Connoisseur Society is an American audiophile classical music and jazz record label. It was founded by E. Alan Silver and James Goodfriend. Silver and Goodfriend helped artists from the
Eastern bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
to perform in the US during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, among them
Ivan Moravec in 1962.
The label released albums of
Millette Alexander and Frank Daykin, known collectively as
Alexander and Daykin,
Sergei Babayan
Sergei Babayan (; born 1 January 1961) is an Armenian-American pianist. Described by ''Le Devoir'' as a "genius", Babayan won many international competitions, including the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in 1989 and the Hamamat ...
, Antonio Barbosa,
Samuel Bartos,
Sara Davis Buechner (born David Buechner),
Linda Bustani,
George Darden,
Kate Dillingham,
Walter Hautzig,
Morton Estrin,
Madeleine Forte,
Joyce Hatto,
Michael Jamanis,
,
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was an Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, ...
,
Ruth Laredo,
Mirjana Lewis,
João Carlos Martins,
Blair McMillan, Ivan Moravec,
Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Olaf Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948) is an American classical pianist. In 1970 Ohlsson became the first, and remains the only, competitor from the United States to win the gold medal awarded by the International Chopin Piano Competition, at ...
,
Zaidee Parkinson,
Manitas de Plata,
Richard Reid
Richard Colvin Reid (born 12 August 1973), also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is a British terrorist who perpetrated the failed shoe bombing attempt against a transatlantic flight in 2001. Born to a father who was a career criminal, Reid convert ...
,
Cynthia Raim,
Alberto Reyes,
Elizabeth Rich,
Edward Rosser,
Mordecai Shehori,
Myron Silberstein,
Patrick Stephens,
Joe Utterback,
Ilana Vered
Ilana Vered (; born December 6, 1943, in Tel Aviv, Israel) is a concert pianist and professor of piano.
Biography
From age 13 to 15 Vered attended the Paris Conservatoire, which awarded her first prize in piano upon her graduation; among her teac ...
,
Frances Veri,
,
Wanda Wiłkomirska, and
Oxana Yablonskaya
Oxana Yablonskaya (; born December 6, 1938) is a Soviet, American, and Israeli pianist who has had an active international performance career since the early 1960s. She began her career in the USSR and, although winning several important compet ...
.
Some of the label's releases include:
*Joe Utterback, piano; ''So Many Stars'';
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...
/
Sonny Burke
Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer.
Early life and career
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Francis P. Burke and Rhoda Nihany, Burke grew up in D ...
: ''Midnight Sun'';
Ann Ronell: ''Willow Weep For Me'';
Bobby Troup
Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the composer of the rhythm and blues standard " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and for the role of D ...
: ''Get Your Kicks on Route 66'' (CD 4259)
*Edward Rosser, piano; ''Visions of Beyond'', ''late and last piano works by:''
Chopin,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
,
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...
,
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
,
Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...
,
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
,
Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
(CD 4260)
*Cynthia Raim, piano; Johannes Brahms: ''Haendel Variations, Three Intermezzi, Eight Kavierstücke'' (CD 4266)
*David Allen Wehr, piano; Beethoven: ''The 32 Piano Sonatas'', Volume 4, 2 CDs; Schubert: ''Piano Sonata in B flat major'' (CD 4264)
The label became known for the premiere recording of
Scriabin's complete 10 sonatas with Ruth Laredo in 1970 (CS 2032, CS 2034 and CS 2035).
Silver is also head of the company In Sync,
which offers
remasterings on CD from cassettes and LPs.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Classical music record labels
American independent record labels