Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | Warner Music Group |
Founded | 1964 |
Founder | Jac Holzman |
Distributor(s) | Warner Records (In the US) Warner Music Group (Outside of the US) |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | New York City |
Official website | www |
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch has developed into a label that records critically acclaimed music from a wide range of genres. Robert Hurwitz was president of the company from 1984 to 2017.
History
Founding
Nonesuch was founded in early 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback",
The 1968 catalogue already listed over 200 albums.[2] During the first years, the focus was clearly set on early music, i.e. music that was composed before 1800. Some artists were frequently appearing:
- Karl Ristenpart with his Chamber Orchestra of the Saar with different works by Johann Sebastian Bach and other baroque composers.
- Leslie Jones with The Little Orchestra of London recorded many symphonies by Joseph Haydn, as well as other works from the same period.
- The French violinist and conductor Roland Douatte, together with his Collegium Musicum de Paris, recorded several works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Antonio Vivaldi.
- The Danish organist Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Pachelbel, and started the series “Master Works for Organ” which included works by baroque masters, played at different organs in Europe. The series subsequently counted eleven volumes (not all played by Hansen though).
There was some later music as well. Günter Wand conducted Ludwig van Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Carl Schuricht conducted Anton Bruckners 7th Symphony, and Pierre Boulez with Orchestre National de la R.T.F played The Rite of Spring.
1965-1979: Teresa Sterne
Among the most notable achievements of Sterne's time at the label were the release of George Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children, inspired by the poems of Federico García Lorca, which sold more than 70,000 units;[6] the recording of new works by Elliott Carter, including his first and second string quartets; and the commissioning and release of Charles Wuorinen's Time's Encomium, which became the first electronic work to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1970.[7] Under Sterne, Nonesuch helped spark a ragtime revival in the United States with the release of a series of Scott Joplin piano rags performed by Joshua Rifkin.[8] Sterne also launched the groundbreaking Explorer Series, building the foundation for the field of world music.
Sterne's abrupt termination in December 1979 prompted some two dozen Nonesuch artists to write a letter to the editor of the New York Times speaking out against the decision; several noteworthy composers, Elliott Carter and Aaron Copland among them, sent a letter to the vice president of the parent company, Warner Communications, in protest.[9]
Sterne was replaced by the founder's younger brother, Keith Holzman, a production chief who, for the next five years, operated the label from Los Angeles.[10]
1984–2016: Robert Hurwitz
Former
Within the first two years under Hurwitz's leadership, Nonesuch released albums by such "new music" pioneers as
In 1994, Hurwitz hired David Bither, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Elektra Records, to head the international department at Nonesuch Records. But Bither quickly showed a far greater interest and talent in A&R and, soon after coming to the label, made a number of important signings that expanded the company's musical landscape while holding to the same ideals that had been long established from the company's earliest days.
Among more recent Nonesuch signings, the most commercially successful has been The Black Keys, the former Akron, Ohio-based duo who parlayed cult status as no-frills blues rockers into an arena-sized following and received multiple Grammy Awards for their 2010 album Brothers and their 2012 release El Camino.[17]
Forward-thinking traditional groups
Nonesuch has been building a catalog of Broadway cast recordings, including several works by multiple Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer/lyricist
From the next generation of composers, Adam Guettel has made three recordings for Nonesuch: the cast recording of his first musical, Floyd Collins (1996), the Original Cast Recording of his Tony Award-winning The Light in the Piazza; and his song cycle Myths and Hymns (earlier mounted off Broadway under the title Saturn Returns).[20]
Among the champions of Adam Guettel's work is five-time Tony Award-winning singer and actress Audra McDonald, who has showcased his compositions, among the works of a number of other contemporary composers, on her 1998 Nonesuch solo debut album, Way Back to Paradise, and later recordings How Glory Goes (2000), Build a Bridge (2006), and Go Back Home (2013).[21] Her 2002 album Happy Songs featured music of the 1930s and ’40s by songwriters like Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, and the Gershwins.[22]
As with its catalog of Broadway cast recordings, Nonesuch has assembled an equally selective roster of movie soundtracks, chief among them the scores of Philip Glass. His first Nonesuch recording, the soundtrack to Paul Schrader’s Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters in 1984, began a decades-long relationship with the label that would include several stand-out soundtracks, like those of Godfrey Reggio’s wordless films Powaqqatsi and Koyaanisqatsi, the Errol Morris documentary The Thin Blue Line, Martin Scorsese’s 1997 film Kundun, and The Hours, based on the book by Michael Cunningham.[23] Mishima was also the first Nonesuch album from now longtime Nonesuch artists Kronos Quartet. Kronos went on to collaborate with British composer Clint Mansell on his scores for the Darren Aronofsky films Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), and Noah (2014); the Requiem soundtrack included the piece "Lux Aeterna," which subsequently became a popular track for use in movie trailers and commercials.[24][25] Nonesuch has also recorded the film work of Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, including writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated There Will Be Blood (2007) and The Master (2012).[26] Among other Nonesuch movie soundtrack offerings are Jon Brion’s score for Anderson’s 2002 film Punch-Drunk Love, Stephin Merritt’s songs for Pieces of April (2003), Thomas Newman’s score for the HBO mini-series Angels in America (2007), and Carter Burwell’s score for the Coen brothers’ True Grit (2010).[27] The relationship with the Coens has continued with the 2013 release of the soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis, produced by T Bone Burnett and the Coen brothers.[28]
In the late 1990s, after Elektra underwent restructuring at the executive level, Nonesuch was shifted under the umbrella of Warner Music International. In the early 2000s, Nonesuch briefly operated under
In September 2015, it was announced that Bob Hurwitz would step down as president of Nonesuch Records.[29] After serving as co-president of the label with David Bither in 2016, Hurwitz became the chairman emeritus on January 1, 2017, when Bither became sole president.[30]
2017–present: David Bither
David Bither, who had served as senior vice president of Nonesuch for 20 years, became co-president of the label with Hurwitz in 2016 and sole president in 2017.[30] Kris Chen, formerly of XL Recordings, was hired as senior vice president in September 2016.[31] In March 2017, it was announced that the band Fleet Foxes would make its Nonesuch debut with the release of Crack-Up, its first album in six years, that June.[32]
Nonesuch Explorer Series
In the late 1960s, the Explorer Series made the label a pioneer in the field of world music before the term had even been coined. The series, which Nonesuch released from 1967[33] to 1984, consisted of field recordings made primarily in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe.
For American non-travelers, it was the first exposure to musical idioms such as music produced by a gamelan. In 1977, a few of the recordings were chosen for the Voyager Golden Record, and sent into outer space aboard the Voyager spacecraft. In 2008, one of the first Explorer Series albums, Music from the Morning of the World (1967), comprising early field recordings that the British musicologist David Lewiston had made in Bali in 1966, was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.[34]
Many of the original analog recordings of the Nonesuch Explorer Series albums were remastered during the 2000s and re-released, with new packaging, in CD format.
Discography
Artists
References
- ^
Holzman, Jac; Daws, Gavan (1998). Follow the Music. FirstMedia Books. p. 97. ISBN 0-9661221-1-9.
- ^ Nonesuch Records: Catalogue 1968. Nonesuch Records 1855, Broadway, New York
- ^ Tommasini, Anthony (December 12, 2000). "Teresa Sterne, 73, Pioneer In Making Classical Records". The New York Times.
- ISBN 0-674-01617-3.
- ^ Pinch 2004, p.126.
- ISBN 978-1-906002-29-9.
- ^ "Pulitzer Prize for Music". Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ Tommasini, Anthony (December 12, 2000). "Teresa Sterne, 73, Pioneer In Making Classical Records". The New York Times.
- ^ "Musicians Speak Out for Nonesuch" (PDF). The New York Times. December 23, 1979.
- ^ a b Gold, Gerald (June 3, 1984). "Record Notes; Nonesuch Returns to New York". The New York Times.
- ^ Cuff, Daniel F. (January 12, 1983). "Business People; Warner Names Head of Elektra Record Unit". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Pareles, Jon (November 9, 1986). "Recordings; Nonesuch Seeks to Break Down Musical Barriers". The New York Times.
- ^ "Kronos Quartet artist chart listing". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ a b c Shorto, Russell (October 3, 2004). "The Industry Standard". The New York Times.
- ^ "American album certifications – Gipsy Kings – Gipsy Kings". RIAA.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ "Nonesuch Senior Vice President David Bither Receives Bang on a Can Visionary Award". Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ^ Shorto, Alan (December 1, 2011). "First, Hit It Big. Then Change". The New York Times.
- ^ Jones, Kenneth (January 4, 2010). "A Little Night Music Cast Album Gets Recorded Jan. 4". Playbill.com.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (June 30, 2009). ""It's In Your Hands Now": Sondheim's Road Show Cast Recording Released June 30". Playbill.com.
- ^ Suskin, Steven (June 12, 2005). "ON THE RECORD: The Light in the Piazza and Little Women". Playbill.com.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (April 9, 2013). "Audra McDonald's New Album, "Go Back Home" Sets May Release; PBS Concert Will Follow". Playbill.com.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (September 17, 2002). "Audra McDonald's "Happy Songs" CD in Stores Sept. 17". Playbill.com.
- ^ "'Philip On Film': Glass Continues To Score". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Kronos Quartet and Friends to Perform in 40th Anniversary Celebration at Carnegie Hall, 3/28". Broadwayworld.com. Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Roger Ebert (November 17, 2002). "Movie Answer Man (11/17/2002)". Rogerebert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Jonny Greenwood Scores The Master". Thequietus.com. The Quietus. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ "Artists by Genre". Nonesuch.com. Nonesuch. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
- ^ Hermes, Will (November 12, 2013). "Review: Inside Llewyn Davis: Original Soundtrack Recording". Rollingstone.com.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (September 29, 2015). "Nonesuch President to Step Down After 32 Years". New York Times.
- ^ a b "David Bither Named Co-President Of Nonesuch Records". Billboard. November 20, 2015.
- ^ Schneider, Marc (September 14, 2016). "David Bither Named Co-President Of Nonesuch Records". Billboard.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (March 7, 2017). "Fleet Foxes Announce New Album Crack-Up, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork.
- ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "The Full National Recording Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2013.