thankful to Dietmar Lienbacher, Nuri
person. Thank you David Bronner for bringing
Nurbachsch, Mirel Gharibo and everyone working
your know-how and expertise to this project to
in your teams at my record label Sony Music
make it even better.
Austria for making this project possible.
Thank you to my band – Severin Trogbacher,
René Berto, Regina Reisinger-Höglinger, André
Oliver Kerschbaumer, Peter Schönbauer, Hans-
Karsai, Benjamin Hartl and Julia Philippitsch –
Jürgen Bart and Florian Koch – for being my
thank you for being my closest collaborators and
bastion of calm whenever I am on stage.
companions.
Guido Mancusi, I am deeply grateful for your open-
To everyone reading this CD-booklet: thank you
ness and for being the connecting link between
for your support, be it live or virtual – you are the
myself and the incredibly talented individuals
ones enabling me to live my dream!
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THE ARTIST \\
Conchita was brought to life in 2011 by Austrian singer and drag artist Tom Neuwirth. As the bearded diva Conchita, the artist first appeared on TV in 2011 at the Austrian casting show “Die Große Chance” (The Great Chance). With the song “Rise Like A Phoenix”, Conchita won the 59th Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen in 2014. This moment was captured in time as she exclaimed in victory “We are unstoppable!” and became an overnight sensation and global ambassador for the LGBTIQ-Community. Since then, a first eponymous album was released followed by numerous awards, concerts and TV-shows as well as guest performances at Pride Events in more than 20 countries worldwide. The release of the CD “From Vienna With Love“ together with the Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) in October 2018 will be topped off by a tour with his live band. And Conchita’s second studio album will follow soon thereafter.
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INTRODUCTION \\
If a traditional orchestra releases a CD with an icon of the international LGBT scene, the outcome will always be met with suspicion by at least parts of the classical music world. Accordingly, the Wiener Symphoniker also faced some rather critical voices when they first announced their cooperation with Conchita. Publicity stunts, commercial interests or even political considerations were presumed to be the primary drivers of the project. The general view was that, for mere artistic reasons, a classical orchestra would never embark on “something like that”. \\
Admittedly, such presumptions cannot simply be dismissed. The Wiener Symphoniker, like probably any other modern orchestra, are, of course, keen to engage new and young audiences and win them over for classical music and culture. And, of course, someone as popular as Tom Neuwirth’s stage persona Conchita is a perfect vehicle for refreshing the dusty perception of classical music and conveying a contemporary, young and more inclusive image. Moreover, the Wiener Symphoniker have crossed the boundaries between serious and light music several times before, boundaries which have always been more fluid in Vienna than elsewhere anyway. It could even be asserted with some legitimacy that the formation of the orchestra was essentially motivated by the wish to open up Vienna’s musical life to contemporary music and the popular tastes of the public. In addition to cultivating and developing both the city’s distinctive sound and classical heritage, this has been the cultural and political mission of the orchestra throughout its history: be it in the historic symphony concerts for workers, its current residential neighbourhood concerts or in the releases under the name of VSOP [Vienna Symphony Orchestra Project] in cooperation with the hit producer Christian Kolonovits.
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Still, there were other considerations at the forefront when the Wiener Symphoniker encountered Conchita for the first time at the opening of the Vienna Festival in 2017. The aim was to present the wide range of current musical output in Vienna. There, the Wiener Symphoniker had to assume the role of representatives of Vienna’s self-image as the “world capital of classical music”. In contrast, Conchita stood for the cosmopolitan and tolerant metropolis in line with the global cultural zeitgeist. The actual artistic appeal, in accordance with the realignment of the festival, was to arise out of the intriguing contrast between opposing musical and cultural positions. The concert became a huge success, although the experiment itself actually failed. This is because Conchita and the orchestra perceived themselves less as antipodes of divergent musical universes but rather communicated right away as kindred representatives of a common musical approach with makes the highest quality demands on its representatives. The fact is that, similar to the members of the traditional Viennese orchestra, Conchita has equally developed and refined her “instrument” over years of hard rehearsals and, in the process, matured into an exceptional world-class vocalist. So, instead of frictions and confrontation, mutual respect and the enjoyment of making music together ensured the artistic flying sparks which eventually resulted in the decision to follow up the concert with a joint CD. \\
High artistic quality and the enjoyment of making music together were also paramount during work on the CD as the selected repertoire reflects. For the orchestra and its conductor Guido Mancusi it was important not to appear as an overqualified and glamorous accompanying band for radio compatible versions of classics from the international “songbook for divas and chanteuses”. Rather the aim was to bring in one’s own specific skills-set to the interaction with Conchita, in order to further refine the material and thus to create works with an artistic added value. As can be heard, this approach worked out perfectly: Hans Hammerschmid’s composition “Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen [Red roses are to rain for me]”, which is actually inseparably associated with Berlin thanks to Hildegard Knef, suddenly turned into a Viennese swing of its own. The very operatic glamour in the work of the Broadway doyen Richard Rodgers is revealed in “The Sound of Music”, and the references in Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself” to Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto have hardly ever been worked out so clearly before. In this way, it is also possible to hear how very permeable the boundaries between serious and light music actually are. And how much enjoyment this excursion into other realms of music has brought to the orchestra. If the album were to contribute to slightly altering the image of classical music, at least for some of Conchita’s fans, well, this would not be the worst thing that could happen either.
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CONDUCTOR \\
Guido Mancusi was born near Naples in 1966. In 1985, he founded the Baroque ensemble Vindobona which he led for more than ten years. His first engagements took him, inter alia, to St Pรถlten, the Raimund Theatre, and the Theater an der Wien. After working as an assistant to Riccardo Muti at La Scala in Milan, to ร dรกm Fischer, and at the Bayreuth Festival, he was artistic director of the Klosterneuburg Opera Festival between 1997 and 2000. Since 1998, he has been Chief Conductor of the Schรถnbrunn Palace Orchestra. Between 2002 and 2007, he was Chief Conductor at the Municipal Theatre in Klagenfurt, has been Music Director at the Vienna Volksoper since 2015 and, since 2017, Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra Dohnรกnyi. International engagements took Mancusi to world-class ensembles, inter alia, in London, Tel Aviv, Stockholm, Moscow, and the USA. Guido Mancusi is a bearer of the Mozart Medal and also won the Schikaneder Prize in 2013.
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THE ORCHESTRA \\
As Vienna’s cultural ambassador and premier concert orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker handle the lion’s share of symphonic activity that makes up the musical life of the city. The preservation of the traditional, Viennese orchestral sound occupies a central role in the orchestra’s many artistic pursuits. The Wiener Symphoniker are one of Europe’s most prestigious ensembles and boasts 128 members. For this reason, the orchestra is precisely the right vehicle for the great romantic works. wienersymphoniker.at
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01 WRITING‘S ON THE WALL The first time I had the honour to perform this song live at the James Bond Gala in the Konzerthaus, I completely understood why it won an Oscar. I am very glad that this title by Sam Smith is the opening track, as it is the perfect introduction to this project. \\
02 HAVE I EVER BEEN IN LOVE Is it all worth it? Have I ever truly been in love at all? Will I ever be sufficient unto myself? I wanted a dusty vintage sound that has enough room for desperation as well as melancholy but, at the same time, flirts with the strength and awareness of playing a role – and it all came together within half an hour with Steve Anderson and Emma Rohan. \\
03 COLORS OF THE WIND Dorothee Freiberger brilliantly managed to breathe unique and new magic into this Disney track. The result is a grand orchestral sound with tribal elements. We may have had to overcome obstacles a few times when we were recording vocals but nevertheless this title quickly emerged as our favourite.
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04 THE SOUND OF MUSIC All in all, this piece of music seemed like just one big challenge: the way people expect it to be sung; reaching the original pitch, as it is obviously very high for a male voice; and last but not least the emotional pressure of everybody knowing the song and, as a result, having the whole world listening very closely.
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05 GET HERE For many months – if not years – I had only known this beautiful song as it was interpreted by my former vocal coach Monika Ballwein. I hesitated for some time before I eventually dared to listen to the original version. Can you guess which phrasing I ultimately used for this recording?
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06 WHERE DO I BEGIN I have been listening to this song on every flight and at any spare moment. I immersed myself in its appealing contrast between big, dramatic gestures and samba-rhythms. The positive message of this Shirley Bassey song, combined with its sad sound, had captured me forever.
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07 ALL BY MYSELF Of all the songs on this album, this piece probably has the most direct connection to classical music, as it is based on a piano concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff. I had already discovered – and loved – this textbook example of excellent pop music in my early days on TV. Actually, I love it so much that I have been listening to Celine Dion’s unbelievable interpretation for roughly ten years on a daily basis. Obviously, this song had to be on this album! \\
08 THE WAY WE WERE Barbra Streisand’s impressive balance between pitch, volume, and timing makes you forget how challenging this song actually is. Streisand sings it with such finesse and lightness, which are simply unachievable for other singers. And moreover, I only realized how challenging musical humming can be when we recorded The Way We Were. \\
09 RISE LIKE A PHOENIX The most difficult endeavor for this project: to re-record the song that I have already sung countless times. For this version, we added previously unreleased text passages, which originally fell victim to the three-minute time limit of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014. The purpose of these passages was for me to find a new approach to ‘my’ song for this recording and breathe new life into it.
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10 MOONRAKER In my view, this piece of music is the lullaby of James Bond songs, with certainly not less of the familiar drama that is generally associated with Bond. However, this track is characterized by its fascinating simplicity, which I absolutely fell in love with during the recording session. \\
11 UNINVITED Alanis Morissette’s most beautiful song – which was already was on the top of my playlist from when I was 15 years old – is one of those tracks that clearly shows for me that there can only be one true interpreter of a specific song. This may have been the reason why it was incredibly hard to find out how and in what way Conchita could sing this piece full of an intensity that makes it extraordinary for an orchestra. \\
12 FÜR MICH SOLL‘S ROTE ROSEN REGNEN This song must have been written for souls who, like me, are convinced that they are supposed to get the best and most beautiful out of life – because everybody is entitled to have it all. I am still impressed today that Hildegard Knef, as a woman, was saying publicly that ‘I am entitled to it all’ at that time. Amusingly – and ironically enough – I was unable to sing this song as low in pitch as Hildegard Knef did. Eventually, my voice guided me along toward my own interpretation – and I could not imagine a better ending title for this album.
15 01. WRITING‘S ON THE WALL Lyrics & Music: Sam Smith, James Napier \\ © Sony/ATV Music Publishing/U/A Music Inc/ United Lion Music Inc/Naughty Words Ltd/Stellar Songs Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd/Salli Isaak Songs Ltd/Universal Music Publishing Ltd./Universal Music Publishing GmbH. \\ Used by permission. All rights reserved. \\ 02. HAVE I EVER BEEN IN LOVE Lyrics & Music: Steve Anderson, Thomas Neuwirth, Emma Rohan \\ © Major 3rd Music Publishing/BMG Rights/ TNRB unstoppable GmbH/Universal Music Publishing \\ 03. COLORS OF THE WIND Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz \\ Music: Alan Menken \\ © Walt Disney Music Company, Wonderland Music Co., Inc./Universal Music Publishing Int. Ltd./Universal Music Publishing GmbH \\ 04. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (FROM THE SOUND OF MUSIC) Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II \\ Music: Richard Rodgers \\ Copyright © 1959 by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Copyright Renewed \\ This arrangement copyright © 2018 by Williamson Music. \\ Williamson Music, a Division of Rodgers & Hammerstein: an Imagem Company, owner of publication and allied rights throughout the world \\ International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved \\ Arranged by Dorothee Freiberger with permission of Hal Leonard LLC for the exclusive use of Conchita with Wiener Symphoniker \\ 05. GET HERE Lyrics & Music: Brenda Gordon Russell \\ © 1988 Rutland Road Music \\ All rights administered by WB Music Corp. \\ 06. WHERE DO I BEGIN Lyrics: Francis Albert Lai \\ Music: Carl Sigman \\ © 1970 Sony/ ATV Harmony/Majorsongs Limited \\ Famous Music Corporation/Chester Music Limited trading as Campbell Connelly & Co. \\ With kind permission of Famous Music Publishing Germany GmbH & Co KG c/o Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Germany) GmbH and Bosworth Music GmbH. \\ 07. ALL BY MYSELF Lyrics & Music: Eric Carmen & Sergei Rachmaninoff (Public Domain). \\ © Round Hill Works (BMI) \\ 08. THE WAY WE WERE Lyrics: Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman \\ Music: Marvin Hamlisch \\ © Colgems-EMI Music Inc. \\ SV: EMI Music Publishing Germany GmbH \\ 09. RISE LIKE A PHOENIX Lyrics & Music: Julian Maas, Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Alexander Zuckowski \\ © Universal Music Publishing GmbH/Songreiter Musikverlag/Porn & Poetry Publishing/Oblique Music/Kobalt \\ 10. MOONRAKER Lyrics: Hal David \\ Music: John Barry \\ © EMI U Catalog Inc. \\ SV: EMI Partnership Musikverlag GmbH \\ 11. UNINVITED Lyrics & Music: Alanis Nadine Morissette \\ © Universal Music Corp., 1974 Music/Universal Music Corp./Universal/MCA Music Publishing GmbH \\ 12. FÜR MICH SOLL‘S ROTE ROSEN REGNEN Lyrics: Hildegard Knef \\ Music: Hans Hammerschmid \\ © Europation Musik Edition Peter Schaeffers \\ 1/3/4/5/6/8/10/11/12 produced by Dorothee Freiberger \\ 2/7/9 produced by David Bronner \\ Executive producer: Dorothee Freiberger \\ Orchestra: Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Guido Mancusi \\ Band: Severin Trogbacher, guitar / Peter Schönbauer, bass / Florian Koch, drums \\ 1/2/3/7/8/9/10/11/12 entire band (guitar, bass, drums) \\ 5 drums, bass \\ 6 bass \\ 1,8,12 piano, keyboards by Dorothee Freiberger \\ 2,7,9 piano, keyboards, add. guitars by David Bronner \\ 2 backing vocals by Emma Rohan \\ 3 special ethnic flute appearance by Guido Mancusi \\ 7 solo piano by Agnes Wolf, solo flute by Robert Wolf \\ 9 solo trumpet by Josef Burchartz, solo trombone by Werner Wurm \\ Additional programming & editing: Dorothee Freiberger, David Bronner, Dietz Tinhof \\ Synchron YAMAHA CFX kindly provided by VSL \\ 1/3/4/5/6/8/11/12 orchestral arrangement and score by Dorothee Freiberger \\ 2/7 orchestral arrangement by David Bronner \\ 9 orchestral arrangement by Sebastian Arman, David Bronner, Dorothee Freiberger \\ 10 orchestral arrangement and score by Alex Johansson \\ 2 score by Dorothee Freiberger \\ 7 score by Christian Dominik Dellacher \\ 9 score by Dorothee Freiberger, Péter Pejtsik \\ Band recorded @ Lords of the Sound by Markus Weiß \\ Orchestra recorded @ Tonzauber by Georg Burdicek \\ Pro Tools Operator: Jón Geirfinnsson \\ 1/3/4/5/6/8/10/11/12 vocals recorded @ Swoon Factory by Dorothee Freiberger \\ 2/7/9 vocals recorded @ dB Music by David Bronner \\ 1/3/4/5/6/8/10/11/12 mixed @ Swoon Factory by Dietz Tinhof \\ 2/7/9 mixed @ dB Music by Dietz Tinhof & David Bronner \\ Mastered by Christoph Stickel @ CS Mastering
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CONCHITA \\ WIENER SYMPHONIKER CONDUCTED BY GUIDO MANCUSI \\ Executive Producer: Dorothee Freiberger Photos Conchita © Markus Morianz Photo Guido Mancusi © Matthias Leonhard Creative Direction: André Karsai Text contributions by Conchita and Wiener Symphoniker Production Coordination: Regina Reisinger-Höglinger Styling Conchita: Julia Philippitsch Cover Art & Booklet: reinhardfenzl.com Management: René Berto
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