Canadians lap up CD by Tucson Symphony

Many probably couldn't even locate Tucson on a map.

But more than 1,000 Canadians — likely double or triple that when the final tally comes next week — snapped up copies of the TSO's debut international commercial recording in the five days since its Canadian release Oct. 1, propelling the CD to the top of the Canadian classical-music charts.

The disc, released in the U.S. Sept. 30, is the first-ever recording of a long-lost concerto by French-Canadian composer André Mathieu.

In the United States, first-week sales of "André Mathieu: Piano Concerto No. 4," with French-Canadian pianist Alain Lefévre, were at least 1,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks record sales to determine Billboard and other record charts.

The U.S. sales were strong enough to rank the record No. 2 behind renowned violinist Joshua Bell's "Vivaldi's Four Seasons" in the traditional classical category; and fifth in overall classical, which includes crossover acts like Andrea Bocelli and Joshua Groban.

"We were hopeful it would be really positive, but No. 1 in Canada? No. 2 and the only person ahead of us is Josh Bell? That's pretty rarefied," said TSO Executive Director Susan Franano. "We're grinning a lot around here."

TSO Conductor George Hanson was jubilant. "We beat André Rieu. He sells out the (Tucson) Arena, but we kick his butt on the charts," he joked. "This is a great and glorious day for this organization ... and I share it with Alain and my friends in the orchestra."

Canada's No. 1 ranking puts the CD ahead of all classical albums; the country lumps traditional and crossover classical music into one category.

"When on the charts you are beating people like Sony, EMI — those people are looking at you and saying, 'What have you done?' " Lefévre said Wednesday from Montreal. "For us to beat all those people is amazing. We're big-time breaking Josh Groban's first place on the classical charts."

The TSO was the first to ever perform Mathieu's concerto, part of a catalog of Mathieu compositions that Lefévre has helped recover and restore over the past two decades. Much of the composer's works were scattered throughout his native Montreal, bartered to pay bar tabs. Mathieu died at age 39 in 1968.

In addition to the concerto, the album includes Mathieu's "Ballet Scenes" and "Four Songs for Choir and Orchestra," featuring the TSO Chorus.

The orchestra and Lefévre recorded the CD over three concerts last May in the Tucson Music Hall with Canadian label Analekta. Part of the TSO's costs — to pay musicians for copyrights and other expenses — were funded by Tucson's Stonewall Foundation, Franano said.

Franano said they could realize a profit from the CD if it does as well as Lefévre's three previous Mathieu recordings, which sold a combined 85,000 copies. His 2003 Québec Concerto with the Québec Symphony Orchestra sold 44,000 copies alone, Lefévre said when the TSO announced the record deal last November.

Classical CDs sell far less than pop-music CDs, which can have first-week sales in the tens of or hundreds of thousands. Classical-music CDs are considered commercially successful if they sell 4,000 copies.

Conductor Hanson said the chart debut did not surprise him "because I know the power of this music."

"Now that the critics and all these folks are going to get their hands on this CD, people are now going to know not only the power of the music but the performance of this orchestra and this great soloist," he added.

The CD also could find itself vying for a Grammy. Koch Entertainment, which is handling North American distribution of the disc, plans to submit it for Grammy consideration in three categories: classical album, instrumental solo with orchestra and producer of the year.

"I don't know if a Grammy is going to happen, but it is absolutely not out of the question," Hanson said. "Just imagine if someone would have said a year ago that the Tucson Symphony would be No. 1 on the classical charts with a CD. People would say, 'Don't be ridiculous.' "