Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment

The Eminence Symphony Orchestra sent out a press release today announcing a new two-disc CD/DVD package containing music from virtually all of Blizzard Entertainment’s games. If you go for the Legendary Edition, you can even score some Diablo III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft: Wrath the Lich King artcards:

Game music veterans the Eminence Symphony Orchestra have joined forces with Blizzard Entertainment® to release ‘Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment’

Sydney, Australia [for immediate release] The Eminence Symphony Orchestra, in association with Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., is proud to announce Echoes of War: Music of Blizzard Entertainment® a 2-disc album and DVD package featuring a stirring collection of orchestral themes from across the Blizzard Entertainment universes.

Eminence has been performing music from popular games and anime titles for five years, thrilling audiences around the globe with their passionate performances and unique takes on classic melodies. In teaming up with Blizzard Entertainment, Eminence hopes to bring this style of musical presentation to even more listeners throughout the world.

(We are thrilled to be working with the creator of the Warcraft®, StarCraft® and Diablo® franchises to present the atmospheric and emotional themes from these iconic gaming universes for the enjoyment of players and music enthusiasts the world over,) commented Eminence founder and director, Hiroaki Yura.

Created specifically for active listening outside of the gaming experience, Echoes of War promises to breathe new life into the classical music world for a new generation, while highlighting the beauty and importance of music in games.

Sales will commence with a pre-release of both a limited edition (Legendary) CD/DVD compilation and a standard edition CD product, with pre-sales starting on October 27 and a full-scale launch on November 1, 2008.

The Echoes of War package will feature 15 unique arrangements from Blizzard Entertainment’s catalogue, with several pieces coming from yet-to-be-released titles including World of Warcraft®: Wrath of the Lich Kingâ„¢, StarCraft II, and the recently announced Diablo III. 70 minutes of music will be featured in all, with bonus tracks arranged by special guests including the critically-acclaimed composer Kow Otani (Shadow of the Colossus).

The )Legendary Edition) will be available only on a limited, first-print basis. In addition to the music CD, it will also include an Echoes of War DVD, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions – held at Sydney’s FOX Studios EQ: Trackdown Scoring Stage – as well as interviews with the composers and a comprehensive 32-page commemorative tome filled with additional photos, artwork, and additional information.

With over one hundred performers – including a number of international musicians – and even more people behind the scenes, Echoes of War is a fitting tribute to the epic legacy that Blizzard Entertainment has established with its music.

PRODUCT DETAILS

The Legendary Edition of Echoes of War (first print only) contains:

‘¢ Double-disc album featuring 15 tracks
‘¢ ‘˜Inside the Echoes of War DVD
‘¢ Comprehensive, 32-page wide-format booklet
‘¢ The Legendary Edition will include 9 ‘˜artcards’ featuring Diablo III, StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Wrath the Lich King

Price: Standard Edition USD$29.95 + postage and handling
Legendary Edition USD$49.95 + postage and handling

Presales Date: October 27, 2008

Release Date, Legendary Edition: November 1, 2008

Release Date, Standard Edition: November 22, 2008

Available through: www.echoes-of-war.com

For more information, visit www.echoes-of-war.com

About the Eminence Symphony Orchestra

The Eminence Symphony Orchestra was established in 2003 by renowned violin virtuoso Hiroaki Yura. Since then, Eminence has become known for its annual (A Night in Fantasia) event, in addition to other concerts and recordings for games, anime and film.

Today, Eminence is a full Symphony Orchestra under the conductorship of Philip Chu. Many Eminence musicians have performed as international soloists with major orchestras around the world, including the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, all major Chinese Eastern Coast Orchestras, all major Australian Orchestras and major USA Orchestras.
Eminence aims to revitalise the current state of both Australian and international orchestras and achieve a following across all demographics, encouraging a wider appreciation of symphonic music in Australia. Eminence is the most experienced orchestra in the world dedicated to gaming and anime music.

(Eminence is about changing the perceptions of symphonic music. It is about opening orchestras up to a wider audience, challenging the notions of classical music and reviving its popularity. Eminence serves to champion the young musical artist in the international society. Eminence is what is needed in today’s musical world.) (Hiroaki Yura, Founder and Director of the Eminence Group)

Who and what is Eminence?
Eminence is an innovative group that have its sights set high. Eminence shares two equally important prospects: to help popularise the niche and help disseminate respectable music of all kinds to the public. Since its inception in 2003, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra has soared both domestically and internationally, performing and recording various genres of music, from video game soundtracks and independent songs to movie scores and classical music.
Eminence works to support talented musicians and revitalise the current state of symphonic music and the public’s perception towards this musical genre and by doing so, the Eminence musicians hope to encourage more people to get out and enjoy a style of live music that they may not have heard before.

The Eminence Vision
The aim of this new-wave, contemporary orchestra is to inject something bold, dynamic and fresh, into something that’s slowly losing its general appeal orchestral music.
(We want to challenge ideas of what orchestral music is all about, by aligning it to something familiar to younger audiences. We want young people to really ‘˜hear’ orchestral music. We believe in the strength of this music and that younger people will really connect with it.) Symphonic music must not be left to languish in dusty corners or to be appreciated only by an older demographic. It needs to find a new face and be aggressively showcased into expanded genres and permutations in order to capture a larger audience. This said we do not want to limit our audience to young people, only to encourage them to join in as well as to expand the audience.

We feel passionately that young people must experience a wide range of entertainment frontiers. This music can be a catalyst for younger people to explore symphonic music in more depth and appreciate it better. This is not to devalue Bach and Beethoven, but take the best from the past, build on it and position it in a contemporary setting. This is the Silverchair of Classical!)

(Hiroaki Yura, Founder and Director, Eminence Group)
Eminent Capabilities

Not exclusive to its performing heritage, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra has extended its talents to a multitude of media frontiers. A number of leading names and brands have collaborated and recorded with Eminence, particularly in the video game and anime music arena where Eminence has worked with Bandai Namco Games Inc., Sega, KOEI, Blizzard Entertainment and GONZO.

Critically acclaimed for the rich sound and quality of their recordings, the Eminence musicians fervently believes that their skills when demonstrated in performance should be transferable, magnified and manipulated to suit recordings and projects of all nature. There is no typical ‘˜Eminence’ sound, as all the orchestra’s recordings are distinctly individual, however, all recordings enshrine the delicacy and principle of Eminence’s mastery and prestige.

For more information on Eminence, visit www.eminenceonline.com

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes ten #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.