Interview with head of Naxos label

[ongakublue]

I found this interesting 

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/focus/the-future-of-listening-will-be-an-all-you-eat-formula

[Brian]

The part where he says they haven't decided which conductors to deploy for core repertoire made me want to scream: GET PETRENKO FOR THE TCHAIKOVSKY! They need to get Vasily Petrenko and Liverpool, once they're done with Shostakovich, to record all six Tchaikovsky symphonies - I've heard a live broadcast of their Sixth and it was stupendous - and probably Rachmaninov too. Naxos really, really missed a trick when Petrenko/Liverpool recorded Rachmaninov orchestral works for Avie instead. Of course, Avie is distributed and licensed by ... Naxos.

Which of course ignores the main thrust of the interview. Every interview I read with Klaus Heymann (this was the third new one this summer) is fascinating, and he really again seems to be ahead of the curve. Supplying Chinese kids with classical-loaded Naxos MP3 players? It's a brilliant idea. You get them when they're young, and when they learn to love classical at that age they love it forever. And the a la carte approach of NML made me see that I am almost his perfect customer ... I too love NML's service, and prefer its universal accessibility to downloading. The new "Listing by Work" feature is a superb tool worth paying extra for: you can see, listed in a neat list, every NML recording of (say) Beethoven's Fifth, and the conductor's name, so you can choose simply from the menu. I'll probably be loyally using NML to discover new composers as long as NML exists, or as long as I exist, whichever is shorter.

The only thing preventing me from being his perfect customer is that I use my university's subscription rather than paying for my own. 

[ongakublue]

Then you are as excited about it as I am Brian. I only found out about the library today and I think it is wonderful... like a really cheap voyage into the unknown and there is SO MUCH to discover

J

[Brian]

New interview 12 October 2011

Klaus Heymann sat down for a VERY long chat with NewMusicBox. There's some fascinating stuff, even pictures of his music collection  .

Some choice bits...

On distributing labels which record the same music Naxos does:
"there's very often repertoire duplication, and I'm very careful. Chandos, for example, is often mining the same unknown territory that we are mining. I always make sure that their release comes out first. They're always a little bit nervous about showing me their release plans, so I always have to show them my release plans: Take a look—Oh, you have some Casella symphonies? O.K., you come out with it first, and I'll come out a month later. But they're happy with what we do for them. Hyperion is quite a separate label; it has a very special image. Naïve is very French—there's no conflict with us; cpo does its own thing—very unique repertoire. Every once in a while we hit on the same composer. So I send them an email message: Do you plan to do more Rode or is it a one-off? If it's a one-off, we'll continue with our project. With Chandos now, [they're recording] Weinberg—so we share it. They're doing certain symphonies. I'll ask which ones they want to do and we'll do all the others. They don't have the resources that we do in Russia and in Poland, so we do the Polish Weinberg material with the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Russian ones we do in St. Petersburg. They do the stuff that doesn't have language and doesn't need a choir. It's very cooperative. There's a give and take. But if there's a chance of any conflict, we say you go first. Whether we sell a thousand or two thousand of a title, overall it doesn't really matter."

"The other issue now is with the DVD labels. If people come out with three Don Giovannis the same month, we say, "Look guys, are you sure you want to release them all in the same month?" Some say, "Never mind. Ours is better anyway." Then fine. But some will say, "Look, maybe we'll delay ours by three months so it's not overshadowed, so let them go first." So it's very important that we have to be completely impartial. You will see on the Naxos Music Library, the new releases rotate; there's no advantage for Naxos."

On a new relationship with Sony:
"Sony came to us for the fulfillment for Archive music [sic: ArkivMusic], because they like to get that from our very efficient center in Nashville."

On buying record labels like Ondine:
"Well, people think it's raining, and we offer a roof. So it doesn't rain on them. There will be more acquisitions, not because we're acquisitive but because people come to us and say, "Look, we don't know how to manage anymore, and you have this efficient system. I'm really only interested in producing. So if you keep me on, here's the label." We have to pay for it. Capriccio is another one. So, Capriccio, Ondine, and we bought quite a lot of Swedish labels: Swedish Society, Proprius, and so on. More people will come to us simply because they don't know how to manage in this new economy."

[Note from Brian: I'll bet BIS is next.]

On the gradual fade-out of Marco Polo:
"many of the things we had basically planned for Marco Polo have become mainstream, like what Chandos is recording now. Marco Polo was the first-ever rarity label that had only world premiere recordings. Now everywhere else, they don't know how to make money from standard classics anymore, so they all mine the same huge catalog of unknown great and not-so-great composers. So many things we had planned for Marco Polo are now coming out on Naxos, like Casella, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Malipiero"

On choosing to re-record items previously released on Naxos:
"The question is always, "Does what we did twenty years ago stand up to today's demand? Is it the same standard?" ... I may do the Beethoven piano concertos again, because I'm not entirely happy with the ones we have. There's a list. The catalog has been marked "Due for Re-recording." And we also have to make a few artists happy, so they get some juicy repertoire."

On national music series:
"For the American Classics series, 75% of the sales are in the United States and 25% are international. For Japanese Classics, 90% are in Japan and only 10% are international. With Greek Classics, we sell 90% in Greece, which is a very small market, and 10% elsewhere. But for Spanish Classics, maybe 30% in Spain and 70% international, because Albeniz, Turina, Granados, and De Falla are commercially viable repertoire. It depends whether it's more part of the mainstream. English repertoire we can sell in all the former colonies. So it does well in the U.K., which is the home territory, but also in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States—all the English-speaking territories."

On how he got into classical music:
"I went to my first concert at age nine. My mother took me. It was two months after the war ended. We were in a little spa in Bavaria and the Munich Philharmonic came to play. It was their first concert right after the war, and my mother—God bless her—took me there. I was just bitten. I never in my whole life listened to anything else....As a boy I had the desire to learn to play an instrument. My old grandmother had a piano but she wouldn't let me touch it. "Don't touch the piano; you'll break it!" In our family there was no tradition of people learning an instrument. My parents both liked classical music, so we only listened to classical music at home. But after the war we didn't have the money. We were worried about eating and having shoes and clothes. By 1956, I was twenty years old and it was too late to learn an instrument.

"My wife tried to teach me the violin. She gave up after the first lesson and said, "You're hopeless." But she taught me how to sing in tune, and she taught me a lot about how to listen to music, about dynamics and flexibility and expression. Half the success of the label is due to her. She listens to all the new artists and decides who gets recorded; it's not me. I tell her to sit down and listen and sometimes after a few bars she'll say, "No. Forget it. No way." Or sometimes, "This is very good," or "This is fantastic! You should record that artist." She makes those decisions. Repertoire I decide. But who records—all the new orchestras who come to us with their live performances—she's very important in that respect."

[Lethevich]

That's super cool, a very frank interview. I see Naxos's online distribution as a potential resurrection for many of these small labels of the 70s-90s that recorded interesting things then disappeared off the face of the earth. Hopefully their back catalogues can be made available, including the original liner notes which used to be important parts of the product but now are increasingly seen as disposable with physical releases.

[mc ukrneal]

I thought the most interesting moment was his statement that there are roughly 1,000,000 classical collectors in the world, where a collector means purchases of 10 cds or more per year. That makes pretty much all of us collectors here...

Anf 15 Mahler cycles in the pipeline (throughout the industry)...that's just nuts!!!!! But I guess Mahler fans can only be happy with that state of affairs...

[Brian]

Anf 15 Mahler cycles in the pipeline (throughout the industry)...that's just nuts!!!!! But I guess Mahler fans can only be happy with that state of affairs...

Off the top of my head, ongoing Mahler cycles:
Stenz/Cologne/Oehms
Honeck/Pittsburgh/Exton
Gergiev/LSO/LSO (finished?)
Fischer/Budapest/Channel
Nott/Bamberg/Tudor
Wit/Halasz/Graf/Alsop/misc/Naxos (probably doesn't count)

VERY recently completed:
Zinman/Zurich/RCA
Tilson Thomas/SFSO/SFSO

So he is almost certainly right.

[The new erato]

I will be surprised if the Fischer ever becomes a cycle.

[Opus106]

I will be surprised if the Fischer ever becomes a cycle.

Why? I haven't been following the reviews, so are they unpopular, perchance?

Oh, and thanks for the link, Brian. Very interesting read; quite a candid interview, as Sara mentioned.

[Antoine Marchand]

I thought the most interesting moment was his statement that there are roughly 1,000,000 classical collectors in the world, where a collector means purchases of 10 cds or more per year. That makes pretty much all of us collectors here...

Considering our average rate of monthly purchases, maybe we have here an 80% of the world market!

[Brian]

I will be surprised if the Fischer ever becomes a cycle.

They've done 2, 4, and 6; they've just recorded 1, I believe. That's almost halfway...
Are your concerns economic?
EDIT: Just saw your post below this

[The new erato]

Why? I haven't been following the reviews, so are they unpopular, perchance?

Oh, and thanks for the link, Brian. Very interesting read; quite a candid interview, as Sara mentioned.

He's on record saying he don't believe in cycles. He will only record if he feel he has something new and relevant to say.

And the interview reminds me, how good to have record executives that actually care about repertoire. Thank God for Naxos, Chandos, Hyperion, BID, cpo and a few more.

[Opus106]

He's on record saying he don't believe in cycles. He will only record if he feel he has something new and relevant to say.

Oh. I like how he stands out in that regard compared to (all?) others.

[Opus106]

I thought the most interesting moment was his statement that there are roughly 1,000,000 classical collectors in the world, where a collector means purchases of 10 cds or more per year. That makes pretty much all of us collectors here...

I was personally offended by that statement.

[marvinbrown]

I am a very big fan of Naxos, but I have always felt that their opera catalogue is their Achilles heal. The Naxos opera catalogue is limited at best. I do not know why, perhaps the cost to record an opera along with the added expense of providing librettos conflict with Naxos' "budget" recording philosophy?? A real shame as I have a ton of outstanding piano music Naxos recordings (Rachmaninov, Liszt etc.) and Bach Naxos recordings in my collection.


  I would love to ask Mr. Heymann about any enhancements he plans to make for Naxos' opera catalogue.

  If I have misjudged Naxos please correct me. Puccini's Gianni Scicchi is the ONLY Naxos opera recording in my collection and while the recording is very good it is hardly definitive.

 

  marvin

[mc ukrneal]

I am a very big fan of Naxos, but I have always felt that their opera catalogue is their Achilles heal. The Naxos opera catalogue is limited at best. I do not know why, perhaps the cost to record an opera along with the added expense of providing librettos conflict with Naxos' "budget" recording philosophy?? A real shame as I have a ton of outstanding piano music Naxos recordings (Rachmaninov, Liszt etc.) and Bach Naxos recordings in my collection.


  I would love to ask Mr. Heymann about any enhancements he plans to make for Naxos' opera catalogue.

  If I have misjudged Naxos please correct me. Puccini's Gianni Scicchi is the ONLY Naxos opera recording in my collection and while the recording is very good it is hardly definitive.

 

  marvin

Naxos is at more of a disadvantage in opera. It requires more people (and I asumme is expensive). They will never get the star singers (unless it is an up and comer), which probably means they need to be choosier about what opera to produce. They will have serious difficulties competing with Callas, Domingo, Pavoratti, Price, etc. and all the other great singers from the past half century or so (not to mention earlier). So mainstream opera is tough, but then there are other companies who work on the fringe (like Opera Rara). Must be hard for them in opera.

That said, their Rossini is not bad at all. Tancredi is a first choice. Barber of Seville is excellent. And they have a number of his other operas. They have a good Bellini La sonnambula They also have a number of less well known or non-mainstream repetoire, including Wallace, German, etc...

So really, I would not disagree with you that much. It's a tough medium though. You need all lead singers to be good, a good orchestra, a good chorus, and they all need to play well togehter. Much easier (and I imagine cheaper) to go after piano recordings (for example).

[marvinbrown]

Naxos is at more of a disadvantage in opera. It requires more people (and I asumme is expensive). They will never get the star singers (unless it is an up and comer), which probably means they need to be choosier about what opera to produce. They will have serious difficulties competing with Callas, Domingo, Pavoratti, Price, etc. and all the other great singers from the past half century or so (not to mention earlier). So mainstream opera is tough, but then there are other companies who work on the fringe (like Opera Rara). Must be hard for them in opera.

That said, their Rossini is not bad at all. Tancredi is a first choice. Barber of Seville is excellent. And they have a number of his other operas. They have a good Bellini La sonnambula They also have a number of less well known or non-mainstream repetoire, including Wallace, German, etc...


So really, I would not disagree with you that much. It's a tough medium though. You need all lead singers to be good, a good orchestra, a good chorus, and they all need to play well togehter. Much easier (and I imagine cheaper) to go after piano recordings (for example).

  I see my first impressions were somewhat accurate.  Thanks for referring me to La Sonnambula (I have not heard that one).  I have Rossini's Barber of Seville on EMI but I have not heard of Tancredi.

  marvin

[mc ukrneal]

  I see my first impressions were somewhat accurate.  Thanks for referring me to La Sonnambula (I have not heard that one).  I have Rossini's Barber of Seville on EMI but I have not heard of Tancredi.

  marvin

Oh, Tancredi is excellent. Here are a couple of reviews if you are interested: http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.660037-38&languageid=EN. It is a smaller orchestra if that matters, but it allows for some lightness and deftness you won't hear elsewhere. And singing is rock solid pretty much from top to bottom. Rossini can wear on me sometimes, but this one has kept its freshness for the many years I have had it. It bubbles with energy.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I was actually surprised how many Naxos CD'S I have, but non of them are opera I am glad to say. The few operetta's they did are not particularly good. Its indeed quite a search before you have found good singers, orchestra, choir and recording team, in so far Naxos did not do well there either. But mind, that's only my opinion, most people enjoy the new way of singing in operetta.

[kishnevi]

  I see my first impressions were somewhat accurate.  Thanks for referring me to La Sonnambula (I have not heard that one).  I have Rossini's Barber of Seville on EMI but I have not heard of Tancredi.

  marvin

Their recording of Cenerentola features Joyce DiDonato--I suppose she was then an up and coming singer.

I have two installments of their Ring cycle with Zagrosek--serviceable but not in the first rank.

Other Naxos operas--Il Signor Bruschino (Rossini)--I can recommend that;  Gianni Schicchi--same thing;  La Rondine--falls flat IMO.  Much of their opera seems to be recorded in connection with festival productions and/or live regular season performances--that's often a plus in my ears, and helps get the less mainstream works into the catalogue.

In general I'd say Naxos' best work is with stuff that's not part of the regular run.