Vinyl Record
Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks (15th Anniversary Edition)
Buy Max Richter — The Blue Notebooks (15th Anniversary Edition) on 2LP vinyl at Kilmorna, Listowel, Ireland. Deutsche Grammophon edition.
2LP · 2004 · Deutsche Grammophon
Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.
Buyer notes: 2004 2LP on Deutsche Grammophon, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection vinyl shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel, ship within Ireland from EUR 5.95 per record or outside Ireland from EUR 12.00 per record.
The Blue Notebooks places short piano pieces, sustained strings, electronic detail and readings by Tilda Swinton within one quietly insistent landscape. Written in the shadow of the Iraq war and first released in 2004, Max Richter's album finds emotional force in small changes: a repeated figure, a held chord or a voice arriving in the space between instruments. On the Nature of Daylight is its most immediately recognisable point of entry, but Horizon Variations, Shadow Journal and Vladimir's Blues show how carefully the sequence balances scale and intimacy. This 15 Years edition extends the listening with alternate treatments and remixes. The additional material invites comparison with the original pieces, making the two-LP programme both an album listen and a closer look at Richter's musical language.
The record helped make the meeting of chamber instrumentation, electronics and ambient pacing feel like a natural album form. Its continuing appeal is easy to understand: the music leaves room for private reflection while retaining a strong sense of composition, movement and unresolved feeling.
This is the 2018 Deutsche Grammophon 15 Years edition on two black LPs. Its seventeen-track programme includes the original album, additional pieces and remixes by Jlin and Konx-Om-Pax. It is distinct from the later 20 Year edition, so the specific expanded programme is worth checking when comparing copies.
Restrained piano, slowly unfolding strings, spoken passages and subtle electronic textures, moving between miniature sketches and longer atmospheric pieces.
Recommended for: Listeners drawn to modern classical music with an ambient sensibility; Fans of piano miniatures and slowly developing string arrangements; Max Richter collections seeking the expanded 15 Years programme; Listeners who enjoy Tilda Swinton's spoken contribution to music.
Which anniversary edition is this? This is the 15 Years edition issued by Deutsche Grammophon in 2018, on two black vinyl LPs. Does it contain On the Nature of Daylight? Yes. The original album performance appears alongside an orchestral version and the Entropy treatment in the expanded programme. What extra material is included? The additional programme includes A Catalogue of Afternoons, Vladimir's Blues 2018 and remixes by Jlin and Konx-Om-Pax.