Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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The Trans-Siberian Orchestra ( TSO ) is an American music project that is a mixture of orchestra and large rock band . TSO emerged from the metal band Savatage , from whose environment the creative minds Jon Oliva , Paul O'Neill and Bob Kinkel also come. Elements of metal can still be recognized in TSO, but Broadway , classical , jazz and soul influences can be found at least equally . It is also essential that the singing is distributed according to roles, which among other things enables the leap from rock opera to musical . An essential feature of the previous publications is a reference to Christmas . Three of the five albums published so far as well as the DVD "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve" process traditional Christmas carols musically, combine them with classic and rock elements and thematically represent a Christmas sequel.
history
prehistory
In 1986, Savatage were facing financial problems and the flop of the album Fight for the Rock . This low point in the career was subsequently prevented by the persuasiveness of Paul O'Neill, who contacted the band, dissuaded them from their intention to dissolve and from then on worked for them as a producer. On the following album, Hall of the Mountain King , Savatage covered an orchestral work with In der Halle des Bergkönigs by Edvard Grieg ( Criss Oliva on electric guitar). The Electric Light Orchestra had already worked on this piece in a similar style in the 70s , whose basic musical direction at least at that time was or was not so far from that of the TSO. This album was also the premiere for the collaboration with Bob Kinkel. The album was a great success, the split was finally averted. O'Neill, guitarist for the tour production of Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair in his younger years , was also able to inspire Jon Oliva for musicals. In an interview he later said that attending a particular musical (allegedly The Phantom of the Opera ) during this period shaped the later style of Savatage and the founding of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The album Gutter Ballet from 1990 already shows developments in this direction.
In the following years, in addition to the regular albums Edge of Thorns (1992) and Handful of Rain (1994), the rock opera albums Streets (1991) and Dead Winter Dead (1995), which tell stories as concept albums and also feature orchestral arrangements . In 1993, Criss Oliva died in a car accident. The death of the guitarist meant that in the following years Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill were primarily responsible for the songwriting and were able to implement their orchestral visions. Groundbreaking for this was the Dead Winter Dead instrumental Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12-24) . This piece of music happened to be broadcast by numerous US radio stations on Christmas 1995, which made Savatage's record company Atlantic Records realize the potential of such music for the mass market. Based on this piece, Atlantic Records offered Savatage to release a complete Christmas album. All the musicians involved in Savatage feared, however, that this would not fit in stylistically with Savatage due to the rather unusual Christmas theme for metal. O'Neill therefore proposed to form a new band, with which the TSO was brought into being.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra
In addition to Oliva, O'Neill and Kinkel, many current and former Savatage members worked at TSO. As a singer, however, Broadway singers were hired to meet the TSO's musical standards. The name falsely suggested Russian influence on TSO, but was only chosen because Paul O'Neill liked it. A producer of the Rosie O'Donnell Show (Christmas 1996) did not know this and therefore thought TSO was a Russian symphony orchestra, which he had planned for the show. The appearance on this show made TSO known, the first album Christmas Eve and Other Stories reached platinum status in the USA in a very short time . In Germany, on the other hand, this album, like the following, also successful The Christmas Attic, was sometimes harshly dismissed by the critics as "better elevator music".
The 2000 album Beethoven's Last Night on the other hand is an ambitious concept album about the creative crisis and the death of Ludwig van Beethoven is it contains - as the name suggests -. Numerous elements, quotes and variations of the music of Beethoven, but also its influences such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are processed.
In 2004, The Lost Christmas Eve, the concept story about Christmas was completed into a trilogy and declared over.
today
Since the first successes, TSO tours the USA annually at Advent and Christmas with two ensembles with 60 members for the east and west coast. The TSO became popular through those intense tours and appearances on US television. On March 16, 2011 the TSO performed in the Hallenstadion in Zurich . That was the first ever European appearance. Further releases are planned for the future, for example the double album Night Castle was released on October 27, 2009 . The Christmas trilogy should, however, remain without a sequel.
Many fans of Savatage are rather critical of the TSO, as in their opinion the prospects of commercial success with TSO are greater than with Savatage and the Savatage members therefore give their main band the lower priority. Especially the last Savatage album Poets And Madmen from 2001 has a reputation for having been postponed again and again due to work at the TSO. Most recently (in May 2006), Jon Oliva finally announced that after the 25th band anniversary in 2007, Savatage might disband in order to devote more time to his new band Jon Oliva's Pain and the much more successful TSO project, an announcement that he made on 19. Acted December 2007 and dissolved Savatage. In the fall of 2006, Paul O'Neills announced that TSO were working on seven more albums and two Broadway musicals.
In spring 2011 there were concerts in Switzerland, Germany and England and on March 18, 2011 TSO performed for the first time in Austria in the Wiener Stadthalle.
At Wacken Open Air 2015, Savatage and TSO played a joint concert at which, for the first time in the history of the festival, both main stages were played at the same time.
Trivia
In the run-up to Christmas 2005, the American Carson Williams from Ohio attracted a lot of attention because he decorated his house with thousands of lights and drove them to the beat of the TSO instrumental wizard in winter . The song could be received in the vicinity of the house via FM. A video of the system, which was initially only distributed on the Internet and attracted a lot of attention in the US and later in Europe, quickly found its way onto American television. The homeowner was invited to a concert and some talk shows by TSO. The great media attention generated such a surge of onlookers that the lighting campaign had to be canceled before Christmas.
In December 2015, this light-music campaign was modeled on three Tesla Model Xs and the special functions of the Model X were presented. At first only music and light signals are used, but then the rear wing doors open, which can "flutter" due to an additional joint, the side mirrors fold in and out, and the driver's doors open and close. In December 2016 an " Easter Egg " was imported with a software update, which makes this show insert available to all customers.
Discography
Albums
- 1996: Christmas Eve and Other Stories
- 1998: The Christmas Attic
- 2000: Beethoven's Last Night (no Christmas album)
- 2001: The Ghost of Christmas Eve (DVD, US:
platinum) - 2004: The Lost Christmas Eve (definitive end of Christmas releases)
- 2007: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (EP with 6 tracks, Limited Edition)
- 2009: Night Castle (double CD, no Christmas theme)
- 2012: Dreams of Fireflies (EP with 5 titles)
- 2013: Tales of Winter (Best Of)
- 2015: Letters from the Labyrinth
- 2016: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve (Soundtrack)
Singles (with awards)
- 2003: Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24 (US:
gold)
swell
- ↑ US chart history
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
- ↑ Christmas Lights Gone Wild. In: youtube.com. November 21, 2005, accessed December 19, 2015 . , available in better quality. In: youtube.com. December 24, 2010, accessed May 20, 2019 .
- ↑ https://electrek.co/2016/12/23/tesla-xmas-easter-egg-model-x-light-show/
