Westminster Records was an American
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, issuing original recordings until 1965. It was co–founded in 1949 by Mischa Naida (who later founded
Musical Heritage Society
Musical Heritage Society was an American mail-order record label founded in New York City in 1962 by Michael "Mischa" Naida (1900–1991), co-founder of Westminster Records, and T. C. Fry Jr. (1926–1996).
Background
After a small initial group ...
), the owner of the Westminster Record Shop in
New York City, businessman James Grayson (1897–1980), conductor
Henry Swoboda, and Henry Gage. Its trademark was
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
and its slogan was "natural balance", referring to its single microphone technique.
Early on, Westminster recordings were technically superior to most others available, and the label became popular among the growing community of
audiophiles. In the late 1950s, the company began issuing
stereophonic recordings, including a rare disc of the music of Swedish composer
Hugo Alfvén (1872–1960), conducted by the composer. The "Westminster Laboratory" (W-Lab) series of classical recordings were technically superior to other brands and sold at higher price than the regular Westminster issues.
The company was sold in the early 1960s to
ABC-Paramount
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...
, which at first continued to issue new material (as well as reissuing old recordings on the "Westminster Gold" label). Westminster ceased issuing new (original) recordings in 1965. Beginning in 1970, ABC's "Westminster Gold" reissues, including a new "Best Of" composers series, sported new eye-catching sleeve designs that used whimsy and humor to garner lucrative sales from high school and college-age classical music aficionados.
acquired the Westminster catalog when it purchased ABC Records in 1979. While continuing to distribute ABC's catalogue of classical music LPs, MCA hired former ABC classical department head John Sievers to establish its own MCA classical music department.
The next year, MCA reissued much of the classical music back catalogues of
Command,
Decca, and ABC/Westminster Records on the "MCA Westminster" label.
The Westminster recordings, as well as the rest of the MCA classical music catalogue, are currently managed by
Deutsche Grammophon.
References
External links
Archived Westminster Gold Records discography
{{Authority control
American record labels
Classical music record labels
Record labels established in 1949