''Six Pieces for Orchestra'' is the fifth studio album by English keyboardist and songwriter Tony Banks. It was released on 26 March 2012 on

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

as his second album of classical music, following '' Seven: A Suite for Orchestra'' in 2004. The suite is performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Paul Englishby. Two of the pieces feature soloists: Martin Robertson plays alto saxophone on "Siren", and

Charlie Siem Charles Maximilian Siem (born 14 January 1986) is an English contemporary classical violinist. Life and career Charlie Siem was born in London, England, to Kristian Siem, a Norwegian businessman, and his South African-born wife. He has three si ...

plays violin on "Blade".

Background

''Six Pieces for Orchestra'' is Banks's second album of classical music following his first, '' Seven: A Suite for Orchestra'' (2004). The idea to produce a follow-up originated when he had finished ''Seven'' as he had learned a lot from the project and felt he could produce "a more complete piece." The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra was chosen for the project as its cheaper performance fee allowed for greater studio time than an orchestra based in England. Banks recorded ''Seven'' with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

and felt a lack of excitement from the musicians and was faced with less rehearsal time, two things he saw little point to repeat for ''Six''.

Track listing

All tracks written by Tony Banks. #"Siren" #"Still Waters" #"Blade" #"Wild Pilgrimage" #"The Oracle" #"City of Gold"

Personnel

* City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra *Martin Robertson – alto saxophone on "Siren" *

– violin on "Blade" * Paul Englishby – orchestration * Tony Banks – composer, producer * Nick Davis – producer, engineer *Nick Wollage – engineer *Colin Rae – editor, copyist *Imagem Music – publisher *

Stefan Knapp Stefan Knapp (July 11, 1921 – October 12, 1996) was a Polish-born painter and sculptor, who worked in Great Britain. He developed and patented a technique of painting with enamel paint on steel, facilitating decorating public architectural ...

– cover image

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Tony Banks (musician) albums Naxos Records albums City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra albums