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Tue, 6 Jun 2006 09:43:11 -0500 |
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FYI
In a move that has surprised the classical record industry as
much as the people involved, Warner Classics has, in essence,
ceased to be an active record label.
Matthew Cosgrove, who has steered Warner Classics and created a
respected niche label that has attracted musicians of the calibre
of mezzo Susan Graham, pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Nikolay
Lugansky, conductors Daniel Barenboim and Sakari Oramo, had left
the company (and it is thought that he will be announced at the
new Vice President of A&R at Deutsche Grammophon within the next
few days).
Warner Music made a substantial investment in classical music
under the leadership of Ramon Lopez in the 1990s, building on
the impressive legacies of the French Erato label and the Teldec
label in Germany. When the company downsized its classical
division, Cosgrove was given the brief to revive the company
with a greatly reduced staff (indeed, his team was smaller than
at many independent companies). His recordings have consistently
garnered critical acclaim and have balanced often inspired 'core'
classical projects with explorations of the more arcane areas
of the repertoire (two discs of the music of John Foulds have
been particularly well received, both being named Gramophone
Editor's Choices and both featuring in the short lists for the
Classic FM Gramophone Awards).
Warner Classics is being rolled into Rhino, Warner's reissue
division, though it is unclear at the moment of the parent
company's ambitions in the classical music world. This move by
Warner reduces the so-called majors in the classical record arena
to just EMI, Universal and Sony-BMG. James Jolly, The Gramophone,
editor-in-chief
Karl
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