Lebrecht: Right on as ever

Ever since he saw the light and began to place the blame where it really belongs (the recording companies instead of the artists and audience), he's been spot-on. This week's column is no exception.

Well as I read it Mr Lebrecht is agreeing with you! Hence his use of sarcastic quotes.

You know I don't think that there is any solution which would make you happy. There is, as far as I can see, nothing the traditional big record companies can now do to stop the decline. I don't think that replacing morons by music lovers will stop the rot.

But somehow this doesn't worry me too much. In fact the only thing that bothers me is that cross-over artists have spread from the record companies to dominate other media that I have little escape from - on mainstream BBC TV the only tenor you will see these days is Russell Watson. This is part of the general dumming down which I can't see being halted. Society would need to be changed, not just a few executives. (Fortunately in Japan where I'm currently residing I have still have a much better choice.)

My reason though for general optimism about classical recordings is slightly selfish based on the fact that I now have some other options which I suspect will fill the void left by the traditional record companies. One of these is that back in the UK we now have digital TV (BBC4 which has greatly increased the quantity of quality classical music on TV) and digital radio (which means that I can make my own high quality recordings of new repertoire and concerts). The latter gives me an alternative to two of the traditional roles of record companies - to release new repertoire and record today's artist in standard repertoire. I guess in the future more such avenues will open up for those who want high quality music.

The only concerns I have about the decline of record companies are the future lack of availability of old recordings and much more importantly the lack of important finance to support musicians and projects. But maybe some of the avenues I mentioned above could lead to something to help this......

As for yourself, waiting for those US reissues, my advice is that you take more European holidays. You can always stay with Kirsten!!

or even Kristin. (Well I can't even spell dumbing down)

Oh, the irony!

Kristin I haven't even met yet! I've met her mother Jean, however, and she is not only a Great Lady, but very personable and charming.

Hey Tom, good to hear from you! Long time no see. Hope you're well.

Re: Barbero, Johnson, Hobson & Speaker's Corner. Greg had nothing to do with the Speaker's Corner reissues. Greg had to sign off on all the deal memos for Hobson. As I recall, Hobson was granted the USA territory to sell his LPs while Speakers Corner had Europe (I can't recall how the rest of the world was divided up). This was a pretty rough stricture for Mike - he could have sold alot more LPs if he was allowed to sell them worldwide. We in the NY office actually spent a bit of time making sure Classic Records lived up to their terms and didn't encroach on territory assigned to Speakers Corner. Marc Johnson was also involved as he 1) had to approve the terms of any deal memo that Greg signed off on for Hobson, and 2) had to source the recordings for Hobson (there were a few times when Mike got on a plane and hand-carried Decca master tapes back to California to make his LPs). But you're correct in observing that SC did more titles than CR. I thought that SC wasn't allowed to sell in the USA. Maybe I'm wrong.

In any case, it is a fact that when Greg floated the idea of doing Decca reissues on LPs he believed it was a totally original idea of his own making. He seemed to have not a clue that these LP issues were an existing and ongoing source of significant revenue (over a million dollars a year) for PolyGram Classics USA. The fact that deal memos for LP reissues had been floating across his desk (requiring his signature) for years didn't seem to register with him...or maybe it did (another '3 tenors' moment??).

Re: > Incidentally, EMI was not the first to do the Faure Chamber music. We

Yes, of course. My point was that Greg remains his same clueless self when it comes to the world of classical recordings. Of course, you could read Greg's statement about no major label wanting to touch this project purely in context of TODAY's market, and in that sense, he's right. But knowing the guy, I just don't think that's what he meant.

Re: Marc Johnson & Decca product. When Marc was in the London office, he enlisted my help in an attempt to get Greg to pick up the Decca budget boxes for US distribution. Marc offered to produce these sets in the UK branded with the London logo rather than the Decca logo to make life easier (at the time, MCA owned the Decca label name in the States, and any Decca UK disc had to be stamped with the London logo if it was to be sold here). All Greg would have to do would be to import the sets - something he was already doing on numerous titles - or import the empty boxes and run the discs here. Nope. He wasn't interested.

The sets finally made their appearances as domestic releases Stateside when Greg was finally cut loose by Chris Roberts and Albert Imperato was put in charge of all three PolyGram (Universal?) classical labels for non-crossover product.

With so many talented and knowledgeable people now 'former employees' of the classical record labels, it frosts one's balls to see that, as usual, the guys who historically have been the problem rather than the solution are the guys who seem to keep at least one foot in the classical industry. Lebrecht portrays Barbero as someone who was unjustly discarded by THE major classical music group and has now returned to 'do the right thing' with the Vanguard label. It all sounds good on paper, but those of us who have been there know that usually history repeats itself - no matter what someone has 'learned' about the classical market from the distinguished Solomon family in the intervening years.

Again, good to hear from you.

And there was I, thinking Matthew had some association with Miss Dunst, as well as with Miss Scott Thomas ...

Paris in the 1920s was an amazing convocation of brilliant minds making astonishing creations and discoveries in art, music, and literature. On the other hand, Polygram (and Universal and Vivendi) in the 1990s was an amazing convocation of ordinary minds making astonishingly stupid mistakes.

There are those who would say the beginning of the end for that once-worthy combine was when somebody made the astonishingly stupid decision that we Americans wouldn't be the least bit interested in DGG's Originals line. Karen Moody was transferred out of the classical division over that one, memory willing.

London Records used to have a chat page for the use of the general public. After several people had asked questions (most of them on the order of 'when are you going to reissue thus-and-such' and none of them were answered by anybody from the label, a few frustrated messages began to be

and elsewhere) nothing to note this fact on their Webpage.

Some more irritated messages ensued, and it then exploded into a truly ugly, offensive, and (if this is one's style of humor) hilarious trashing of the label executives, cruelly and spitefully poking at their presumed shortcomings. Imperato was portrayed (in these, I hope, fictional posts) as a frustrated minor mafioso, Barbero as a mentally retarded person making decisions from his padded cell, R. Peter Munves as more flagrantly gay than 'Just Jack' on 'Will and Grace' ... and I don't want to repeat here what they said about Lisa Altman.

Somebody had archived the page in all its glory, but I can't seem to find it right now. Probably just as well! But I may still have some version of it on my hard drive at home, so anybody interested could just ask.

***********

Warner has jettisoned, among others, the tenor Jose Cura, the conductor Daniel Barenboim and the baroque masters William Christie and Ton Koopman, the latter in the middle of a Bach cantata cycle. *********** FWIW re: Ton Koopman:

The acclaimed Bach Cantata Project conducted by Ton Koopman, suspended last year when the Erato label was discontinued by Warner Classical, has been revived in Maestro Koopman's native Holland by Challenge Classics. The series had stopped after the release of Volume 12. This month, Challenge Classics and Allegro pick it up where it left off, and continue with the brand new Volume 13, containing the third series of 'chorale cantatas' from the second annual cycle Bach composed for Leipzig in 1724 and 1725. While the project continues forward with the remaining cantatas, the original 12 volumes will also be re-released by Challenge Classics. 25% OFF: $42.71 (Reg. $56.94)

Visit our Classical Music page at: http://www.allegro-music.com/classical.asp

johnputnam (no affiliation w/Allegro, etc.)

I found it:
http://estraven.silverday.net/tiekie/decca.html

I do have to agree with the warning at the top of the page; this is NOT for the faint of heart or the easily offended.