Although operas make up the most substantial part of Mercadante’s catalogue, his technically challenging flute concertos are notable examples of 19th-century Italian instrumental music, effectively closing the Classical period for this instrument. Built on the agile writing and bel canto style that characterized the Neapolitan school, the Concerto in D major is unique in Mercadante’s catalogue in being for two flutes. The great mutual respect between Mercadante and Rossini is brought vividly to life in the theme used for the masterly ‘Tema con variazione.’ The ‘Capricci’ can be compared with those for violin by Paganini, and the joyous ‘Sixth Concerto’ makes varied and eloquent use of the orchestra. Patrick Gallois belongs to the generation of French musicians leading highly successful international careers as both soloist and conductor. From the age of 17 he studied the flute with Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatoire and at the age of 21 was appointed principal flute in the Orchestre national de France. He held this post until he began pursuing his solo career in 1984.

•A fascinating programme of three variations cycles from different style periods. The Beethoven Eroica variations, The Piano Variations by Aaron Copland and The Chopin Variations by Sergei Rachmaninoff. This is the second release on Piano Classics by Georgian pianist Alexander Korsantia, presently residing in Boston, USA. His first disc was devoted to Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

A 2020 GRAMMY nominee for Best Choral Performance!

Alexander Kastalsky was a student of Tchaikovsky and a mentor to Rachmaninov, becoming director of the Moscow Synodal School until the Bolshevik regime banned all sacred music, including the extraordinary Requiem for Fallen Brothers which consequently lay forgotten for over a century. The Requiem is a rich and varied mosaic that honors those who perished in the First World War, poignantly combining Orthodox and Gregorian chant with hymns from the allied nations, even including Rock of Ages. This unprecedented and peerless monument to those who made the ultimate sacrifice was acclaimed on its 1917 premiere as a ‘uniquely Russian requiem that… gave musical voice to the tears of many nations.’ This is a world premiere recording.

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REVIEW:

One of Russia’s foremost composers of Orthodox church music, Alexander Kastalsky (1856-1926) is remembered for assisting Rachmaninov with his All-Night Vigil. During World War I, Kastalsky composed his Requiem for Fallen Brothers in honour of Russia and her allies: using a full orchestra, and mingling texts and melodies from the Orthodox, Anglican and Catholic Churches, Kastalsky also included textless tributes to the Indian and Japanese forces. Most of the music is clearly steeped in the Orthodox tradition, infused with memories of Mozart’s Requiem, but includes disquieting elements such as the Musorgsky-like funeral bell chord which makes ominous reappearances, like the bell in Britten’s War Requiem. After its 1917 premiere, Kastalsky added a further three movements including one honouring Russia’s new ally, America. The October Revolution precluded their performance, and the work was not heard again until 1977 when Yevgeny Svetlanov conducted the earlier 1917 version, its liturgical texts inevitably replaced with Soviet-style sentiments: this was recorded, but is currently only available as part of an expensive 11-disc Melodiya set.

Leonard Slatkin and his first-rate team of musicians now present the first complete recording. The ‘new’ post-1917 movements include a ‘Beati mortui’ sparkling with sleigh bells and piano figuration; a sombre bass solo ‘Kakaya sladost’, which for a moment enters a hellish region with shadowed smears and slitherings from the orchestra; and the American hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ bizarrely yet touchingly combined with Chopin’s Funeral March. Slatkin, who admits a deep belief in this work, draws a touching performance.

- Daniel Jaffé, Choral & Song

REVIEW:

Alexander Dmitrievich Kastalsky was born in Moscow on 16 November 1856 and died there on 17 December 1926. A student of Taneyev and Tchaikovsky at the Moscow Conservatory, his works stood to one side from the secular musical world. Rachmaninov saw Kastalsky as his teacher and was influenced by the older man whose presence can be sensed in the Vespers and in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom—also recorded by Charles Bruffy and his Kansas choir. Kastalsky became a leading light in a nineteenth century renaissance of the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church. With Smolensky and Grechaninov, Kastalsky was part of fresh passion for Russian devotional music. Tragically for Kastalsky, this was to collide with the Bolshevik ban on sacred music. The extraordinary imaginative strengths of the choral-orchestral Requiem for Fallen Brothers were disregarded. Even so it is reported that the Kastalsky Requiem travelled far and wide. It was, for example, performed in Birmingham by that city’s Festival Choir on 22 November 1917 conducted by Henry Wood, a fervent Russophile.

The towering Requiem lay in oblivion for more than a century despite its fresh and tragic inspiration: it recalled those who perished in the First World War. The score is affluent in ideas, both vocal and orchestral. Across seventeen segments (here separately accessible) the work accommodates a range of well-recognised spiritual references. Without falling into the trap of a variegated collage it finds a place for Orthodox and Gregorian chant and mixes in material from the allied nations. In tr. 14 Kastalsky weaves Chopin’s ‘funeral march’ and the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ with the same mastery we find in Bridge’s Sir Roger de Coverley and Holst’s Fantasia on The Dargason. The more one experiences this major work, whether through this fine recording under Leonard Slatkin or in the hands of Evgeny Svetlanov, the more one places it alongside other known Great War humanist monuments like Delius’s Requiem and John Foulds’ World Requiem. To this group, can be added John Ireland’s These Things Shall Be and perhaps also a work quite unknown, Julius Harrison’s Great War tribute Requiem of Archangels. Kastalsky’s commitment towards church music spread to a work kindred to the Requiem but this time for unaccompanied choir. It was a short version; only 40 minutes as against the 64 minutes of the present Requiem. This a cappella work came under the title Memory Eternal to the Fallen Heroes.

The Requiem strides forward with slight pauses between sections. In terms of sweep and incident it coheres well. Proceedings begin with seraphic choir and tolling bells, all suggestive of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. The Kyrie (2) continues the seraphic treatment but is underpinned with tenderly stabbing strings. The whole rises to a searching intensity that recalls Rachmaninov’s The Bells. As this section closes Kastalsky refers obliquely back to the clangour of the first movement. The dark griping of the brass in the Rex tremendae (4) paves the way for a soprano solo in Ingemisco (4) and for Beethovenian protest and struggle in the Confutatis. Here Kastalsky deploys words from Pushkin’s poem John of Damascus; a text that also drew Taneyev. The Lacrymosa (6) has the two soloists’ voices mingling amid a choral haze. Mixed in we hear tendrils of the Dies Irae. In Domine Jesu (7) the scent of incense is strong against the treble of silvery bells. Beati mortui makes use of the sound of sleigh bells and, not for the first time, fleetingly suggests The Bells—the latter a work dating from four years before Kastalsky started work on the Requiem. The Hostias (9) blends the harp with the rich tone of the choir in a heaven-invoking carol. In the first of two Interludia (10), Japanese music is limned in to represent participation of the Japanese army in the conflict. Trumpet fanfares impel and crown the grand statement that is the Sanctus (11). The coaxing and soothing ways of the Agnus Dei (12) usher in What Sweetness in This World (13) with its commanding piano part and bass-baritone darkness. Its fruity solo trumpet makes you think of Holst’s Dirge for Two Veterans. The Dies Irae returns in mists for the Kyrie eleison (15)—an exercise in slow-stepping serenity. There’s unhurried atmospheric ululation in the second Interludium: Hymn to Indra, calling to mind, if only in choice of subject, Holst’s Sanskrit works. The Requiem ends with the bells: part hugely imposing and celebratory and part seeming to reach out towards apotheosis from the bleak fog of chaos. The superb echoing resonance of the church acoustic is very present as the finale rings out.

This fully-fleshed out Requiem has a tremendously dignified tread, noble grief and imperious ways. Naxos have done well by Kastalsky. This treatment extends to a twenty-page booklet with all the sung text. The layout has the Italian, Latin, Greek and Russian words with English translation in parallel throughout.

– MusicWeb International (Rob Barnett)

There are not many so-called 'standard' songs on this CD but the observant reader may already have noticed that it presents several Schiller texts in alternative settings, ranging from very early (Des M�dchens Klage D6 is Schubert's first song - bar one) to very near the end of the composer's life. It is instructive to compare and see the quite different approach to the same text at different times. Listening to Schubert songs is always life-enhancing and even if not all of them are masterpieces there are constantly interesting turns of phrase or just a beautiful melody that is a pleasure to listen to, especially when sung so well as Lothar Odinius does here. This disc is from beginning to end Schubert singing on the highest possible level.

Antonio Ruiz-Pipó became an essentially Parisian artist, but his music always retained the historical roots and warmth of expression of his Spanish origins. Volume 1 of this edition (8.573971) focused on chamber music with guitar, and this programme presents four solo cycles. As with many of Ruiz-Pipó’s works, the Otoñales are dedicated to and inspired by figures amongst his own circle of friends and colleagues. The deeply expressive and vibrant Canciónes y danzas are a homage to Mompou, and representative of a composer steeped in the music of Albéniz and Falla but with a rigorous individuality that makes his voice unique, evocative and varied. A specialist in Spanish and South-American contemporary guitar music, internationally acclaimed virtuoso Wolfgang Wiegel has recorded for Naxos and other labels, and duringa long and distinguished career has presented a vast repertoire of eminent composers and their works for guitar, as a soloist, and in co-operation with numerous orchestras and chamber music groups.

The series of the complete Mahler Symphonies with the Düsseldorf Symphonic under the baton of Ádám Fischer continues here with the release of the Symphony No. 9. Over the last two years Ádám Fischer’s Mahler recordings grew to a most successful recording project, winning the BBC Music Magazine Award, and the OPUS KLASSIK Trophy in Germany. Adam Fischer: "Mahler wrote his Ninth symphony in 1909, and it is about death. To be more precise it is about dying. And I know of no other language apart from German in which the words 'death' (Tod) and 'dying' have entirely different etymologies."

Astor Piazzolla, the great Argentine composer and bandoneon player, was born exactly a century ago in 1921. Fascinated by the music of Bach, Mozart and Chopin, Piazzolla wanted to compose great classical music. From Alberto Ginastera he received lessons in orchestration, composition and conducting, as well as in literature and poetry. Following his studies with Ginastera, Piazzolla received a scholarship to study in Paris with the renowned pianist and composer Nadia Boulanger. Under her guidance, he began to conceive of and perfect his own style of composition. Composer and bandoneon player Omar Massa hails from Buenos Aires and has lived in Berlin since 2019. He is seen by music critics as the successor to Astor Piazzolla, whose work he has been performing from the age of six. Massa is considered to be an ambassador and champion of Argentine music as he too creates bridges to classical music with his own compositions. He combines minimalism with contemplative spaces, creates impressionistic colours, uses unusual meters and expands harmonic language without losing the inner melancholy of the true Tango Nuevo. Massa catapults the music of Buenos Aires into the 21st century. For over five decades, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra has been an integral part of Berlin's musical and cultural life, enriching the German orchestral landscape, and since 1990 has been the orchestra for all Berliners. In addition to the popular and long-established symphony concerts held in the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra performs throughout Berlin and the surrounding area. With guest performances in Europe and tours to North and South America, Africa and Asia, as well as their appearances at international festivals (in France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Israel, among others), the Berlin Symphony Orchestra presents itself successfully worldwide and sees itself as a cultural ambassador for Berlin.

First Prize Winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg Foundation' Violin Competition and the 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition, Frank Huang has now embarked on a major career as a violin virtuoso.

Ferruccio Busoni composed a significant number of works for two pianos throughout his life. While Bach’s pervasive influence is already evident in some of his early compositions including the Preludio e Fuga and Capriccio, it reaches its most complex and glorious expression in the definitive 1921 version of his Fantasia contrappuntistica. In the case of Schumann’s Op. 134 for piano and orchestra, Busoni simply reduced the orchestral part for a second piano. However, his skill as a master transcriber and composer is revealed in his brilliant arrangements of Mozart’s works, which also highlight the subtlety and originality of his style. Aldo Orvieto has recorded extensively, releasing more than 70 albums dedicated to composers of the 20th century on a wide variety of labels, many receiving critical acclaim. Aldo Ciccolini appeared on the Naxos release of Achille Longo’s PianoQuintet (Ciccolini’s teacher) with the Circolo Artistico Ensemble (8.572628), which was nominated for an International Classical Music Award (ICMA).Classical Lost and Found wrote that: ‘Considering Ciccolini’s intimate association with his mentor’s quintet, this would have to be considered a definitive performance.’ Marco Rapetti received his Diploma cum laude at the Accademia Perosi in Biella. Rapetti has been awarded many prizes in national and international competitions, and has released several recordings, including the complete piano works of Borodin, Liadov, Dukas and Debussy.

The present recording is taken from a live transmission of the Academy concert of May 8, 1972, from the Nationaltheater in Munich. The early death of Karl Richter in February 1981 frustrated the intention of releasing one of the great oratorios from his performing repertoire, Joseph Haydn’s “Creation”, in a studio recording. Happily it has proved possible to obtain the present sound recording from the archives of the Bayerische Staatsoper and, with the kind consent of the participants, to prepare a technically enhanced release. Despite a number of remaining technical inadequacies, such as may be considered characteristic for historic recordings of this nature, this audio document gives a particularly fine impression of the ambience and the authenticity of a live performance with conductor Karl Richter – complementing, as it were, the many available studio recordings of his wide-ranging musical repertoire. Special thanks are due to the musicians and all involved at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. For his help in advance preparation of this project, we wish to thank by name the opera house’s former Chief Executive of Administration Dr. Roland Felber!

Fernando Suarez Paz joined the Quinteto Nuevo Tango at the request of Astor Piazzolla in 1978, and he toured with the ensemble until their disbandment in 1988. In his decade of performing alongside Piazzolla, Paz recorded 18 albums all over the world. The first track on this album, Escualo by Piazzolla, is dedicated to Fernando Suarez Paz. The New York Times gave Paz a 7-star rating after his performances alongside vibraphonist Gary Burton at various jazz festivals across Europe, Japan, and the United States. Fernando’s son, Leonardo Suarez Paz is featured on this release. Leonardo grew up alongside Astor Piazzolla and was mentored by both Piazzolla and his father. He directs tango projects all over the globe, and his productions have appeared in such venues as the Lincoln Center in New York, and the Teatro Colon Opera House in Buenos Aires.

Capella Istropolitana orchestra under the leading of conductors Wolfgang Sobotka and Harald Nerat perform MOZART's: Eine kleine Nachtmusik / Serenata Notturna / Divertimento.

The variation cycle is without a doubt one of the most important works of keyboard instrument literature, played time and again, both in the original version and in miscellaneous adaptations and instrumentations. Framed by the unforgettably beautiful aria in a form similar to a sarabande, the 30 variations are bound by the bass framework and divided in two larger parts. A French overture marks the beginning of the second part. Every third variation, composed as an interval canon and in which the parts begin in an ever-increasing interval, additionally subdivides the work into ten groups of three. This wonderful work with its plethora of possible structures and symbols concealed in numbers has kept generations of musicians and musicologists busy and will probably continue to do so for a long time to come. The best thing to do is to lean back, leave the task of hitting the right key at the right time to the musicians and let the music speak for itself! Or, as Albert Einstein once said, "What I have to say about Bach's life work: Listen, perform, love and adore it! And shut up!"

Acclaimed pianist Inna Faliks breaks new ground with REIMAGINED on Navona Records, an homage to Beethoven and Ravel which manages to do the impossible: be breathtakingly innovative while remaining respectful to the source material. Nine contemporary composers, including Richard Danielpour, Paola Prestini, Billy Childs, and Timo Andres, were commissioned to craft responses to Ludwig van Beethoven's Bagatelles, op. 126 (incidentally, the master's favorite) as well as Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit. The results are exhilarating, not least owing to Faliks's stunningly precise and sensitive pianistic interpretation: the Ukrainian-born American pianist ties together Classical, Romantic and modern pieces with disarming nonchalance and rock-solid technical skill. Defying the challenge of uniting three centuries of musical styles and social commentary, as well as producing an album during a global pandemic with the help of Yamaha's Disklavier technology, REIMAGINED proudly raises a monument not only to the genius of Beethoven and Ravel, but also to the perseverance and verve of some of today's most exciting and important composers.

With his critically acclaimed AVIE Records recordings of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Faure´ and Sergei Rachmaninov to his credit, the celebrated British pianist Charles Owen scales the heights of Franz Liszt’s anthology Annees de pelerinage, Premiere annee: Suisse (“Years of Travel, First Year: Switzerland”), which evokes the great 19th-century pianist-composer’s Swiss sojourns with aural impressions of the Alpine landscape, its peaks and valleys, mountains and streams, and the country’s distinctive folk music. Literary references abound as they do in the album’s concluding piece, the emotional Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude (“The Blessing of God in Solitude”) which was inspired by a poem penned by Liszt’s friend Alphonse de Lamartine. Emotions ran equally high for Charles Owen who turned to Liszt during lockdown. The uncertainty of being homebound throughout the pandemic was eased by the extra meaning and solace of the composer’s evocations of journeying, experiencing the natural world and its sense of beauty and liberation.

ZHOU LONG Su (Tracing Back). Pianogongs. Taiping Drum. Wild Grass. Taigu Rhyme. CHEN YI Monologue (Impression on “The True Story of Ah Q”). Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in. Chinese Ancient Dances • Beijing New Music Ens • NAXOS 8.570604 (56: 04)


Elsewhere in this issue (or the next) I review another disc in Naxos’s “Chinese Classics” series—three string quartets by Ge Gan-Ru. This one is no less worthwhile, and in fact probably will be more appealing to the average listener. (I say that only because I don’t think the average listener relishes George Crumb’s Black Angels , for example, but perhaps I am mistaken.)


These two composers were born in 1953. Both currently teach at the Conservatory of the University of Missouri in Kansas City, and both studied at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and at Columbia University in New York. Both also are married—to each other! While Ge Gan-Ru usually is described as “China’s first avant-garde composer,” Zhou Long and Chen Yi seem to have less confrontational musical personalities. Their music is most assuredly not derivative, however, nor does it have that picture-postcard quality that sometimes pervades earlier classical music by Chinese composers. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that these two composers speak with more distinctive voices than Ge Gan-Ru, who seems very connected to his Western avant-garde influences.


The works on this CD were composed for a variety of instrumental combinations. Some call for traditional Chinese instruments to be paired with Western instruments. Su , for example, is for flute and the zither-like guqin, and Pianogongs is for piano and luo, the gongs traditionally used in Chinese opera. It seems to me that Zhou and Chen are doing something similar to what Chopin and Piazzolla used to do, that is, taking their country’s indigenous genres of music and transforming them into something both personal and original.


All of this music is interesting. Some of it is terrifically exciting. Taigu Rhyme , which closes this CD, is scored for clarinet, violin, cello, and three traditional drummers, and the latter build up an impressive head of steam as the music hurtles along. The clarinet imitates the sound of the guanzi, a reed instrument related to the oboe—another example of how some modern Chinese composers are synthesizing East and West, and old and new.


The very existence of the Beijing New Music Ensemble demonstrates how quickly things are changing in China. Founded in 2005, and consisting (it appears) of an international array of musicians, it has presented dozens of new works in China and elsewhere. I have little to compare them to, but the performances seem to be on the highest possible level. This digital recording was made in the studios of Beijing’s China Record Company—in itself, a marker of both change and continuity.


These works are challenging and emotionally rich, and require no special pleading. Anyone interested in the continuing evolution of Chinese culture needs to give this excellent CD a listen.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

Mozart wrote his Violin Concertos in 1775 while still living in his home town of Salzburg and in service to Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. Mozart had already toured internationally and found his parochial environment restricting, but as ever he rose above circumstances to create sublime and thrillingly unconventional masterpieces filled with wit and elegant charm. The finely sustained melodic expression of each concerto’s slow center provides the perfect foil for inventive sparkle in outer movements that include a cheeky reference to the opera Il re pastore in K.216 to an exotic ‘Turkish’ moment in the finale of K. 219.

Reviews:

In the Fourth Concerto, there’s a lovely singing character to the central Andante, Kraggerud producing a variety of tone which matches the changing intensity of the line. Here, as in all the concertos, he plays his own cadenzas, which are stylish in the best sense, and show off his technique.

– BBC Music Magazine

The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra has something of a reputation for working harmoniously with guest soloist-directors, not least among them Leif Ove Andsnes in concertos by Mozart and Haydn. Their strength lies in the collaborative approach dictated by their modest dimensions and conductorless set-up. Those discs with Andsnes were conspicuously successful, both artistically and critically, and this new project with Henning Kraggerud is no less winning. While these are brisk, no-nonsense performances after the contemporary fashion, the thinking that underpins their shaping right from the very beginning makes these readings of the Third, Fourth and Fifth concertos worth returning to.

– Gramophone

Telemann’s Wedding Serenata Georg Philipp Telemann never missed the opportunity to delight those around him with countless compositions treating the subject of love and its consequences. The origins of his enormous achievement in this field are certainly to be sought in his personal disposition: in his exuberant joy in composition, combined with an open, optimistic attitude in his dealings with his environment, which in his works not rarely revealed his roguish sense of humor. And so he above all was very much in demand as a composer of wedding pieces. The texts of the wedding serenata »Liebe, was ist schöner als die Liebe« undeniably exhibit mirthful exuberance and belong to the most original and wittiest musical creations of all by this composer. The serenata has the form of a disputatio, a dramatic dialogue in which an advocate of marriage (Ametas, soprano) and a skeptic (Crito, tenor) are in disagreement about the usefulness of the institution of marriage. The album also includes the solo cantata “Lieben will ich,” in which the imponderables of love are celebrated in witty free texts, and the cantata “Der Weiberorden,” which quite clearly was composed in conjunction with a wedding feast and in lighter tones enables to join the young bride in joyous anticipation of her future married life.

To help artists develop exciting projects that are difficult to realize under existing conditions is the goal of the SWR NEWJazzMeeting. This legendary sound laboratory for jazz of the SWR was founded in 1966 by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and takes place every year. The idea: musicians who always wanted to perform with one another but who, for a variety of reasons, have so far not been able to do so, develop a concert programme in the broadcaster’s studios that the SWR then presents in several concerts in its transmission area. In the course of its fifty-year history, the SWR NEWJazz Meeting has in this way served as a driving force for new trends in jazz. “I see a particular value in exploring the music of my South African homeland and making it fit for the future.” Kyle Shepherd, born in 1987, is the most innovative and important pianist of the contemporary South African jazz scene. His sound boldly makes reference to the roots of township jazz and the Goema Beat of his hometown of Cape Town. Nevertheless, he refuses to be put into a pigeonhole; his horizon extends far beyond his beloved Cape Jazz. “It’s cool to choose the African thing in conceptual questions. But just as cool to choose something else.” Kyle Shepherd, the most innovative and important pianist of the contemporary South African jazz scene, is the curator of the 2016 SWR NEWJazz Meeting. At his wish, four young jazz musicians from South Africa and the Benin-born guitarist and singer Lionel Loueke (who since 2001 has been living in the United States) met in November 2016 at the SWR’s Baden-Baden radio studios. The musicians named their project “Sound Portraits From Contemporary Africa”. The African improvisers experimented for five days and developed a concert programme that they then presented on a tour in the SWR broadcasting area.

GOTTIORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACKMusic by Pitbull & Jorge GomezFeaturing Leona LewisSony Music proudly announces the release of GOTTI (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), starring John Travolta in the title role. The album features the film’s original score music by GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-platinum international music icon, business entrepreneur and motivational Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, and his long-time Grammy-winning producer Jorge Gomez. The project marks Pitbull’s first assignment scoring a motion picture soundtrack.The soundtrack also includes three solo Pitbull tracks, one of them being the single AMORE featuring Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Leona Lewis.“Everything about Pitbull - his style, creativity, and culture make his scoring of Gotti - the perfect marriage of the artist and the material” stated John Travolta.“It’s a true honor to be involved with this project and working with icon John Travolta on the legendary story of Gotti,” said Pitbull. “By default, we were underdogs in our own right and found ways to survive against all odds.”Leona Lewis says about the soundtrack: “I love working with Pitbull.  It’s always so much fun and his energy is just infectious. This record was really interesting to put together as it was something new for me.  Being a big movie fan, the fact that the song is in the GOTTI movie is so exciting.”ABOUT GOTTI:John Travolta (Academy Award® Nominee) stars as the legendary mobster John Gotti who was head of the largest and most powerful crime organization in North America, the Gambino Family. His flamboyant style, charm and ruthless personae made him the most famous mobster in the 20th Century. The story, told through the eyes of his eldest son John Gotti Jr., delves into the past and explores Gotti’s epic rise and fall in the mob. Gotti earned the name “Teflon Don” by the media, whom he did not shy away from, due to the FBI’s numerous unsuccessful attempts to convict him. Eventually he was sentenced to life in prison, and a young 24-year-old Gotti Jr. becomes the acting Boss of the Family. Gotti Jr. is also investigated and arrested by the FBI for his own connections to crime. Gotti Jr. ultimately rejects the legacy he was born into and walks away a “civilian.”The film is directed by Kevin Connolly and stars John Travolta in the title role, alongside Kelly Preston, Ella Bleu Travolta, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Stacy Keach, Chris Mulkey, Lydia Hull and Spencer Lofranco.            ABOUT PITBULLFrom Mr. 305 to Mr. Worldwide, Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, rose from the streets of Miami to exemplify the American Dream and achieve international success. His relentless work ethic transformed him into a Grammy®-winning global superstar, business entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Landing # 1 hits in over 15 countries, 10 billion YouTube/VEVO views, 70 million single sales and 6 million album sales, Pitbull does not stop. In addition to the United States, his sold-out world concert tours have taken him to North and South America, Europe and the Far East. He has also completed headlining tours in China and Japan. Along the way in his journey, he has co-headlined with Enrique Iglesias, spoken to thousands as part of Tony Robbins’ motivational seminars, and will open for Britney Spears in the U.K. and Europe this summer. Pitbull ushered in 2018 with his fourth annual New Year’s Eve event at Bayfront Park in Miami and capped off another stellar year in 2017 that included the release of his 10th full-length album, Climate Change, a second co-headlining U.S. tour with Enrique Iglesias, the release of his first-ever Greatest Hits, and a new Spanish single. Whether it’s his Voli 305 Vodka, currently in the process of becoming available nationally and has its own signature cocktails at multiple Sugar Factory American Brasserie locations, or the fragrance line “Pitbull,” his influence has catapulted. His first Las Vegas residency, “Time of Our Lives” at the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, has now accomplished multiple consecutive runs with spring 2018 dates recently completed at the newly renamed Zappos Theater. Pitbull has unveiled plans for the Summer 2018 opening of iLov305, a new restaurant and nightlife concept on Miami's famed Ocean Drive. In addition to his music for Gotti, starring John Travolta, Pitbull has signed on to the STX UglyDolls franchise, based on the ubiquitous pop culture Uglydoll characters. Pitbull will write and perform an original song for the film UglyDolls, slated for release in 2019, and lend his voice talent to one of the film’s key characters. Norwegian Cruise Line handpicked him as Godfather to Norwegian Escape, one of the most innovative cruise ships ever built. He recently completed his second Pitbull Cruise in March 2018. Globalization, his 24/7 commercial-free channel on Sirius XM (Ch.13), has become one of the platform’s fastest-growing channels following its 2015 launch. Pitbull also serves as ambassador to the Sports Leadership Arts and Management (SLAM!) charter schools he has helped to establish. Launched in the Little Havana section of Miami where he spent some of his youth, the SLAM! model has now expanded to Las Vegas and West Palm Beach, Florida, and has plans to launch the first student-run national radio broadcast.ABOUT LEONA LEWIS:The British singing sensation has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and reached #1 in over 35 countries with her hit single “Bleeding Love.”  A vocal powerhouse who is renowned for her vocal range and ability, Lewis is a 3-time GRAMMY Award nominee, 7 -time BRIT Award nominee,  MTV VMA and World Music Award winner and has been nominated for MTV EMAs and Billboard Music Awards. Lewis became the first British female solo artist to top the US Billboard 200 album chart in more than 20 years with her debut album Spirit.Leona is an extremely passionate humanitarian and animal rights activist working with a number of organizations including MTV Staying Alive. 2016 saw Leona nominated for a CMT Award and was recognized with the Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Day.  Recently, Leona has made her Broadway debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS playing the highly prestigious role of Grizabella, performing the world famous song “Memory’’. Currently Leona is back in the studio recording and most recently released a duet with Calum Scott of “You Are the Reason” in February 2018.