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Decca at 75
2004 marks the 75th anniversary of DECCA as a recording company.
At 75, DECCA is one of the world's most celebrated record labels and
boasts a catalogue that is legendary - not just for a wealth of classical
recordings but for a substantial heritage of recordings of light music
and of pop with an enviable artists roster ranging from Luciano Pavarotti
through to the Rolling Stones.
From the outset DECCA established an artist list with major names
such as Ambrose, Billy Cotton, Mantovani and Vera Lynn - all household
names and artists whose recordings have sold in vast numbers. Classical
artists who recorded with DECCA and whose associations span many years
include: Sir Georg Solti who was an exclusive artist for 50 years;
Antal Dorati, István Kertész, Charles Dutoit and Riccardo
Chailly are other conductors with long DECCA associations; opera singers
such as Renata Tebaldi, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Kiri Te
Kanawa, Cecilia Bartoli and Renée Fleming whilst more recently
the roster has embraced younger talents such as Juan Diego Flórez
and Joseph Calleja. Pianists have included such international names
as Clifford Curzon, Julius Katchen, Wilhelm Backhaus and Vladimir
Ashkenazy. Legendary DECCA pop stars include The Rolling Stones, The
Moody Blues, David Bowie, Lulu, and Tom Jones - to name but a few.
DECCA has always been at the forefront of technological advances in
recording techniques and has been a leader in new developments and
continues to explore the formats in this rapidly changing world of
technology.
The record business has changed a great deal in recent years and DECCA
has continued to move with the times. DECCA continues to be the home
of classical music's superstars whilst diversifying with artists such
as Russell Watson, the all-girl string quartet Bond, and most recently,
the sensational New Zealand teenage singer Hayley Westenra.
Decca at 75: Past, Present, Future
The Decca Record Company was born in 1929 with the release of the
first Decca recordings. One year earlier, in 1928, The Decca Gramophone
Company Ltd had been founded by Edward Lewis, who would steer the
company through the next five decades. Lewis had bought shares in
the company which had already achieved success in the development
of the portable gramophone. ... [Click here
to download full history - in Micorsoft Word format]
The History of Decca - complete timeline
One for the archivists! all the important dates in Decca's long history.
[Click here to download
dates - in Microsoft Word format]
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