Accentus Music is a German classical music record label and production company founded in March 2010 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where the company is based. The label produces audio recordings ( CD) and video (

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

).CZECH CRYSTAL - DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMMES DEDICATED TO MUSIC, DANCE AND THEATRE, website
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History

Based in

Leipzig, Germany Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's L ...

, Accentus Music is a record label, film and audio production company that was founded by film producer Paul Smaczny; he had worked for EuroArts the 20 years prior to founding Accentus.Interview: ECHO Klassik 2013 - Paul Smaczny, CEO of Accentus Music, in conversation with Axel Brüggemann, after receiving the ECHO Klassik Award for ''John Cage – Journeys in Sound''
/ref> Accentus Music products have become well established in the contemporary classical and music research fields. Directors,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

s and

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

s associated with productions for Accentus Music include

Anne-Kathrin Peitz Anne-Kathrin Peitz (; ; born March 5, 1972) is a German documentary screenwriter, director and producer. She primarily works on classical music-related documentaries and television specials. Education and early career Anne-Kathrin Peitz studie ...

. The company has its own staff of 12 producers, directors, camera operators, audio producers and editors. Establishing itself as a DVD/Blu-ray label on the classical music market in 2010, Accentus produces concert and opera recordings (audio and video) as well as feature-length documentaries and artist portraits. The DVD and Blu-ray releases include productions featuring artists such as

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

Riccardo Chailly Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, since 2016, and music director of La Scala, since 2017. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions ...

Evgeny Kissin Evgeny Igorevich Kissin (russian: link=no, Евге́ний И́горевич Ки́син, translit=Evgénij Ígorevič Kísin, yi, link=no, יעווגעני קיסין, translit=Yevgeni Kisin; born 10 October 1971) is a Russian concert pianis ...

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: �ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and education Argerich was born in Buenos Ai ...

, the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, the

Staatskapelle Berlin The Staatskapelle Berlin () is a German orchestra and the resident orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden. The orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Until the fall of the German Empire in 1918 the orchestra's name was ''Kön ...

as well as many others. The products include classical music recordings, high-profile concert and opera performances as well as feature-length documentaries. The label has also had a close association with the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

Leipzig and the

. Accentus works closely with major television production companies in Europe such as WDR,

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

, RBB, SWR,

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

and numerous other broadcasters to produce special shows and documentaries for regularly scheduled programming. The company has over 160 commercial products available to date. Productions by Accentus are regularly featured and film festivals around the world and have earned them numerous honors such as the 2017 "Czech Crystal", Gramophone Classical Music Award (2017), Label of the Year at the 2015

International Classical Music Awards The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) are music awards first awarded 6 April 2011. ICMA replace the Cannes Classical Awards (later called MIDEM Classical Awards) formerly awarded at MIDEM. The jury consists of music critics of magazines ...

(ICMA) as well and many others. Reviews of Accentus recordings are consistently featured in classical music publications and major journals including

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

, Fono Forum, Rondo, Wiener Zeitung,

Gramophone Magazine ''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ac ...

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...

, the Guardian, Classic FM Magazine, Crescendo Magazine and International Record review. The label has built and manages a YouTube channel which is viewed worldwide. Accentus also uses WildKat PR for their promotion and distribution. The label's recordings and DVD's are offered through numerous sites such as Presto Classical and

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

. In 2020 the label produced a commemorative set of videos to mark their 10th Anniversary.

Productions and distribution (partial lists)

Documentary

* '' The Unanswered Ives -- American Pioneer of Music '' (2018) * ''Maestras – The Long Journey Of Women To The Podium'' (2016)D'Arcy, David. review. 'Almodóvar’s Women and a One-Man Pussy Riot'. Observer. 04/07/17 4:13 pm
/ref> * ''Music, War and Revolution – a three-part documentary series'' (2016) * ''Arvo Pärt – The Lost Paradise'' (2015) * ''Satiesfictions'' (2014) * ''Sounds of the Sidewalk – On the Road with Buskers'' (2013/14) * ''John Cage – Journeys in Sound'' (2012) * ''A Year in the Life of the Boys Choir Leipzig'' (2012)

Live music video

* ''Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro

Staatsoper Unter den Linden The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

, Berlin'' (2018) * ''Lucerne Festival 2017 – Sir Simon Rattle’s farewell as principal conductor of Berliner Philharmoniker'' (2017) * '' Mahler 8 – The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and its new music director Riccardo Chailly'' (2016) * ''Berg’s

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama ''Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...

with Christian Gerhaher at Zurich Opera House'' (2015) * ''Vincenzo Bellini: Norma – From China NCPA Beijing'' (2015) * ''St. Matthew Passion – St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig and

Georg Christoph Biller Georg Christoph Biller (20 September 1955 – 27 January 2022) was a German choral conductor. He conducted the Thomanerchor as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach from 1992 to 2015. He was also a baritone, an academic teacher, ...

'' (2012) * ''Tango Buenos Aires – Café de los Maestros & Friends'' (2011)

Awards and honors

Awards for label

Awards for individual CDs, DVDs, documentaries and projects

References

External links

* * *
Accentus Music, Avant Première 2019

Accentus Music, Avant Première 2020, 10 Years
{{Authority control Record labels established in 2010 Film production companies of Germany Companies based in Leipzig Mass media companies of Germany Classical music record labels German record labels Documentary film production companies German brands Music in Leipzig