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Virgin Classics was a record label founded in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...
. The unit, along with
EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded mus ...
, was acquired by
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...
in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Group, however the terms of the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
's September 2012 approval of the takeover requires divestment of the classical labels which were sold on 7 February 2013 to
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...
. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
approved the deal in May 2013. Warner Music's
Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...
unit absorbed the Virgin Classics artists roster and catalogue into
Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Disques Erato by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Boston, a ...
but lost the rights to use either EMI or Virgin names.


Principal artists

* Piotr Anderszewski * Leif Ove Andsnes *
Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 1 ...
* Fabio Biondi * Gautier Capuçon * Renaud Capuçon *
Max Emanuel Cencic Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...
* William Christie *
Hughes de Courson Hughes de Courson is a French musician and arranger. The Malicorne years Hughes de Courson is best known for being on all of the albums by Malicorne. He played electric guitar, bass, crumhorn, percussion, recorder, positive organ, piano, elka ...
*
Alan Curtis (conductor) Alan Curtis (November 17, 1934July 15, 2015) was an American harpsichordist, musicologist, and conductor of baroque opera. Born in Mason, Michigan, Curtis graduated from studies at the University of Illinois, and received his PhD in 1960 with ...
* Diana Damrau * David Daniels *
Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French singer, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, ...
* Joyce DiDonato * David Fray * Vivica Genaux * Véronique Gens *
Emmanuelle Haïm Emmanuelle Haïm (; born 11 May 1962) is a French harpsichordist and conductor with a particular interest in early music and Baroque music. Early life, student and assistant years Haïm was born and grew up in Paris, and was raised Catholic altho ...
* Daniel Harding * Philippe Jaroussky * Paavo Järvi * Truls Mørk *
Roger Norrington Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (born 16 March 1934) is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music. In November 2021 Norrington announced his retirement. Life Norr ...
*
Artemis Quartet The Artemis Quartet is a German string quartet, founded in 1989 in Lübeck, and now based in Berlin. The quartet is named for the Greek goddess of hunting and the wilderness. History The first members of the Artemis Quartet, Wilken Ranck, Isa ...
* Quatuor Ebène * Christina Pluhar *
Valeriy Sokolov Valeriy Sokolov (born September 22, 1986)Christian Tetzlaff *
Alexandre Tharaud Alexandre Tharaud (born 9 December 1968) is a French pianist. He is active on the concert stage and has released a large and diverse discography. Life and career Born in Paris, Tharaud discovered the music scene through his mother who was a danc ...
* Rolando Villazón (early recordings)


References

{{Authority control Classical music record labels EMI French record labels Record labels established in 1988 Record labels disestablished in 2013