Select Audio-Visual Distribution

Labels

exclusively distributed by Select Audio-Visual Distribution in Australia

Accent

Accent is a Belgian record label presenting classical music from the late Middle Ages to the 20th Century, with a principal focus on 17th- and 18th-century works. The Accent catalogue includes many highly-prized recordings and boasts an impressive roster of outstanding performers, including Luc Devos (fortepiano), Paul Dombrecht (oboe), Roel Dieltiens (violoncello), Rene Jacobs (countertenor), Konrad Junghanel (lute), Robert Kohnen (harpsichord), Sigiswald Kuijken (violin, viola da gamba), Barthold Kuijken (flute), Wieland Kuijken (violoncello, viola da gamba), Marcel Ponseele (oboe), Raphaella Smits (guitar), Liuwe Tamminga (organ), Jos Van Immerseel (fortepiano), Erik Van Nevel with Currende, La Petite Bande, La Colombina, Concerto Palatino.

Aeolus

Aeolus is a German record label specialising in Baroque music and music for organ. Its goal, and that of its artists, is to present superb interpretations performed on the most appropriate instruments. In order to achieve this, they often travel throughout Europe to record rare historical instruments in well-chosen venues with the best possible recording equipment. Aeolus SACDs are full compatibility with standard CD players and provide high-end stereo as well as surround sound.

AGPL Records

The Munich-based AGPL label features a number of outstanding recordings, including those by pianist Nikolai Demidenko of works by Beethoven, Chopin, Scarlatti, Schubert, as well as an acclaimed Wigmore Hall Recital.

Ambroisie

Ambroisie has worked with artists of worldwide reputation, such as Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques, Zefiro, Les Sacqueboutiers, Ensemble Organum as well as Sirba Octet, David Grimal, Yossif Ivanov, Nemanja Radulovic, Mala Punica and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris conducted by John Nelson.

Ambronay

For a quarter of a century, Ambronay’s Cultural Encounter Centre has been home to great musicians passionate about their art and in love with the special acoustic of its thousand year-old stone Abbey. Its CDs document outstanding performances from the annual Ambronay Festival.

APR

Appian Publications and Recordings is a quality label devoted predominantly, though not exclusively, to piano recordings, both new and historic. In particular, APR has won countless laurels for the high standard of its 78rpm restoration work and for its trilingual booklets. The label has received numerous international honours, including an unprecedented 9 Grand Prix by the Liszt Society of Budapest in recent years.

Armide/Vox Lucida DVD

Armide is a label created by Vox Lucida. In association with Camera Lucida Productions, Vox Lucida produces high-quality audiovisual programs and recordings intended for both television broadcast and release on DVD. Releases include a French Baroque music series and a live concert of Mozart sacred arias performed by Sandrine Piau, Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques.

Ars Produktion

Ars Produktion was founded in 1987 with the aim of giving young up-and-coming artists and interesting performance programmes a musical home of their own. With this project the label founder, concert flautist Annette Schumacher, has fulfilled a long-standing dream after an active career in demand as a musician. Many Ars Produktion titles are released as Hybrid SACDs.

Arthaus DVD

Arthaus Musik, a leading label for classical music, offers more than 200 DVD titles, including highly acclaimed opera and concert performances, top ballet productions and prize-winning music documentaries - from major works in benchmark productions by the world’s leading operatic companies to rarities in the repertoire.

Avie

Avie has been founded on an entirely new business model, turning the traditional musician/record company relationship on its head. Avie operates the label for and on behalf of the musicians who retain ownership of their recordings, acting as an umbrella for a number of musical organisations and individual artists. By so doing Avie creates a considerable scale of operation which ensures strong marketing, significant media interest and worldwide distribution.

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BBC Legends

From the popular BBC Radio program, ‘BBC Legends’, comes a superb series of CDs featuring great artists in historic broadcast performances drawn from the BBC archives. The original analogue recordings, digitised and tonally refurbished to conform to contemporary audio standards, have garnered the highest praise and won numerous awards. Artists include Jacqueline du Pré, Artur Rubenstein, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh and more.

Bel Air DVD

Outstanding classic and contemporary ballets and operas performed by some of Europe’s leading companies, such as the National Paris Opera, Bolshoi and Zurich Ballets, and featuring performers including Anne Sofie von Otter, Mireille Delunsch, Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre, William Christie and Les Art Florissants, Mariinsky Ballet and Valery Gergiev to name a few.

Berlin Classics

Berlin Classics presents the great classics interpreted by established and up-and-coming young artists including Simone Kermes, Kurt Masur, Herbert Blomstedt, Kurt Sanderling, Peter Schreier, Ludwig Guttler, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Staatskapellen Dresden und Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Dresden Philharmonie, Rundfunkchore Leipzig and Berlin, Dresden Kreuzchor and Thomanerchor Leipzig on a catalogue of well over 2,000 titles.

Bis Records

The Swedish label BIS explores the unjustly neglected domains of music, travelling all over the world to make recordings, from concert halls in Singapore or São Paulo, to a church in the English countryside, a student chapel in Kobe or to Lahti's superb Sibelius Hall. BIS fosters works by women composers, is a highly respected ‘early music’ label (recording with, among others, Emma Kirkby, Dan Laurin, Bach Collegium Japan and London Baroque) as well as one of the liveliest contemporary music labels (with composers like Kalevi Aho, Christopher Rouse, Sally Beamish and James MacMillan).

Brass Classics

Brass Classics is a new label which focuses on repertoire for brass instruments and ensembles, with some fascinating titles exploring the less familiar repertoire, all performed by outstanding artists. It is a sister label to Cello Classics and Clarinet Classics.

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Calliope

The French label Calliope boasts an extensive range of recordings, some devoted to rare works from the Renaissance to the 20th century, others presenting complete editions such as the organ music of Messiaen (performed by Louis Thiry) and the string quartets of Beethoven and Mozart (Talich Quartet).The label was awarded the Grand Prix du Président de la République, and features artists such as Théodore Paraskivesco, d’Inger Södergren, the Clerkes of Oxenford, Jean-Louis Beaumadier and André Navarra.

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe Music is the record label created in 2001 by the three founders of New York's legendary Bang on a Can Festival: composers Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, and Bang on a Can managing director Kenny Savelson. Cantaloupe Music has made a massive impact in the new music community, and been recognised by critics and fans around the globe for its adventurous sounds. Its goal is to provide a home for "music that slips between the cracks." In its six-year history, Cantaloupe has repeatedly received ‘Top 10 of the Year’ accolades from publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian (UK), The Wire, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, Mojo, Gramophone and more. Its releases have also been featured on CNN, PitchforkMedia, NPR, PaperThinWalls, BBC, and other major tv/radio/online outlets. Through Cantaloupe Music, Bang on a Can continues its mission to spread the gospel of risk-taking new music. Bang on a Can -- dedicated to the work of composers across the entire aesthetic spectrum -- has created a home for musical inventors, misfits, and pioneers.

Capriccio

With a focus on German repertoire from Bach to Weill and Krenek, Capriccio’s distinguished artists include Christine Schafer, Rolando Villazon (on DVD), violist Tabea Zimmermann, Concerto Köln, Ton Koopman, Lotte Lenya, Emma Kirkby, Max Emanuel Cencic and other leading musicians from Europe. The label’s specialties range from the Baroque to modern German composers. Owned by Naxos, Capriccio is one of Germany’s finest labels with one of the richest back-catalogues available.

Carus

Carus is one of the major music publishers in Germany, specialing in sacred choral music from all historical periods. Carus is a label that, instead of seeking mass appeal, sets high standards of interpretation and repertoire. Its Cds have won numerous awards, including Gramophone Editor's Choice, the MIDEM Classical Award, BBC Radio Critics disc of the Year, Diapason d'Or, the Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Prize and more.

Cedille

Cedille Records is the label of The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation, dedicated to preserving Chicago’s rich musical heritage by documenting the work of its finest musicians, ensembles, and composers. The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation is a publicly-supported, not-for-profit organisation devoted to promoting the finest musicians, ensembles, and composers in the Chicago area through the production of audiophile-quality recordings on the Cedille Records label.

Cello Classics

Cello Classics is a new label dedicated to unusual and unexplored repertoire for the cello, played by some of the most exciting players of the past and the present, and introducing some of the cellists of the future. It is a sister label to Brass Classics and Clarinet Classics and its artists include Chinese-Australian cellist Li-Wei.

Chandos

Chandos Records is one of the world's premiere classical music record companies, best known for its ground-breaking search for neglected musical gems. The company has pioneered the idea of the 'series' and proudly includes series of such composers as Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Parry and Walton with ongoing series of Grainger, Berkeley, Bridge, Film Music and Opera in English. Renowned for its superb sound quality, Chandos has won many prestigious awards for its natural sound.

Christophorus

Christophorus carries a wide-ranging musical program and is at the same time the name of the oldest German record label concentrating on sacred music, with particular emphasis on unfamiliar repertoire and historical interpretation. Gregorian chant, music of the Renaissance, sacred vocal works, music of the Christian churches and the hymns of Taize are all represented in its catalogue. In this field, Christophorus is recognised as one of the most important independent labels on the international market.

Clarinet Classics

Clarinet Classics provides a focus for clarinet enthusiasts – performers and listeners alike – by issuing carefully chosen programs that are both entertaining and informative. The label continues to diversify, offering a range of superb performances recorded with care and skill. It is a sister label to Brass Classics and Cello Classics.

Collegium Records

Collegium Records was established in 1984 as a label dedicated to the Cambridge Singers, with the aim of presenting a range of choral recordings of musical excellence and high technical quality. Recently, the Choir of Clare College Cambridge directed by Timothy Brown has joined the label.

Coviello

Coviello is a boutique German label which nonetheless covers music from the Renaissance to modern times. Established names such as soprano Dorothee Mields and tenor Paul Agnew, new groups including Bennewitz Quartet, orchestras like the Aachen Symphony and Stuttgart Philharmonic and ensembles such as the Berlin Radio Choir, Capella de la Torre, Mannheim Brass Quintet, Capella Angelica and Lautten Compagney - and many more - are to be found here.

CPO

Few labels have captured as much recent international attention as cpo. Awarded the Cannes Classical Award for the best label (worldwide!) at MIDEM and the Lower Saxon Music Prize in appreciation for creative service, cpo seeks true musical treasures - from the Renaissance to the modern – that remain to be discovered. Their editions of music by Pfitzner, Korngold, Hindemith and Pettersen have been highly praised.

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Dacapo

The Danish label dacapo has produced some 300 CD recordings in collaboration with the best Danish musicians, singers and composers, as well as international ensembles. Dacapo has received four Classical CD of the Year awards at the Danish Grammys and been nominated for countless other prestigious awards around the world. Dacapo exclusively records Danish music, from the compositions of the Middle Ages to brand new contemporary, jazz and experimental music, the quality of which has critics hailing a ‘New Danish Golden Age’.

Delos

Delos enjoys a superb reputation for fine artists, especially organists and choirs, and for sound. Recording guru (and sometime organist) John Eargle, Delos' primary engineer, has literally written the book about professional audiophile recording techniques. Renowned artists recording for Delos include Rene Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Zuill Bailey, Angel Romero, and the Brazilian and Los Angeles Guitar Quartets.

Dutton (including Epoch & Vocalion)

Dutton (including Epoch and Vocalion), one of the UK's finest record labels specialising in re-issuing on CD music recorded between the 1920s and 1970s, and in issuing albums of modern digital recordings, was established by leading British recording and re-mastering engineer Michael J Dutton. The Epoch series champions unrecorded music of 20th-century British classical composers such as Arnold Bax, York Bowen and Granville Bantock in world-class modern digital recordings performed by some of Britain's finest orchestras, conductors and soloists. Vocalion features light music, big bands/dance bands, jazz, easy listening, vocalists and 1950s/'60s pop. Vocalion first made its name with a celebrated and ongoing series of CDs featuring the recordings of famous 1930s and '40s British dance bands, including those led by Ambrose, Geraldo, Oscar Rabin and Maurice Winnick.

Dynamic

Within the vast catalogue of this Italian boutique label, the specialties are opera, baroque rarities, and historical recordings from the 60s (including Callas, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and early John Williams). Dynamic has recently launched a delectable mid-price baroque series, Delizie musicali, and its particularly rich DVD range boasts perhaps the only available DVD of Bizet’s complete Pearlfishers.

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Eloquentia

The primary objective of Eloquentia is to discover new talent, especially young singers, and to explore vocal repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries with excursions back into earlier eras. Artists include Joyce DiDonato, La Cappella de’ Turchini, Antonio Florio, Harmonie Universelle, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Luigi Piovano, Luisa Prayer, Maria Grazia Schiavo, David Zobel and Giuseppe de Vittorio.

Etcetera

From Early Music, through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoires to the exciting music of the modern era, Etcetera Records presents leading musicians and ensembles in highly praised performances. Bach to Bizet, Byrd to Britten, Schubert to Richard Strauss - there's a wealth of excellent titles to suit music lovers.

Explore Records

Explore Records aims to explore the large number of existing recordings of rare and unusual classical music repertoire which have never been available internationally on CD. Their initial releases are drawn from the Decca catalogue. Future Explore Records releases will continue to explore the classical catalogue, and also cross genre to embrace jazz and world music rarities.

Exton

A sub-label of Japan’s Octavia Records, Exton is highly regarded for its superb sound quality and SACD Hybrid recordings of orchestral classics. For Exton, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Sydney Symphony have released highly anticipated recordings of works by Rachmaninov and Elgar; other key artists include the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra led by Jaap van Zweden and Edo de Waart, the Czech Philharmonic, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

EuroArts DVD

EuroArts has quickly made a name for itself worldwide by producing and distributing classical music and jazz programs. EuroArts sets high standards with its classical music and jazz DVDs, consistently using all technological and content opportunities offered by the medium. In addition to the featured films, the DVDs offer extra features such as artist portraits, interviews and ‘Behind the Scenes’ documentaries.

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The Gift of Music

Beautifully presented with charming cover art, CDs from British label The Gift of Music include a Celtic collection, Early Music, Nostalgia and classic jazz, Children’s Music, and ranges for art lovers, book lovers, and even cat lovers! The Gift of Music really does have the perfect CD for every occasion – from a housewarming to a Christmas gathering – and is ideal for classical retailers, gift stores, book shops and art galleries.

Gimell

Gimell Records was founded in 1981 to record The Tallis Scholars. Its catalogue of more than thirty-five recordings has performed a pioneering role in the re-appraisal of unaccompanied sacred choral music of the 15th and 16th centuries. The consistently high artistic and technical standards achieved have been acknowledged by many prestigious record industry awards, including the Gramophone Record of the Year Award.

Globe

Acclaimed by Fanfare as 'the Dutch quality label', Globe Records presents a range of titles that is well conceived, well executed and well produced. It offers an A-to-Z of both composers (Acensio, Albeniz and Andriessen to Wolf, Zemlinsky and Zelenka) and performers (Roberta Alexander, John Alldis and Elly Ameling to Pieter Wispelwey, Giuseppe Zampieri and Titia de Zwart).

Glossa

Spain's internationally renowned label, widely considered the world's finest in early music, is based in San Lorenzo de El Escorial in the mountains near Madrid. Founded in 1992, its great names in early music and exclusive performers include Paolo Pandolfo (viol da gamba), the Gramophone Award-winning La Venexiana, the Orchestra of the 18th Century, and Le Concert Spirituel. Beautifully presented digipaks and cover art make this label one of the most highly praised and collected in classical music. One of Glossa’s most exciting ventures is the integral recording of the madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi.

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Haenssler Classics

The German label Haenssler Classic features a wide-ranging repertoire of music from Albinoni to Wagner, Bach to Boulez, Telemann to Tchaikovsky, and many more performed by artists, choirs, ensembles and orchestras from Britain, Europe, Israel and the USA such as Christophe Prégardien, Roger Norrington and the Stuttgart RSO, Gerhard Oppitz, Helmuth Rilling and the Stuttgart Bach Collegium, London Symphony Orchestra, Les Percussions de Strasbourg and many more.

Hallé

The Hallé is Britain's longest-established symphony orchestra, founded in Manchester by Sir Charles Hallé in 1858.The Hallé CD label was relaunched in 2008 with two brand new releases including the critically acclaimed Dream of Gerontius with Sir Mark Elder, Paul Groves, Alice Coote, Bryn Terfel, the Hallé Choir and the Hallé Youth Choir. ‘However respectfully the Hallé honours its 150-year history, performances like this suggest that the golden era may be happening right now’ – The Guardian

Harmonia Mundi

The largest independent producer of classical recordings in France, the artist roster for Harmonia Mundi reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of classical music superstars. With ensembles including The Academy of Ancient Music to Trio Wanderer, Al Ayre Español to Theatre of Voices, Les Arts Florissants to Tokyo String Quartet, artists such as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Andrew Manze, Kent Nagano, Dorothea Röschmann, Andreas Scholl, Andreas Staier and Alexandre Tharaud, leading chamber groups, choirs, orchestras – the list is virtually endless and covers most musical periods and classical genres.

hat [now] ART

The contemporary classical division of hatOLOGY records of Switzerland is known for its distinctive cover art, authoritative liner notes, and pioneering collection of music by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Charles Ives, Australian composer Liza Lim, Cornelius Cardew and other 20th and 21st-century heavyweights. hat [now] ART is the finest European label devoted to musical composition of the here and now, ideal for listeners who relish the challenge and shock of the new.

Hyperion

Gramophone Label of The Year 2008. The repertoire available on the multi-award-winning Hyperion label, and its subsidiary label Helios, ranges across the entire spectrum of music – sacred and secular, choral and solo vocal, orchestral, chamber and instrumental – much of it is unique to Hyperion. The catalogue currently comprises nearly 1500 CDs, with approximately 80 new titles issued each year. Acclaimed artists include Angela Hewitt, Steven Isserlis, Stephen Hough, Emma Kirkby and Australians Piers Lane and the Goldner String Quartet.

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ICA Classics

ICA CLASSICS is a division of the management agency International Classical Artists Ltd (ICA). The new label features both archive material from sources such as the BBC, WDR in Cologne and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (the LEGACY series), as well as performances from the agency’s own artists recorded in prestigious venues around the world (the LIVE series). The majority of the recordings are enjoying their first commercial release.

The ICA Classics team have been instrumental in the success of many audio and audiovisual productions over the years including the origination of the DVD series The Art of Conducting, The Art of Piano and The Art of Violin; the archive based DVD series Classic Archive; co-production documentaries featuring artists such as Richter, Fricsay, Mravinsky and Toscanini; the creation of the BBC Legends archive label, launched in 1998 (now comprising more than 250 CDs), and the audio series Great Conductors of the 20th Century produced for EMI Classics.

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Juxtapositions DVD

Juxtapositions is a unique DVD collection focusing on contemporary music. Each title explores the world of a particular composer via one or more works, with the composers and their most famous interpreters playing an active part in the process of elucidation. From Gustav Mahler to Arvo Pärt, from Europe to America and Asia, new musical continents emerge and burst into passionate life as the viewer embarks on a thrilling voyage of discovery, guided by talented film-directors. The collection centres around documentaries created by Dutch film maker Frank Scheffer, one of the foremost directors of our

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K617

The French label K617 was launched in 1990 and has issued numerous recordings, many of which have received important awards such as Diapason d’Or de l’année, RTL d’Or, ffff Télérama, Fondation Cini à Venise. Its ‘Pathways of the Baroque’ series explores forgotten treasures of the European and Latin American Baroque, while the ‘Adventures’ and ‘Organ’ series bring to life opera/oratorio and music for the ‘king of instruments’, respectively.

KML Recordings

Katia and Marielle Labèque are the most popular and innovative duo pianists recording today. After many releases for EMI, Philips and Sony, Katia and Marielle's aspiration to build a bridge crossing all style of music and contemporary creation led them in 2007 to form their own record, KML Recordings. Their debut on KML, a disc of Ravel piano duets, explores the sisters’ roots in the region of France closest to Spain, while their Schubert and Mozart CD was awarded 2008 Album Of The Year in the New York Times.

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Ligia

The French company Ligia is particularly strong in keyboard repertoire, with a large collection of discs from the dynamic young organist Olivier Vernet (whose recordings of Bach and Liszt have been particularly well received by the critical press), but has also developed a series of unusual chamber repertoire, particularly from the Baroque period, featuring such renowned artists as Roberta Invernizzi, Johanette Zomer, Sagittarius and La Turbulente.

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra made its first recordings on 10 October 1932, just three days after its first public performance following its founding by Sir Thomas Beecham. It has recorded and broadcast regularly ever since, and in 2005, established its own CD label. These CDs are unique: amongst them are archive recordings, studio recordings, live concert recordings and recordings of world-premiere performances. Repertoire encompasses music from the baroque to the present day; music for the concert hall, music for the opera house, and music for children. Conducted by the charismatic Vladimir Jurowski, the LPO tours Australia late 2009.

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Marco Polo

The original concept of the Marco Polo label was to bring to listeners unknown compositions by well-known composers. There was, at the same time, an ambition to bring the East to the West. Since then there have been many changes in public taste and in the availability of recorded music. Composers once little known are now easily available in recordings. Marco Polo, in consequence, has set out on further adventures of discovery and exploration.

Melodyia

Founded in 1964 to bring great performers and composers to their listeners in Russia and the world over, Melodiya is today a dynamic company. More than 60,000 recordings of classical music, jazz, applied and variety music provides a solid base for the young and ambitious team to shape a new Melodiya for the 21st Century.

Mirare

This boutique French label features a number of world-renowned performers, including pianists Zhu Xiao-Mei, Iddo
Bar-Shai, Boris Berezovsky, Claire Desert, Shani Diluka, Brigitte Engerer, Philippe Giusiano, Anne Queffelec, Emmanuel Stosser, harpsichordist Pierre Hantai, Trio Chausson, Ricercar Consort, singers including countertenor Carlos Mena and baritone Jerome Correas, orchestras and ensembles directed by Michel Corboz, John Nelson – and many other fine musicians. Beautifully recorded and packaged, Mirare CDs are highly praised and much awarded

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Naïve

This exquisite French label embraces a variety of musical styles including classical, film music, jazz and world artists. Performers and ensembles represented on the Naïve label include Sandrine Piau, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Il Giardino Armonico, Christophe Rousset, Laurence Equilbey and Accentus, Ensemble Matheus and the World Philharmonic Orchestra, to name but a few. Naïve Classique is also renowned for its exhaustive, pioneering Vivaldi Edition, now nearing 40 volumes of the Italian composer’s music drawing on a veritable goldmine of his manuscripts discovered in Turin.

Naxos

The Gramophone Awards 2005 Label of the Year
More than 100 Editor’s Choices in Gramophone
More than 500 3-star ratings in The Penguin Guide
Naxos has revolutionised how classical music is presented and marketed around the world. Innovative strategies of recording exciting new repertoire with exceptional talent have enabled the label to develop one of the largest and fastest growing catalogues of unduplicated repertoire available anywhere - currently more than 3000 titles - with state-of-the-art sound and consumer-friendly prices. The Naxos catalogue includes the following outstanding ranges:

Naxos AudioBooks

Naxos AudioBooks was founded in 1994 with the purpose of providing classic literature with classical music on CD. NAB’s mission was to make the great classics accessible, beginning with the key works of Western literature: Homer, Dante, Milton, Austen, Dickens, Melville, Shakespeare and many others. The label quickly established a reputation for fine recordings by outstanding classical actors including Juliet Stevenson, Kenneth Branagh, Anton Lesser and many more, including experienced ‘radio’ voices including Neville Jason and David Timson who know how to create a magical world through storytelling. More recently, Naxos Audiobooks has attracted stars such as Ewan McGregor and David Tennant.

The label has become particularly well-known for a number of highly ambitious projects including Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past read by Neville Jason who also reads Tolstoy’s War and Peace unabridged, a major audiobook event; and David Timson has read The Complete Sherlock Holmes stories. More recently, NAB has broadened its attention to contemporary literary classics, with recordings of works by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, Cormac McCarthy, Julian Barnes, Rose Tremain, and Booker prizewinner Anne Enright.

Naxos Educational

Highly praised by Gramophone magazine, Naxos Educational is charting new territory. Using the wealth of Naxos recordings combined with approachable, absorbing narrative, Naxos Educational CDs aim to broaden understanding of musicians and their music. Series include Life & Works, Classics and Opera Explained, Opera Plus, A Life in Words & Music, Composer Portraits, History of Music, The Instruments of the Orchestra, Writers and Performers, Art & Music (a fascinating series spanning the 16th to 20th centuries), Listen Learn and Grow, and the A to Z of classical Music and Opera.

Naxos Historical

The Naxos Historical Collection comprises both legendary radio broadcasts and celebrated studio recordings of great performances by the most illustrious conductors, singers and instrumentalists of the 20th century, all remastered using the latest technology and painstaking care. Already released are many of the essential works of the operatic and orchestral repertoires, works by Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Sibelius, Wagner, and many others.

Naxos Opera

The world of opera comes alive in Naxos recordings, from Cavalli to Corghi, Sacchini to Szymanowski, in both studio and live recordings which feature international superstars such as Richard Bonynge or Sumi Jo as well as upcoming talents. Complete operas and highlight discs are available across the full range of musical periods and styles, presented by opera companies from around the world.

Naxos SACD

Naxos SACD is a multi-format hybrid mastered in direct-stream digital technology with the capability to reproduce the original recorded sounds at a high resolution rate. Naxos SACDs can be played on all existing SACD and CD players, although 5.1 multichannel surround reproduction will not be realised on CD player playback.

Naxos Experience the Classics

The world's most entertaining classical CD compilations are to be found in the Naxos Experience The Classics range. From The Best of British Light Music and National Anthems of the Commonwealth, through Classic Chill, Mystic Voices and The Flowering of Love, to Macabre Masterpieces, Extreme Classics (for musical ‘thrill-seekers!) and Opera’s Greatest Moments, there’s something for everyone in this innovative series of CDs tailor-made for Australian listeners of all ages and musical tastes.

Newton Classics

In June 2010, Dutch label Newton Classics launched its series of landmark recordings made between 1950 and 2000, including PolyGram and Universal releases happily restored and available again after a long absence. Among the first titles to be released are Gérard Souzay in a classic collection of French song, the Labèque sisters in Gershwin, the Choir of King’s College Cambridge performing Tallis and Seiji Ozawa conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in Dvořák. Theo Lap, the label’s founder, is an important industry figure whose pedigree stretches back to EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics and Harmonia Mundi. ‘Newton Classics is about rediscovering beloved recordings which might have been out of the CD catalogue for many years’, he says.

Nimbus

Nimbus Records boasts a substantial catalogue of premium quality classical, historical and world music titles. Nimbus’s Grand Piano range includes highly praised recordings by the greatest pianists of all time, from Wilhelm Backhaus to Igor Stravinsky. The Prima Voce range presents original recordings of the world’s greatest singers from Licia Albanese to Giovanni Zenatello with dozens of other legendary names in between. Leading exponents of traditional music from around the world make Nimbus’s World Music range among the most fascinating available.

Michael Nyman Records

The composer’s own label featuring the Michael Nyman Band, MN Records releases some of the most memorable, striking and instantly recognisable film music of our time, including “Composer’s Cut” editions of the soundtracks to Jane Campion’s The Piano and several Peter Greenaway films. The aim of the Composer’s Cut series is to present Nyman’s works “in a state of continuous evolution…enabling the music to realise its true potential”. The composer is also an accomplished photographer and the CD cover art features his own images.

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Obsidian

Obsidian Records is a British boutique label devoted to music from the period c.1300-1750. Obsidian explores the previously unrecorded repertoire of major composers using new, unique scholarly editions. Artists include some of the finest in their field, from Britain´s leading new vocal consort, Alamire, to established groups such as Fretwork and soloists including Andrew Lawrence-King and Lynda Sayce. Obsidian CDs are beautifully packaged with cover images featuring magnificent artwork of the era.

Oehms Classics

Oehms is the brainchild of Dieter Oehms. After working for 35 years in the recording industry he created this independent label in 2003. It is the German label of the Australian conductor Simone Young and her Hamburg Philharmonic, who have recorded a landmark series of Bruckner symphonies in their original versions, and Wagner’s Die Walküre with Australian tenor Stuart Skelton. Other notable titles and artists include a charming operetta series with the Mörbisch Festival Orchestra, Pascal Rogé, and a series with James Levine documenting his time with the Munich Philharmonic.

Ondine

Part of Naxos’s collection of high-quality Scandinavian labels, Ondine has established itself as one of the most respected names in classical music, its products receiving numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Gramophone Awards, the BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Classical Internet Awards. Ondine has released 400 carefully selected CDs, Hybrid SACDs and DVDs, with around 250 titles remaining in its active catalogue. Artists include legendary conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and the renowned award-winning soprano Soile Isokoski.

Opera Rara

Opera Rara has been in the business of bringing back forgotten operatic repertoire of the nineteenth century for the last thirty-five years. Operas once threatened with extinction have now been brought vividly back to life through Opera Rara recordings. Its catalogue includes complete operas as well as highlights and compilations, anthologies and recordings featuring outstanding soloists.

Opus Arte DVD

Opus Arte has a substantial catalogue of outstanding opera and ballet productions from around the world. Owned by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the label also works closely with organisations such as the BBC, Glyndebourne, Bayerische Rundfunk (Germany), TVE (Spain) and NPS (Holland), Teatro Real (Madrid), Liceu (Barcelona), Opera de Paris, and Het Muziektheater (Amsterdam). Magnificent productions captured on DVD include several by the Paris Opera Ballet and Royal Opera House, with a selection now screening nationally in Palace Cinema’s World Opera and Ballet series.

Orfeo

The German label Orfeo boasts an enormous catalogue of chamber music, choral works, opera, recitals and symphonic repertoire featuring great performances by leading soloists, string quartets, orchestras, the Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Vienna State Opera, as well as productions from the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals.

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Pan Classics

Pan Classics is a delightful Swiss label that highlights connoisseur repertoire and Swiss musicians and ensembles. The catalogue also includes many international artists and ensembles of note, such as the Amphion Wind Ensemble, Vienna String Sextet, Isabelle Faust, Roland Pontinen and Edoardo Torbianelli, just to name a few. Beautifully packaged, Pan Classics CDs are collector's items in their own right.

PentaTone

PentaTone’s classical catalogue of new recordings includes the most famous classical works performed by top artists. All PentaTone recordings are multichannel (surround sound) recordings and they are all released on hybrid SACDs (which can also be played on traditional CD equipment in stereo). PentaTone also releases (under licence from Universal) stunning surround sound recordings from the 1970s originally made by Philips for the 'quadrophonic system' that have never before been released and now can be enjoyed in all their sonic splendour for the first time. Artists include Julia Fischer, the Beaux Arts Trio, and recent signing Arabella Steinbacher.

Phoenix

Phoenix Edition features artists such as sopranos Arleen Auger and Simone Kermes, bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra conducted by Michi Gaigg, WDR Radio Choir and Orchestra Cologne conducted by Helmuth Froschauer, Kontraste Koln, Das Neue Orchester conducted by Christoph Spering, the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and many other leading performers from Europe.

Praga Digital

Praga Digitals feature leading Czech artists and ensembles performing great classical music from Beethoven to Berg, Brahms to Zemlinsky.

Profil Medien

Founded by Gunter Haenssler, Profil Medien presents an ever-growing catalogue of fine recordings, from historical performances by the Berlin Philharmonic or Rudolf Buchbinder to more recent releases featuring leading artists of today such as Semyon Bychkov or Pinchas Zukerman.

Proprius

Quality in every aspect has been the hallmark of Proprius for over 30 years. The wide range of genres represented include ballads, Christmas music, classical music, popular entertainment, jazz, klezmer, opera/operetta, as well as music for brass, cello, choir, flute, guitar, harpsichord, organ, piano, string quartet, violin and vocal soloists.

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Quartz

Quartz is a boutique label with an exciting catalogue for the discerning music lover - from Malcolm Arnold’s irrepressible music for The Three Musketeers ballet, though the great classics to contemporary music, performed by leading and emerging artists including young star cellist Jamie Walton.

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Red Priest

Red Priest is the only early music group in the world to have been compared in the press to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones and the Cirque du Soleil. This extraordinary acoustic foursome has been described by music critics as ‘visionary and heretical’, ‘wholly irreverent and highly enlightened’, with a ‘red-hot wicked sense of humour’ and a ‘ break-all-rules, rock-chamber concert approach to early music.’ Founded in 1997, and named after the flame-haired priest, Antonio Vivaldi, Red Priest has four exciting releases on its own label to date.

RCO Live

RCO Live is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s own in-house label, under which it produces CD, SACD and DVD releases of live concerts given at the Concertgebouw under the direction of Mariss Jansons and leading guest conductors. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has built up a vast catalogue of recordings, began in the 1920s under Willem Mengelberg and continues to its latest recordings under Jansons, most recently a critically acclaimed Strauss disc of Don Juan and the Alpine Symphony.

Rondeau

Rondeau presents the highest quality choral music performed by St. Thomas’s Leipzig (Bach’s ‘original’ choir), Knabenchor Hannover, and Windsbacher Knabenchor, with leading soloists and orchestras including Christine Schafer and Thomas Quasthoff. Organ music is also featured on this label. From Bach to Bruckner, Reger to Rutter, Homilius to Holst, and many other composers, there is much to enjoy on these beautiful recordings.

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SDG

J S Bach appended the initials SDG (Soli Deo Gloria, meaning ‘to the Glory of God alone’) at the end of each of his Cantatas scores. These same initials identify the label of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra’s recordings made during the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and conducted by the incomparable Sir John Eliot Gardiner. SDG will release 51 CDs in this collection, each corresponding to one of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage’s concerts and bringing together for the first time the complete cantatas Bach wrote for specific liturgical feasts. In 2008, SDG launched a critically acclaimed symphonic/choral series called ‘Brahms and his Contemporaries’.

Signum Classics

Signum Records is fuelled by the passion to produce great music recorded with integrity and creativity at the highest level. Founded in 1997, Signum now boasts a catalogue of nearly 150 titles, many of which are award winners, nominees or five-star review recipients from around the world. The primarily British artist roster includes Sarah Connolly, Evelyn Glennie, The King’s Singers, Stephen Cleobury and Susan Gritton.

Stone Records

Stone Records was formed in 2008 to produce high quality classical CDs with a broad appeal. In a short space of time the label has received critical acclaim for its initial releases and embarked upon a number of ambitious and successful projects. With many further discs already in the pipeline, we are looking forward to making more interesting and inspiring music in the future.

Supraphon

Supraphon Music Publishing is a renowned Czech label, and has played a significant role in spreading the fame of Czech classical music recordings since the 1930s. Supraphon’s broad catalogue of titles systematically mapped out the works of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák and Leos Janáček, as well as other giants of both Czech and international music. Important domestic and foreign soloists, chamber ensembles, orchestras and conductors all contribute to its remarkable collection of recordings.

Swedish Society

A label devoted to Swedish music and performers, which also explores the wider repertoire.

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Tahra

Tahra is a boutique classical music company based in rural France with a catalogue of more than 150 titles featuring remastered recordings from 78rpms and radio broadcasts, some up to 60 years old. These have won several prestigious classical music industry awards, for the quality of their sound as much as the performances themselves. Artists include legendary figures such as Celibidache, Furtwängler, Gieseking, Jochum, Kleiber, Knappertbusch, Mengelberg, Mitropoulos, van Kempen, Schuricht, Stokowski, Walter, and others – often in outstanding performances otherwise unissued on CD.

TDK Classical DVD

Concerts, ballet and opera performances and documentaries from around the world in state-of-the-art audio and video quality.

Testament

The Testament label issues classic recordings under licence from industry giants BBC Worldwide, BMG Classics, Deutschland Radio, EMI, Decca and Universal Music. Artists range from The Amadeus Quartet, Sir John Barbirolli, André Cluytens and Beniamino Gigli, through Rudolph Kempe, David Munrow, Quartetto Italiano and Solomon, to Toscanini, Thyssens-Velentin and Günter Wand. Solo recitals, chamber music, opera and orchestral performances are all well represented.

Timpani

This stylish French boutique label was created in 1990 by Stephane Topakian and was quickly established as the finest label specialising in French repertoire from the late 19th century to today. The journey encompasses over two hundred recordings, a delightful Mélodies françaises series, and forays into the music of composers as diverse as Roussel, Vierne, Gaubert, Honegger, Lili Boulanger, d’Indy, Xenakis and more. Now affiliated with Naïve, Timpani is a home for renowned French artists including Sandrine Piau, Hervé Niquet, Mireille Delunsch and Laurent Naouri.

Tony Palmer Films

From Puccini to Pink Floyd, from ballet to The Beatles, Tony Palmer is an icon of music documentaries and film-making. Over the decades he has chronicled a broad spectrum of music and the arts of his time, spanning rock (All You Need Is Love), opera (Maria Callas, The Salzburg Festival) great actors (Peter Sellers, Michael Crawford) and ballet (Margot Fonteyn). Palmer continues to make high-quality music documentaries today.

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Wigmore Hall Live

London’s Wigmore Hall, perhaps the world’s most renowned venue for chamber and vocal recitals, has launched a new label featuring internationally renowned artists, including Thomas Allen and Malcolm Martineau, Arditti Quartet, Joyce DiDonato and Julius Drake, Kopelman Quartet, Felicity Lott and Graham Johnson, and The Nash Ensemble. These live concerts are superbly recorded and presented on CD and are quickly building a very strong reputation.

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Ysaÿe Records

Few string quartets start up a new recording company. However, France’s Ysaÿe Quartet did just that to provide the public with a living discography that corresponds to their work and artistic development. In addition to their own critically acclaimed performances of quartet repertoire by Beethoven, Fauré, Haydn, Mozart and Schumann, the Ysaÿe’s mid-price series Nascor introduces young artists such as pianist Alberto Nosè and the Amedeo Modigliani Quartet.

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