Academy of St Martin in the Fields

#1 Billboard's Heatseekers

#1 i-Tunes Classical Chart

#1 Amazon Classical Chart

Joshua Bell's new CD, the beloved Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, made an impressive debut this week by capturing the #1 spot on Billboard's Classical Traditional, Classical Overall and Heatseekers (new artists) charts. It also landed at #1 on i-Tunes' and Amazon's classical charts.

The Grammy-Award winning violinist teamed up with the celebrated Academy of St. Martin in the Fields to record one of the most popular works in all of classical music. Known both for his riveting artistry and his daring choice of repertoire and collaborators, Bell is no less innovative in the way he reinvigorates Vivaldi's perennial favorite. Bell explains his take on the Vivaldi work: "You will never hear two versions of The Four Seasons that are alike, which is why I think there is always room for another view of the piece. My version is very personal." Also included in the recording is another Baroque masterpiece, Giuseppe Tartini's The Devil's Trill Sonata.

As an exclusive Sony Classical artist, Joshua Bell has released a series of albums to critical and popular acclaim, including The Red Violin Concerto, Voice of the Violin, West Side Story Suite, and Romance of the Violin, which remained on the Billboard charts for two years and was named Billboard's 2004 "Classical Album of the Year." Recent honors include the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize and his appointment to the Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music Faculty as a senior lecturer. In '05 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Bell currently serves on the Artist Committee of the Kennedy Center Honors. For the latest information, visit http://www.joshuabell.com.

RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, Masterworks Broadway and Masterworks Jazz are labels of SONY BMG Masterworks. For email updates and information regarding RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, Masterworks Broadway and Masterworks Jazz artists, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit www.sonybmgmasterworks.com.

    CONTACT:      Susan Schiffer/Sony BMG Masterworks
                  212-833-4763
                  Susan.Schiffer@sonybmg.com

SOURCE Sony BMG Masterworks

http://www.joshuabell.com