Odyssey Records is a budget

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

record label founded by

Columbia Masterworks Records Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation. History ...

in 1966 as a reissue label. It is currently an imprint of

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...

. In the 1970s, Odyssey became well known for issuing albums of avant-garde classical music, including electronic works. Works by Stockhausen, Boulez, Maxfield, Oliveros, Reich,

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

("The Early Years"), and many other composers were made available through the label in that era. In the early 2000s, Sony Classical repurposed the Odyssey imprint to showcase its growing roster of “crossover” artists, such as Canadian violinist

Lara St. John Lara St. John (born April 15, 1971) is a Canadian violinist. Early life Lara St. John was born in London, Ontario, and spent her early childhood there.John Terauds, "Violinist Lara St. John Keeps Herself Guessing," ''Toronto Star'', October 22, ...

, Greek tenor

Mario Frangoulis Mario Frangoulis ( el, Μάριος Φραγκούλης, Mários Frankoúlis; born 18 December 1967) is a Greek vocalist and theatre actor, famous for his refined tenor vocals. Born in Rhodesia, Frangoulis after his three decade long career has ...

, Brazilian singer and guitarist

Rosa Passos Rosa Passos (; born April 13, 1952) is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. Passos began playing piano at age thirteen, but after listening to Dorival Caymmi and João Gilberto she abandoned the instrument to become a singer. In the late 1960s, s ...

, and American classical pianist

Christopher O'Riley Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program ''From the Top''. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative. Early life O ...

References

Classical music record labels Columbia Records {{US-record-label-stub