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Universal and Daniel Barenboim launch digital-only classical label
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 2 May 2014
Universal has announced the launch of a new digital-only classical label in partnership with pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, called Peral Music.
Barenboim told CMU: “I came up with the idea for the label because I’ve had the good fortune to record for 60 years and always with major companies. I’ve seen all the developments that the industry has made: my first recordings were on 45s. Then LP, then stereo, then CD – so I’ve seen a lot of changes. And I’ve also seen the changes to the place of [classical] music in society which is, in my view, much weaker than it was, say, 60 years ago”.
Those changes, he said, came down to classical music’s slowness to adapt to modern technology and “has created a generation who have grown up without [classical] music”. This has spurred him to try to pull classical music into the 21st century.
He continued: “I’m fascinated by young people who have such a dominion of everything that is digital. I like the purity of it. I like the fact that you don’t need all the clutter – there’s something incredibly direct about it. And I’m fascinated by the possibilities it offers – there are so many opportunities! What I would like to get across to the younger generation is that they have to have the curiosity to really concentrate and listen: to basically really hang on to the first note and stay with it. Digital is a wonderful means because you don’t have to do anything like putting a needle onto an LP, or putting a CD into the player. And the recorded quality is superior”.
Universal Music Group International CEO Max Hole said of working with Barenhoim: “The label ‘legend’ is unquestionably overused, but in the case of Daniel Barenboim it couldn’t be more fitting. Daniel is one of the towering figures of our time whose long career as both pianist and conductor has been matched by his work as a humanitarian that’s enabled him to transcend the usual confines of the musical world. It’s typical of Daniel’s unending creative engagement with his times that he’s partnering with us to launch PERAL MUSIC, a label that will enable him to fully explore the possibilities offered to such a figure by the digital revolution. Everyone at Universal Music is delighted and proud to partner Daniel in his latest innovation”.
All releases on the label will be made available in iTunes’ higher quality ‘Mastered For iTunes’ format on a two month exclusive, before becoming more widely available in standard download formats. The first release, ‘Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos 1-3’, is out now.
