Bates’ ‘Philharmonia’ receives a Grammy nod for classical engineering

Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra, the most ambitious project to date from Mason Bates, former Mead Composer-in-Residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has been nominated for a Grammy Award for best engineered classical album. 

Designed to connect music, musicians and audiences, and to explore the fundamental connections between music, sound, performance, creativity and technology, Philharmonia Fantastique features the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Edwin Outwater. The soundtrack, released in April by Sony Classical, was engineered by Shawn Murphy, CSO audio engineer Charlie Post and Gary Rydstrom, and mastered by Michael Romanowski. The 25-minute concerto for orchestra and animated film follows a magical creature named Sprite on a musical journey through the ensemble’s instruments.

“Our engineers achieved an extraordinary result amidst the most challenging recording environment,” Bates said. “In the depths of COVID, we had to record the instrumental families separately, which actually gave us amazing control in the studio later. And the process even illustrated the piece’s theme of unity from diversity, that is, the orchestra as a model of different materials and technologies fusing into one beautiful super-instrument.” 

Philharmonia Fantastique was commissioned by Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and the American Youth Symphony.

The soundtrack is available to stream or purchase, and the film is now available to watch on Apple TV and Apple Music.

After concerts in May by the CSO and earlier by other ensembles, Philharmonia Fantastique will be presented elsewhere in 2023:

Jan. 21, Nashville Symphony, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville

Jan. 29, Kansas City Symphony, Kauffman Center, Kansas City, Missouri

March 4, New West Symphony, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks, California

March 5, New West Symphony, Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center, Camarillo, California

March 8 and 13-14, National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

April 2, The Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Music Center, Cleveland

April 11, Utah Symphony, Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, Orem, Utah

April 30, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Orpheum, Vancouver, British Columbia