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| Chandos Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Brian Couzens |
| Genre | Classical |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Colchester |
| Official website | www |
Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens. [1] [2] Since March 2024, it has been owned by Klaus Heymann. [3]
Chandos Records arose from a band music publisher Chandos Music, founded in 1963, and Chandos Productions, a record production company which produced LPs for Classics for Pleasure, and, especially, RCA's work in the UK. [4] Its first record was Bloch's Sacred Service (ABR1001). Important early recordings were made with Mariss Jansons, Nigel Kennedy and the King's Singers – before they moved to bigger contracts with EMI. [4]
In 2005, Chandos Records was the first classical label to offer mp3s on its website. They now run The Classical Shop with over 45 labels on offer, including Naxos, LSO Live, Coro, Avie, Onyx, Alpha and many rarer European labels, which are not available in physical format in the UK.[ citation needed ]
The name "Chandos" refers to James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos (1674–1744), at whose Palladian-style house, Cannons, the composer Handel was engaged as a composer-in-residence for a year (1717–1718). In addition to the eleven Chandos Anthems , Handel also wrote other works, including Acis and Galatea , at Cannons. The company originally had its office in Chandos House, Chandos Place, London SW1, the street name derived from the Duke.[ citation needed ]
The Chandos catalogue contains a range of classical music – for example, much orchestral, choral and chamber music by such lesser-known British composers as Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, Charles Villiers Stanford and Arnold Bax, conducted by eminent conductors including Richard Hickox, Gianandrea Noseda, Neeme Järvi and Vernon Handley. They also specialise in early music, on their label Chaconne, with performances by artists such as the Purcell Quartet, Collegium Musicum 90 and Sophie Yates. Chandos is also known for its Movies series, preserving previously lost film scores. In 1990 they launched the Opera in English label, in association with the Peter Moores Foundation, [1] which has resulted in over 80 recordings.
Series include:
Recordings released by Chandos have won many awards including "Gramophone Record of the Year" for Vaughan Williams's A London Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra, and "Gramophone Choral Recording of the Year" for Hummel Masses. Chandos recordings have received five Grammy Awards: "Best Opera Recording" in 1997 for Britten's Peter Grimes and in 2008 for Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel , "Best Engineered Classical Album" in 2008 for Gretchaninov's "Passion Week" and in 2013 for "Life and Breath" by the Kansas City Chorale, and "Best Choral Performance" for "Life and Breath." [5] [6]
Soloists and conductors who have recorded for the label include Sir Charles Mackerras, Rebecca Evans, Jennifer Larmore, Julian Lloyd Webber, Sir Thomas Allen, Alan Opie, Tasmin Little, Bruce Ford, Barry Banks, Christine Brewer, Lesley Garrett, Horacio Gutiérrez, Neeme Järvi, Simon Keenlyside, Hideko Udagawa, Alexandre Naoumenko and Safri Duo. [7]
They have recording partnerships with, among others, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Louis Lortie. The late conductor Richard Hickox was many times a Gramophone winner with Chandos recordings.
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music. In addition to a series of symphonic poems, he wrote seven symphonies and was for a time widely regarded as the leading British symphonist.
Neeme Järvi is an Estonian American conductor.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s musical life, including performing at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament building in 2004.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 by Camille Saint-Saëns was composed in 1868 and is probably Saint-Saëns' most popular piano concerto. It was dedicated to Madame A. de Villers. At the première on 13 May the composer was the soloist and Anton Rubinstein conducted the orchestra. Saint-Saëns wrote the concerto in three weeks and had very little time to prepare for the première; consequently, the piece was not initially successful. The capricious changes in style provoked Zygmunt Stojowski to quip that it "begins with Bach and ends with Offenbach."
A London Symphony is the second symphony that Ralph Vaughan Williams composed. The work is sometimes referred to as Symphony No. 2, though the composer did not designate that name for the work. First performed in 1914, the original score of this four-movement symphony was lost and subsequently reconstructed. Vaughan Williams continued revisions of the work into its final definitive form, which was published in 1936.
Vernon George "Tod" Handley was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers.
James Thomas Bowman was an English countertenor. His career spanned opera, oratorio, contemporary music and solo recitals. Arguably, he was after Alfred Deller the most important countertenor in the 20th century revival of the voice part. He combined early and baroque repertoire with contemporary work, becoming recognised for his portrayal of Oberon in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and performing world premieres.
Richard Sidney Hickox was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.
The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Tallinn.
Kristjan Järvi is an Estonian American conductor, composer and producer. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he is the younger son of the conductor Neeme Järvi and brother of conductor Paavo Järvi and flutist Maarika Järvi.
Bryden Thomson was a Scottish conductor remembered especially for his championship of British and Scandinavian composers. His recordings include influential surveys of the orchestral music of Hamilton Harty and Arnold Bax. He was principal conductor of several British orchestras, including the Ulster Orchestra, which flourished under his tenure.
Susan Gritton is an English operatic soprano. She was the 1994 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and has sung leading roles in a wide-ranging repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Janáček and Strauss.
Martyn Charles Brabbins is a British conductor. He was the music director of the English National Opera from 2016 until his resignation in 2023.
Boris Berman is a Russian pianist and pedagogue.
A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir, and sometimes solo vocalists that, in its internal workings and overall musical architecture, adheres broadly to symphonic musical form. The term "choral symphony" in this context was coined by Hector Berlioz when he described his Roméo et Juliette as such in his five-paragraph introduction to that work. The direct antecedent for the choral symphony is Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's Ninth incorporates part of the ode An die Freude, a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer's use of the human voice on the same level as instruments in a symphony.
Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE is a British baritone and composer.
Lydia Mordkovitch was a Russian violinist.
Brighton Festival Chorus is a large choir of over 150 amateur singers based in Brighton, UK. One of the country's leading symphony choruses.., and considered "one of the jewels in the city's musical crown", BFC performs in major concert halls throughout Britain and Europe, particularly in Brighton and London.
Janet Lesley Hilton is a British clarinet soloist, teacher, chamber performer, and orchestral musician. She has gained widespread recognition for her extensive recordings with the Chandos and Naxos record labels.
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