Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

was a German independent classical

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015.

History

The Orfeo music label was registered by F. Axel Mehrle on 12 December 1979 as the Orfeo Classic Records and Music Film GmbH. Orfeo introduced a new financial model for the music industry that made all investment to the label

tax-deductible Tax deduction is a reduction of income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. T ...

. All of Orfeo's masters were digital, pressed using Direct Metal Mastering, distributed as CD starting in 1983, and with a striking navy blue border on all covers. In 1981, some of Orfeo's records were released and distributed by EMI and RCA through a 5-year partnership deal. From 1981 to 1984, the label's yearly revenue went from $100,000 to $2 million. In 1985, as the company was reaching dramatic financial failure, the name of the label was changed to Oro, and the company filed for bankruptcy. In May 1985, Frank Mehrle licensed all of Orfeo's master rights to his associate Dieter Sinn (120 releases). Dieter Sinn created a new company, Orfeo International, to further the sale of the releases. Orfeo international hired many of Orfeo's employees, and took over all of the bankrupted label's international contracts. Despite getting a great catalogue of artists from the start, the costs of operations were excessive and the label got caught up in additional fundraisings that sunk its finances and doomed its spectacular launch. In December 1985, F. Axel Mehrle was charged with fraud and embezzlement relating to the bankruptcy of Orfeo, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. In 2017 qobuz.com released some of the records on the net.

Releases

It has released many classical own productions with artists as

Carlos Kleiber Carlos Luis Bonifacio Kleiber (3 July 1930 – 13 July 2004) was an Austrian conductor who is widely regarded as among the greatest conductors of all time. Early life Kleiber was born as Karl Ludwig Bonifacius Kleiber in Berlin in 1930, the ...

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

Rafael Kubelik Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * Rafa ...

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

, Bernard Haitink,

Kurt Eichhorn Kurt Peter Eichhorn (4 August 1908 – 29 June 1994), was a German conductor. Eichhorn was born in Munich, the son of a painter. He studied music at the conservatory in Würzburg with Hermann Zilcher and progressed through provincial houses. His ...

, Christian Thielemann, Andris Nelsons, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (both as singer and conductor), Jessye Norman,

Julia Varady Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...

Margaret Price Dame Margaret Berenice Price (13 April 194128 January 2011) was a Welsh soprano. Early years Price was born in Blackwood, near Caerphilly in South Wales. Born with deformed legs, she underwent surgery at age four and suffered pain in her l ...

, Lucia Popp, Diana Damrau,

Edita Gruberova Edita is a female first name, a form of Edith. It may refer to: *Edita Abdieski (born 1984), Swiss singer *Edita Adlerová (born 1971), Czech opera singer *Edita Aradinović (born 1993), Serbian singer *Edita Brychta (born 1961), English actress *E ...

, Grace Bumbry, Brigitte Fassbaender,

Agnes Baltsa Agni Baltsa ( el, Aγνή Mπάλτσα; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer. Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of six, before moving to Athens in 1958 to concen ...

, Carlo Bergonzi,

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...

, Piotr Beczala,

Renato Bruson Renato Bruson (born 13 January 1936) is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century. He was born in Granze near Padua, Italy. Biography and career ...

, Bernd Weikl, Kurt Moll,

Dmitry Sitkovetsky Dmitry Yulianovich Sitkovetsky (russian: Дмитрий Юлианович Ситковецкий; born September 27, 1954) is a Soviet-Russian born classical violinist, conductor and arranger, most notably of an arrangement for strings of J. S. ...

Josef Bulva Josef Bulva (9 January 1943 – 12 August 2020) was a Czech pianist. Life Bulva was born in Brno, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, now the Czech Republic. began his training aged nine at a music school in Napajedla, and performed his firs ...

Oleg Maisenberg Oleg Maisenberg (born 29 April 1945) is a Soviet-Austrian pianist and teacher. Early life and career Born to a Jewish family in Odessa, Oleg Maisenberg received his first piano lessons from his mother at the age of five. He completed his studie ...

, Mischa Maisky, Julius Berger,

Karl Leister Karl Leister (born 15 June 1937) is a classical clarinet player from Wilhelmshaven, Germany. At a very young age, he learned to play the clarinet from his father, also a clarinetist, and later studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. As a ...

Aurèle Nicolet Aurèle Nicolet (22 January 1926 – 29 January 2016) was a Swiss flautist. He was considered one of the world's best flute players of the late twentieth century. He performed in various international concerts. A number of composers wrote music ...

etc. Orfeo owns a well-known sub-label "ORFEO D'OR", publishing legendary live performances from the archives of the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

, the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

, the Bavarian State Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestr ...

etc. Further, it has produced two records with the late Heinz Ruehmann.

References

External links

ORFEO. Company founded 2015 selling Orfeo records

List of releases
{{Authority control Classical music record labels German record labels

History

Releases

See also

References

External links