New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) 'The Greatest Video Game Music' (11/8, X5
Music Group), performed by the highly acclaimed London Philharmonic Orchestra, features classical orchestrations of the best-known video game themes including 'Mario Bros,' 'Call of Duty,' 'Zelda,' 'Final Fantasy,' 'Halo,' 'World of Warcraft,' the incredibly successful 'Angry Birds' and many more. It allows the hundreds of millions of video game enthusiasts to fully immerse themselves in the experience of gaming in a new way, and is the perfect gift for both avid and casual gamers. The album will be available on CD, through Naxos of America, and digitally.
Over the last 40 years, video games have become a critical form of entertainment globally. As they have become more sophisticated and realistic, video game music has also evolved from the simple bleeps of arcade games to robust orchestrations written for complex games on platforms like Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo. Orchestral interpretations of video game music have also grown into a worldwide cultural phenomenon, exposing classical music sounds to youthful ears much like cartoons did in the mid-20th century.
Listen to "Call of Duty -
Modern Warfare 2: Theme" here. (Approved to Post)
The New York Times recently wrote "if Beethoven and Tchaikovsky were alive today, they would be composing music for video games," while NPR's All Things Considered said "for the first time in years, professional musicians are receiving the kind of audience energy they've craved." In fact, a live concert of this material by the Philharmonic last month brought a raucous crowd of twenty and thirty-somethings to its feet at London Festival Hall without a graybeard in site -- (see 'Super
Mario Brothers' here: https://bit.ly/plOL6b). Now, for the first time, themes from the most popular games ranging from 'Tetris' to 'Grand Theft Auto' have been recorded in the studio by a top-tier full symphony orchestra and chorus.
'Angry Birds' composer Ari
Pulkkinen said, "This is the first orchestral version of one of my compositions and it really comes alive. It has such a great depth and a majestic touch, and it was very emotional for me when I heard it the first time. I love it!" 'The Greatest Video Game Music' is the X5 follow-up to the hugely successful 'The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music.' The songs on this album, conducted by Andrew Skeet, represent 20 different video games with total sales exceeding 1 billion units globally.
1. Advent Rising: Muse (Composed by Tommy Tallarico, Emmanuel Fratianni, and Laurie Robinson)
2. Legend of Zelda: Suite (Composed by Koji Kondo)
3. Call of Duty -
Modern Warfare 2: Theme (Composed by Hans Zimmer)
4. Angry Birds: Main Theme (Composed by Ari Pulkkinen)
5. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali (Composed by Nobuo Uematsu)
6. Super
Mario Bros Theme (Composed by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo)
7. Uncharted - Drake's Fortune: Nate's Theme (Composed by Greg Edmonson)
8. Grand Theft Auto IV: Soviet Connection (Composed by Michael Hunter)
9. World of Warcraft: Seasons of War (Composed by Jason Hayes)
10. Metal Gear Solid: Sons of
Liberty Theme (Composed by Harry Gregson-Williams)
11. Tetris: Theme (Composed by Alexey Pajitnov)
12. Battlefield 2: Theme (Composed by Joel Eriksson)
13. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (Composed by Jeremy Soule)
14. Call of Duty 4 -
Modern Warfare: Main Menu Theme (Composed by Stephen Barton and Harry Gregson-Williams)
15. Mass Effect: Suicide Mission (Composed by Jack Wall and Sam Hulick)
16. Splinter Cell: Conviction (Composed by Michael Nielsen, Kaveh Cohen, and Amon Tobin)
17. Final Fantasy: Main Theme (Composed by Nobuo Uematsu)
18. Bioshock: The Ocean on his Shoulders (Composed by Garry Schyman)
19. Halo 3: One Final Effort (Composed by
Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori)
20. Fallout 3: Theme (Composed by Inon Zur)
21. Super
Mario Bros: Gusty Garden Galaxy (Composed by Koji Kondo)
