Over the past 5-6 decades, album covers have become more and more artistic, to the point where the best of them deserve a place in this blog. They featured prominently in the past, and of course they will be present in the new set-up. I interrupt the regular scheduling of pop/rock album covers over the years for a special about classical music. Unfortunately, classical music has a bid of a stuffy reputation, and album covers in that genre tend to confirm that. It is usually a standard photograph of the main performer(s) or even more safe, a painting from the classical or romantic period. In today's post I highlight a dozen covers that really stand out. The image above is created via Photofunia and is free from copyright issues.
The Girl With Orange Lips (1991)
Let's start with my absolute favourite. This Nonesuch CD is by American singer Dawn Upshaw, in songs for soprano ans chamber music ensemble by Ravel, Stravinsky, Kim, Falla, and Delage. The cover is based on a photograph by Joel Meyerowitz.
Farrenc's Symphonies (2021)
Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was a French composer, and one of the few female ones at that time. Her works have seen a revival in recent years, including this one issued last year by Erato. For the cover, the company has selected a recent art work by Clementine Campardou depicting the composer.
Become Ocean (2014)
Become Ocean is one of the most famous contemporary classical music pieces. It was composed by John Luther Adams (born 1953), The cover of this Cantaloupe CD is impressive and obviously fits the title. I have not been able to get more information about its design beyond the statement that art direction was by Jim Fox.
Speak Low (1994)
A Deutsche Grammophon CD with works by Kurt Weill (1900-1950) sung by Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. The cover photograph, depicting a scene that could have been taken in a Berlin nightclub in the 1920's, is by Denise Grünstein. A fabulous example of Chiaroscuro.
Simpson's Symphonies 1 and 8 (1996)
Robert Simpson (1921-1997) was a British composer. The Hyperion label issued a series of CD's with his compositions, including all symphonies. For the covers, it was decided to go for photographs of space, because Simpson was a keen amateur astronomer. This is one of the best, designed by Terry Shannon.
Amata Dalle Tenebre (2021)
In the most recent CD release of one of their star performers, Anna Netrebko, the Deutsche Grammophon label has dared to be different - clearly taking inspiration from fashion magazine covers. Eva Reisinger is credited as Booklet Editor, probably including the cover, but no mention is made of the photographer.
Grand Canyon Suite
One of the first recordings of Ferde Grofe's milestone of American classical music, the Grand Canyon suite, was by Toscanini on RCA Victor (probably around 1940). The outstanding and obviously appropriate cover design is by Alex Steinweiss.
Fratres (1993)
In the early nineties, short-lived record label Catalyst issued a number of CD's with contemporary classical music, often sporting beautiful covers. This is my pick of the bunch: violinist Maria Bachmann, partially covered on the cover, in works by Pärt, Corigliano, Moravec, Glinsky and Messiaen. The photography is by Carol Weinberg and Peter Schaff.
Primus inter pares: the Naïve record label issued a large number of Vivaldi CD's, each with a stunning photograph of a model on the cover. The connection with the music is usually slim to non-existent, but I like them so much that I had to include one. The photography is credited to Denis Rouvre, Dieter Nagel, Laure Vasconi, Massimo Dordoni, and Sergio Fortini.
Surrogate Cities (2000)
Actually, I could have easily picked a dozen covers from the ECM catalogue alone - the label is justly famous for its use of high quality black and whote photography on the covers. I picked this one for today's post. It is a collection of compositions by German composer Heiner Goebbels (born 1952). This image, a perfect fit with the album's title was shot by photographer Gerald Minkoff. In his own words: "The picture is of a Soviet swimming pool, a heated one, a stone’s throw from the Kremlin, a pool that no longer exists."
Mignon
Recently in the CD player, now in the blog: the CD Mignon with compositions by Denmark's Bent Sørensen (born 1958) on the Dacapo label.The cover is based on a photocollage made by Denise Burt
Yes, another cover featuring an attractive female performer (in this case German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter) - but she is depicted here in a very artistic way, with good choice of setting and lighting. This also reflects the two contrasting violin concertos on the CD, by Johann Sebastian Bach and Sofia Gubaidulina. Intelligent and effective. The photograph is by Anja Frers.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.
