Canadian Classics
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Grammy-winning VSO album may be CBC’s last
National record label moving away from classical recordings to attract younger listeners
Arthur Kaptainis, Canwest News Service
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
MONTREAL — The weekend Grammy win by violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey comes with a catch: Their disc of concertos by Barber, Korngold and Walton will likely be the last new classical orchestral recording ever to appear on CBC Records. Furthermore, a projected CBC Records release by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano, already half completed, has been scuttled.
“We are certainly in a different situation now,” Randy Barnard, general manager of CBC Records, said the day after the Grammy ceremonies in Los Angeles. “There are changes at CBC Radio 2 and (the French FM network) Espace musique. We have been refocusing our intent to non-classical releases.”
But even the non-classical outlook is cloudy. Barnard confirmed CBC Records has nothing “in the can” — industry jargon for a completed recording pending release — in any genre.
Relaunched as a retail label in the early 1980s at the dawn of digital technology, CBC Records for years was a means for listeners to acquire performances by Canadian classical vocalists, instrumentalists and ensembles, as well as a handy tool for CBC radio networks to broadcast digital performances. Many CBC Records artists, such as tenor Ben Heppner, pianist Angela Hewitt and, recently, soprano Measha Brueggergosman, have gone on to record for international labels.
Lately the label has taken a turn to jazz and crossover repertoire, in tandem with the radio networks. Four discs released before Christmas were of tango, jazz, gospel and baroque music.
The question now is whether this is the final CD salvo. Barnard says he intends to continue to make recordings in all genres, with more stress on the “growth area” of downloading. Nevertheless, he admits that he will have no independent budget to make recordings after April 1.
While Barnard maintains that CBC Records remains in operation, many insiders believe otherwise. Tovey announced at a VSO subscription concert on Saturday night that the Grammy-nominated recording would be the last from CBC Records.
Robert Sunter, the former head of music for CBC Radio who created CBC Records, said that he was “disgusted” by what he understands to be the demise of the label and skeptical of the network’s presumed attempts to appeal to a younger demographic.
“They’re not going to get the younger audience,” Sunter said. “Those people aren’t even listening to the radio.”