Max Richter releases 20th anniversary vinyl edition of The Blue Notebooks

Max Richter opened Glastonbury's Park Stage on Saturday 24 June 2023. He and his string ensemble were joined by Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton for a full-length performance of The Blue Notebooks. Photos from the Glastonbury gig now feature in the 20th anniversary vinyl edition of The Blue Notebooks issued by Deutsche Grammophon.

The set of two crystal-clear vinyl LPs is packaged in a newly-designed blue gatefold sleeve, with a six-page booklet and art card. Available exclusively from the DG store, it includes all the tracks from the expanded 2018 edition, together with the "This Bitter Earth"/"On The Nature Of Daylight" mash-up – appearing for the first time on vinyl – and a brand-new solo piano version of "On The Nature Of Daylight".

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Max Richter (@maxrichtermusic)

Its title inspired by The Blue Octavo Notebooks, a collection of writings by Franz Kafka, The Blue Notebooks was composed in 2003. Introducing it to the Glastonbury crowd last year, Max Richter said: “It’s kind of a protest record, a response to what was happening in politics around the build-up to the Iraq war where I was really struck with doubt about what was happening. And I thought about Kafka, who’s the patron saint of doubt, and I thought about making a piece which expressed everything, and so we recorded this.”

This season, Max Richter takes The Blue Notebooks on the road as he embarks on his first ever world tour, accompanied by hand-picked string ensembles. The concerts will also feature the music from Richter’s newly-released ninth studio album, In A Landscape.