back to Press/Media Page
Fifty Shades of Grey – The Classical Album dominated the Billboard Classical Albums Chart this week, coming in at #1 and outselling every other album in the top 80 combined. The album also found itself on the Billboard Top 200 chart at #22, placing Bach and Chopin alongside One Direction, Justin Bieber and Frank Ocean.
Fifty Shades of Grey – The Classical Album features 15 pieces of classical music personally curated by author E L James and referenced in her bestselling Fifty Shades book trilogy. The album was released on September 11th in the United States on Capitol Records, and has received unprecedented media attention, including the Los Angeles Times who tipped off their readers to “Grab a glass of wine, recruit a partner and — if you dare — turn up the Chopin and let it work its magic.”
This past Monday, September 17th, Capitol Records hosted an exclusive launch event for the album at New York City’s Soho House, complete with guests in handcuffs, waiters in Venetian masks and The Parlor Quartet performing selections from the album. The event featured a rare public appearance and Q&A with author E L James. In her conversation with E! News correspondent Alicia Quarles, E L James discussed how main character Christian Grey relates to classical music: “For Christian, I think he found that music healed his soul as a young child…it’s where he finds some peace, through music.”
The Parlor Quartet (http://the-parlor-quartet.com/)
When asked to offer listening suggestions to Classical newcomers, James said simply: “I would suggest Bach…always start with Bach.” And when asked what has been most rewarding about the success of the books and the album, she said “It’s nice that people who don’t normally listen to classical music are now listening to classical music, it’s great that women who don’t normally read are reading…that’s what I take home to bed every night.”
