Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta (Live) Rufus Wainwright & Amsterdam Sinfonietta

• Irving Berlin (1888 . 1989):
• 1How Deep Is the Ocean (Live)04:00
• Rufus Wainwright (b. 1973):
• 2Foolish Love (Live)05:50
• Anna McGarrigle (b. 1944 , Philippe Tatartcheff:
• 3Excursion à Venise (Live)03:44
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764):
• 4Tristes Apprêts (Live)03:31
• Kate McGarrigle (1946 - 2010)
• 5Go Leave (Live)04:05
• Rufus Wainwright:
• 6Gay Messiah (Live)03:46
• Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016):
• 7Who by Fire (Live)05:20
• Joni Mitchell (b. 1943):
• 8All I Want (Live)03:48
• Rufus Wainwright:
• 9Argentina (Live)02:45
• Lhasa de Sela (1972 - 2010):
• 10I'm Going In (Live)08:26
• Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869):
• 11L'île Inconnue (Live)03:50
• Rufus Wainwright:
• 12Arachne (Live)04:17
• Jacques Romain G. Brel (1929 - 1978):
• 13Amsterdam (Live)04:30
• Total Runtime57:52

Info for Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta (Live)

Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live was recorded in January 2017 as Wainwright toured with the prestigious all-string ensemble Amsterdam Sinfonietta through the Netherlands. Curated by Wainwright, the ten concerts reflected the immense bandwidth of his musical influences and interests, spanning Verdi arias, pieces by Rameau and his beloved Berlioz, American standards, classics by Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, French chanson, songs by his family and songs of his own, some written expressly for this program. At the album’s emotional center is an epic version of late Canadian singer-songwriter Lhasa de Sela’sharrowing “I’m Going In,” a song written about her own death from cancer at the age of 37. With Wainwright’s voice truly at the peak of its substantial power, Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live 2017 showcases the astounding artistic kinship between the celebrated singer-songwriter and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta–led by Candida Thompson –making these previously unreleased live recordings something utterly unique and entirely breathtaking.

“These were some of the most challenging and most fulfilling shows I have done in my life” says Wainwright. “Never have I sung so many songs from such different styles and worlds of music from French baroque to classical arias to contemporary music. I dont think this would have been possible without the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Candida Thompson. I was caught, uplifted, secure, challenged in their beautiful string playing.”

Rufus Wainwright and Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live was mixed by multiple GRAMMY® Award-winner Ryan Freeland and mastered by Ruairi O’Flaherty, both in Los Angeles, and is comprised of recordings from five of the 10 concerts. All arrangements were created specifically for the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.

Rufus Wainwright, vocals, guitar, piano
Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Rufus Wainwright
Praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation. The New York-born, Montreal-raised singer songwriter has released seven studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums, including the fantastic Grammy nominated Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, which captured his celebrated Judy Garland tribute performance at the London Palladium in 2007, and the album Release The Stars which went Gold in Canada and the U.K.

Wainwright has received Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album in 1999 and 2002 for Rufus Wainwright and Poses, respectively, and nominations for his albums Want Two (2005) and Release the Stars (2008). He was nominated for Songwriter of the Year in 2008 for his Release the Stars album. He also composed the original music for choreographer Stephen Petronio’s work BLOOM which has toured across the country.

Musically Rufus has collaborated with artists including Elton John, David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys and producer Mark Ronson among others. His most recent collaboration is on the title track of Robbie Williams’ latest album, Swings Both Ways, which was co-written with renowned musician and producer Guy Chambers and sung as a duet between Rufus and Robbie.

In addition to being a celebrated contemporary pop singer, Rufus has made a name for himself in the classical world. His much acclaimed first opera, titled Prima Donna, premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009. The opera was subsequently performed in London at Sadler’s Wells in April 2010, in Toronto at the Luminato Festival in June 2010 and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House in February 2012. Now fully established as a composer of operas, Rufus was commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company to write his second opera based on the story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Antinous. The new opera, Hadrian, premiered in Toronto on October 13, 2018.

This album contains no booklet.