New Music Albums: NOBUO UEMATSU - MERREGNON - HEART OF ICE (Nobuo Uematsu, London Symphony Orchestra, Alicia Vikander, Eckehard Stier)

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Artist:
Nobuo Uematsu
London Symphony Orchestra
Alicia Vikander
Eckehard Stier

Genre:
Classical

Total Time:
41:57

Record Label:
Decca Records

Purchase Album:
CD, Amazon Music, Vinyl,
Apple Music, Spotify

Release Date
June 19, 2026

Find out more about this album release after the jump.

Purchasing Links

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Buy the CD from Amazon

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Buy the MP3 from Amazon

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Buy the Vinyl from Amazon

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Buy the Album from Apple Music

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Listen on Spotify

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Product Description: Generations have grown up knowing the music, if not the name, of Nobuo Uematsu. The Japanese composer’s soundtrack scores were central to the first nine series of Final Fantasy, defining the video game’s opulent sound world. Merregnon: Heart of Ice, Uematsu’s first work for the concert hall, unfolds as a fairytale for symphony orchestra and narrator in the manner of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. It follows the adventures of cheery wooden robot Kjugo as he journeys through a wintry landscape in search of his inventor, Nuobi, frozen captive by the Ice Wind Dancer in the land of Merregnon.

Charm and a sense of innocent wonder run through the piece, present even when Uematsu tugs at the heart string in “Frozen Tears” and unleashes the pulsating “Battle in the Blizzard.” The spoken text and Swedish actress Alicia Vikander’s engaging delivery of it conjure a convincing sense of the loving bond between Kjugo and his “Father Creator,” while the London Symphony Orchestra projects the work’s unashamedly sentimental and uplifting themes with immaculate playing.

TRACK LIST:

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1 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Opening London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (01:52)

2 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Nuobi, the Mischievous Inventor London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (02:41)

3 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: There! It Is Done! London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:36)

4 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Kjugo, the Curious Wooden Robot London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (03:05)

5 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Love and Fear London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:38)

6 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Goyakai, the Malicious Ice Wind Dancer London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (03:16)

7 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: What a Funny Game London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:31)

8 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Setting Out to a New World London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (02:35)

9 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Following Footsteps London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:35)

10 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Beru, the Opinionated Dog London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (02:01)

11 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Onwards! London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:29)

12 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: The Ice Labyrinth London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (02:03)

13 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Reaching the Summit London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (01:20)

14 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: A Wooden Heart London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:47)

15 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Frozen Tears London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (03:43)

16 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Lurking Danger London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:43)

17 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Sliding Through the Snow London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (03:15)

18 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Strength of Will London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (01:55)

19 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Battle in the Blizzard London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (01:15)

20 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Friends Standing Firm London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:45)

21 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Heart of the Storm London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (03:23)

22 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Spring Has Come London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:53)

23 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Father Creator London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (01:02)

24 . Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: So the Stories Say London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier, Alicia Vikander & Nobuo Uematsu (00:27)

25 .Uematsu: Merregnon: Heart of Ice: Finale London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier & Nobuo Uematsu (02:21)

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