I thought it might be interesting to come up with some abstract record
company/label awards for the past decade which salute various companies
for the musical enjoyment we derive from their efforts to grab our money:

Best Covers Award - Definitely ECM which really knows how to set the
mood for the disc contents.  They don't give us any angels, portraits of
facially challenged artists, or any colors beyond black and white.  And, I
have yet to find a label that matches cover with music as expertly as ECM.
BIS would be a worthy second-best.

Best Engineering Award - This goes to Hyperion.  I don't have a single
Hyperion recording that's not well engineered, and a good percentage of
them are outstanding.  Two other contenders of note are BIS and Nimbus.
Right, most of you probably hate the "Nimbus" sound, but I've loved it from
day 1, particularly the piano recordings which make me feel that I'm in the
exact right environment.

Best Early Music Label - How about Gimmel? That's my pick because I think
this label has had more impact on the resurgence of early music than any
other.  Harmonia Mundi and Hyperion get special mention.

Best Baroque Music Label - Harmonia Mundi gets the nod.  They've been
churning out great baroque recordings throughout the decade and have led
the charge.  Archiv and Hyperion are close behind.

Best Mainstream Label - There are a few that could easily be selected, but
I'm going with Philips which had, imho, the best quality of artists.

Best 20th Century Music Label - Wergo, with Hat-Hut in 2nd place.

Best Historical Performance Label - This is a hard one, particularly since
I don't have many historical recordings.  But I know how to read, and I can
easily be objective here.  On the other hand, ignorance is no basis for
decision making.  It's your choice.

Best "We'll Change How You Think Of Classical Music" Award - None other
than Sony Classics which has seen the future and decided to dramatically
alter it.

Best Obnoxious Titles Award - Must be Delos.

I'll end with the award you've been most waiting for:

Best Band Music Award - Bandleader.

Of course, I could go on with this for hours, but I think I've captured
sufficiently the high art of trivia production.  It's no wonder that when
my wife comes home and asks what I've been up to, I usually answer -
"nothing much".

Don Satz
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