Columbia Artists Management (CAMI) was an international talent management agency. On August 29, 2020, the agency announced plans to shut down amid a disturbance in business caused by the " prolonged pandemic environment".

History

Based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, it was formed on December 12, 1930 as Columbia Concerts Corporation by

Arthur Judson Arthur Leon Judson (February 17, 1881 – January 28, 1975) was an artists' manager who also managed the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra and was also the founder of CBS. He co-founded the Handel Society of New York with entrepren ...

and

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...

, the then head of the

Columbia Broadcasting System CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, who helped merge seven independent concert bureaus in the United States. By 1941, under pressure from government regulators, both CBS and NBC ended their longtime relationships with their respective talent management companies. The independent Columbia Concerts renamed itself as Columbia Artists Management Inc. in 1948. In March 2021, performing arts management company IMG Artists acquired the name and brand of Columbia Artists. CAMI was based at

165 West 57th Street 165 West 57th Street, originally the Louis H. Chalif Normal School of Dancing headquarters, is a building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is along the northern sidewalk of 57th Street (Manhattan), 57th Street betwee ...

in New York City from 1959 to 2005, when it moved to 1790 Broadway. During its existence, CAMI has represented a very large number of active classical artists worldwide, including singers

Leontyne Price Leontyne Price ( born Mary Violet Leontine Price February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. ...

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (; 9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as w ...

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...

Mohammed Fairouz Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer. He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described by Daniel J. Wakin of ''The New York Times'' as an "important new artistic voice". ...

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

, John McCormack,

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

, and George London; pianists

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

Ronald Turini Ronald Turini (born 30 September 1934) is a world renowned Canadian classical pianist. Turini was the first Canadian artist to win prizes at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the Geneva International Music Competition, bot ...

, Aleksey Sultanov,

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (; 5 January 1920 – 12 June 1995) was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. According to ''The New York Times'', he was perhaps the most reclusive, ...

, and

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...

; violinists

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

, Eugene Sarbu and Tossy Spivakovsky; and conductors

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

, and

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (; 14 May 18856 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later bet ...

. Composers

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, and

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

were managed by CAMI when they appeared as performers. The agency's contemporary roster included conductors

Seiji Ozawa was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After cond ...

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...

and

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (born Mirga Gražinytė, 29 August 1986 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian conductor. She was the musical director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Biography Early years and education Gražinytė-Tyla was b ...

; singers

Isabel Leonard Isabel Leonard (born February 18, 1982) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer based in New York City. She is of Argentine ancestry on her mother's side. Education Leonard was born in New York City. For five years she sang with the Manhattan S ...

Russell Thomas Russell Thomas (born ) is an American operatic tenor. He has performed leading roles at some of the world's leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the English National Opera, Deutsche Op ...

and

Brenda Rae Brenda Rae (born February 8, 1982) is an American operatic soprano who has performed leading roles in opera houses internationally. She was a resident artist at the Frankfurt Opera from 2008 through 2017. She is a featured performer on the Naxos ...

; and pianist

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (5 January 1942 – 23 March 2024) was an Italian pianist and conductor. He was known for performances of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and the Second Viennese School, among others. He championed works by contemporary composers ...

. British music commentator

Norman Lebrecht Norman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948) is a British music journalist and author best known as the owner of the classical music blog ''Slipped Disc''. His writings have been accused of sensationalism and criticized for their inaccuracies, while oth ...

criticized CAMI and

Ronald A. Wilford Ronald A. Wilford (November 4, 1927, in Salt Lake City – June 13, 2015, in New York City) was an American music manager who has been described as “classical music's biggest power broker”. He spent 50 years at Columbia Artists Management, Inc. ...

for what Lebrecht deemed to be their overly pervasive influence on conductor salaries, and the limited time music directors spent with orchestras.

References

External links

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uncertain provenance {{Authority control Talent and literary agencies Companies based in Manhattan 1930 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1930 Entertainment companies established in 1930 2020 disestablishments in New York (state) American companies disestablished in 2020 Entertainment companies disestablished in 2020 Companies disestablished due to the COVID-19 pandemic Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts