Naxos

Record label A budget price and a Hong Kong office were not the obvious foundations for a serious classical catalogue, but Klaus Heymann's Naxos, launched in 1987, made them so. The method was systematic rather than competitive: instead of adding a hundredth Beethoven cycle, the label recorded what others had left alone — complete editions of neglected composers, national repertoires surveyed country by country, ballet scores taken down whole, contemporary series sustained over years. Much of the early work was made with orchestras in central and eastern Europe, whose players thereby reached a world market for the first time. What began as a shelf of inexpensive discs became one of the largest classical catalogues in existence, and, through its distribution and streaming arms, part of the infrastructure by which recorded classical music now reaches listeners at all. Recordings with ensembles in Central and Eastern Europe formed an important part of its early catalogue. Its Naxos Music Library subscription service, provides streamed access to recordings from Naxos and other labels.