Mike Batt

Prvá symfónia Mika Batta s názvom „Ukrajina“ je venovaná ukrajinskému ľudu a inšpirovaná ním, no zároveň sa snaží slúžiť ako reflexia konfliktu a utrpenia, ktoré prenikajú súčasným svetovým dianím. Pozostáva zo štyroch častí – Prelúdium, Blitzdream, Láska a strata a Nádej so silou – a trvá 38 minút. Mike Batt – rôzne opisovaný ako polyhistor, renesančný muž a jedna z najfarebnejších postáv hudobného priemyslu – viedol mimoriadne živý a náročný život. Poznamenáva: „Počas mojej dlhej kariéry, ponorený do rozmanitého a fascinujúceho hudobného umenia – a žijúci v akejsi ‚zrkadlovej sieni‘, kde moja identita a hudobná osobnosť boli často vnímané cez skresľujúcu šošovku, ktorú som si sám vytvoril – vždy existovala jedna stála vášeň: orchester; jeho ľudia, jeho hudba, jeho mágia.“ Tracklist: 1. Prelude (Capriccio Gioioso) 2. Blitzdream (Drammatico e caotico) 3. Loss And Love (Lento riflessivo) 4. Hope With Strenght (Sperare con forza)

<p><b>'Fabulously readable' STEPHEN FRY</b><br><br><b>'Wildly entertaining' DAILY EXPRESS</b><br><br><b>'Rollicking ... ebullient ... Christmas present problems are instantly solved' MAIL ON SUNDAY</b><br><b><br>Nominated for the 2025 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research</b><br><br>Described variously as a 'polymath', a 'renaissance man' and 'one of the most colourful characters in the music business', Mike Batt has led an extraordinarily vibrant and challenging life that has been full of both glorious victories and bitter failures.<br><br>For better or for worse, he is a man who has always lived life on his own terms. Idiosyncratic but mainstream, complicated but compassionate, steadfastly maverick in spirit but avowedly commercial in outlook. He is a man of great contradictions, but even greater talent.<br><br>After starting out in the music business as a teenager, Batt shot to fame in the early 1970s for his part in the creation of the Wombles pop group. But this success proved to be just the beginning as he then went on to work with various artists as a songwriter, composer and producer, including Art Garfunkel, George Harrison, Cliff Richard, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Katie Melua.<br><br>Featuring cameos from some of the biggest stars in the business from Paul McCartney to Prince, <i>The Closest Thing to Crazy</i> takes us not only on the rocky (and classical) journey of Mike Batt's life but also on a tour around the inside of his mind.</p>

Tracklist: CD1: 1. Children Of The Sky 2. Bright Eyes 3. The Winds Of Change 4. Lady Of The Dawn 5. Railway Hotel 6. Imbecile Feat. Roger Chapman 7. Please Don't Fall In Love 8. Love Makes You Crazy 9. A Winter's Tale 10. Soldier's Song 11. Better Than A Dream 12. Into The Sunset Duet With Bonnie Ty Ler 13. The Closest Thing To Crazy 14. Voices In The Dark 15. Nine Million Bicycles 16. Caravan Song 17. Caravan Theme 18. I Feel Like Buddy Holly 19. The Ride To Agadir CD2: 1. Waiting For A Wave 2. Six Days In Berlin, Pt. 1 3. Warsaw 4. Tarota 5. On Watership Down 6. The Fires Of Rabat 7. Summertime City 8. Your Mother Should Know 9. It's Only Pain 10. Tiger In The Night Feat. Colin Blun Stone 11. Run Like The Wind Feat. Roger Chapm An 12. The Wombling Song - The Wombles 13. Minuetto Allegretto - The Wombles 14. The Orinico Kid - The Wombles 15. The Aspidistra Suite 2nd Movement 16. The Walls Of The World 17. The Vanishing Feat. Julian Lennon, John Gielgud, John Hurt & Maggie Re