Immortal 3 CD to premiere in Stockholm

[Jim Power]

I've just posted the same text in that big old "Immortal 3" newsthread as well; however, since this is sort of an event of its own, I would like to post it as a seperate topic as well - I hope this is OK with the moderators in here...

Immortal 3 CD to premiere in Stockholm

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 6, 2006 - Today, JMP Productions announced that the highly anticipated 3rd volume in the popular Immortal CD series will be on sale at the PLAY! concert in Stockholm on June 14, 2006 exclusively, one day prior to the official release date of the soundtrack.

Featuring over 150 minutes of arranged Commodore Amiga game music on 2 CDs, all of the 35 tracks have been exclusively arranged for the album, most of them by their original composers, including Europe's most famous video game composer Chris Huelsbeck. Immortal 3 features his music from the legendary Turrican game soundtracks and a live orchestra rendition of the acclaimed Apidya main title. Chris Huelsbeck will be in attendance at the concert in Stockholm.

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is the world's first and only symphony concert world tour, featuring live music performed by full orchestra and choir. Outstanding graphics on large screens above the orchestra accompany the scores, highlighting memorable moments from the catalogue of blockbuster video games.

Says Jason Michael Paul, producer of PLAY!: "The purpose of PLAY! is to promote the music of the composers that endorse our world tour. By selling the music of famed composer Chris Huelsbeck who will also be in attendance in Stockholm for the show we are delivering just that. The CD is something that will surely resonate with those who appreciate quality music and will make for a great addition to anyone's CD collection.".

Additional tour dates including ticket information are available at the official PLAY! website at http://www.play-symphony.com/tickets.php. So far, upcoming PLAY! concerts have been announced for Stockholm, Detroit, Philadelphia, Vienna (Virginia) and Toronto.

[Jim Power]

Here is a great picture showing the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra performing the "Apidya" suite. This image is courtesy of Swedish game mag Gon (http://www.gon.se) and, of course, PLAY! (http://www.play-symphony.com). In case you would also like to know what it sounded like... well, I suggest you head over to Chris' C64 Audio shop and grab your copy of "Immortal 3" right away, which actually features a live orchestral recording of that track!

[Jim Power]

I recently stumbled across an interesting page that features movie longplays from a variety of well-known Amiga games - looks like they also provided the video footage from "Apidya" used during the Stockholm concert (a comment in their download section states this movie was "a request from Thomas Boecker and his symphonic game project"). Most of the files on this page are pretty large, but I enjoyed watching them nevertheless. Check out http://recordedamigagames.ath.cx/

[Jim Power]

Almost a year has passed since the "Immortal 3" album premiered during the first European concert of PLAY! in Stockholm, Sweden. This weekend, PLAY! is back - and so is the "Immortal" team: we have joined forces with Merregnon producer Thomas Boecker and arranger Jonne "Purple Motion" Valtonen to bring you a symphonic medley of some of the greatest Amiga soundtracks of all time. Here's the press release:

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 24, 2007- Today, Jason Michael Paul Productions, Inc. has revealed the classics to be featured in the exclusive Commodore Amiga medley that will world-premiere in Stockholm on June 2 2007. The arrangement for orchestra and choir was supervised by game music expert Jan Zottmann (IMMORTAL album series).

The medley includes:

- Alienbreed by Allister Brimble
- James Pond 2 by Richard Joseph
- Pinball Fantasies by Olof Gustafsson
- Lionheart by Matthias Steinwachs
- Lemmings by Brian Johnston and Tim Wright
- Turrican 2 by Chris Huelsbeck

Says Jan Zottmann: "I think it's fantastic that PLAY! pays tribute to one of the most successful homecomputers of all time by including this medley in their programme. Many of European's finest game musicians such as Allister Brimble or the late Richard Joseph started their careers on this machine and I can't wait to hear their music getting performed by a full orchestra for the first time. This medley is a dream come true for the many Amiga fans out there - and I happen to be just one of them."

Other highlights of the concerts include a Commodore 64 medley and the world-premiere performance of the monumental FINAL FANTASY VI - DANCING MAD presented by full orchestra, choir, pipe organ and metal act MACHINAE SUPREMACY. Video game titles CASTLEVANIA, THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION, SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS, ANNO 1701, THE REVENGE OF SHINOBI and THE DARKNESS by Swedish game developer Starbreeze will be a part of the shows as well.

Tickets for both PLAY! Stockholm concerts can be purchased through the Stockholm Concert Hall box office and online at Ticnet.se.

[kjetiln]

I was at the Play consert in Oslo last friday and I loved the C64 and Amiga medley!
The audience went crazy when Lemmings was on screen!
Good job there Jan!
I loved the entire show. Simply brilliant! Those of you who haven't yet seen it, go see it if you have the chance, you will love it even if you don't usually go to symphonic concerts
I think the next concerts is in germany in January.

[Vosla]

Concert in Germany? Where?
I already missed one concert right before my house step, as they played several classic game scores at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival...

[kjetiln]

Oops, I just checked, and the consert in january is in the USA, not Germany.. I guess I heard wrong then.. Way wrong
Sorry 'bout that =)

[Vosla]

Nah, couldn't attend anyway in January as I may be still somewhere in a health resort by that time.