Deutsche Grammophon Celebrates 125 Years

Deutsche Grammophon was founded on 6 December 1898 by Emil Berliner, inventor of the gramophone. To celebrate the landmark occasion of its 125th anniversary this year, the globally renowned label has planned a wide range of events, releases and other initiatives.

New signing Joana Mallwitz will conduct a gala birthday concert in Berlin on 6 December, while more of DG’s international artists, including John Williams and Víkingur Ólafsson, will be taking part in anniversary concerts in Tokyo and Seoul.

“The DG Cover Stories” exhibition has been launched on the DG125 website, and there are key reissues and previously unreleased recordings from the Original Source, Lost Tapes and Avantgarde series. Finally, renowned film director Eric Schulz will present a five-part video series about the label’s history, and a range of anniversary-themed merchandise has been specially designed for the DG Store.

From its very beginnings, Deutsche Grammophon has been associated with technical innovation and a desire to explore different ways of bringing classical music to established fans and new listeners alike. It has always embraced state-of-the-art sound engineering techniques and, last year, launched its groundbreaking digital platform STAGE+.

Dr Clemens Trautmann, President of Deutsche Grammophon comments

“Deutsche Grammophon has stayed young because of its willingness to develop in new directions and create exciting partnerships, reconciling innovation and tradition in terms of both artistic standards and the latest technology.”

“We’re delighted to be marking the anniversary with exciting live events in Asia, America and Europe, and are proud to be a truly global and diverse label today. Our celebration focuses on the next generation of artists and projects that we believe will create the Yellow Label legacy of the future.”

Frank Briegmann, CEO & President Universal Music Central Europe and Deutsche Grammophon comments

“Deutsche Grammophon is one of the most famous record labels in the world, with one of the richest musical traditions,” notes  “Its brand is at least as iconic as the uncompromising standard it sets itself for its work.”

“The DG tradition is passion for the new at the very highest artistic and technological level, which is why so many great musicians around the world place their trust in the label. I congratulate Deutsche Grammophon on its 125th birthday and wish the label, its team and all of its artists continued success and many more inspiring ideas and outstanding recordings for us all to enjoy in the years to come.”

Kleopatra Sofroniou, DG’s General Manager Classics comments

“Our anniversary activities are dedicated to all fans of classical music. It’s a great feeling that recordings representing DG’s entire history – from Caruso to María Dueñas – are always available for everyone to listen to. And it’s pure joy to think that concerts streamed from venues all over the world can be enjoyed at the same time by music-lovers everywhere, thanks to STAGE+.”

STAGE+ Live Concerts Details

The DG125 live events begin this month with a concert at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall in which John Williams and Stéphane Denève conduct the Saito Kinen Orchestra in a programme of some of the legendary Hollywood composer’s best-loved film themes (5 September; STAGE+ premiere 9 September).

Andris Nelsons then takes up the baton to conduct the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig at the Seoul Arts Center, with Seong-Jin Cho as soloist in the Schumann Piano Concerto (15 November). Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra join the party from Verizon Hall (9 December). As well as performing music by Stravinsky and William Grant Still, they will welcome to the stage María Dueñas (Ravel’s Tzigane & Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso), Hélène Grimaud (Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major), and Moby (tracks from Reprise & Resound NYC).

Joana Mallwitz, newly appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, conducts the DG125 birthday concert on 6 December.

She and her orchestra will be joined at the Konzerthaus Berlin by five other DG artists who are all part of a new generation of world-class musicians.

Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture will open the programme, followed by Beethoven’s Triple Concerto – with Bomsori, Kian Soltani and Rafał Blechacz; Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen – with Andrè Schuen; and Beethoven’s Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt and “Choral Fantasy” – the latter with Bruce Liu.

Lastly, rounding off the anniversary concert series, Víkingur Ólafsson will present Bach’s Goldberg Variations in recital at the Seoul Arts Center (15 December).

For details on how to view the anniversary concerts live or on demand, visit STAGE+.

Virtual Exhibition: The DG Cover Stories

DG’s art department has long worked with leading photographers and graphic designers to produce covers that have shaped the image and perception of both classical music and the artists that perform it.

Art historian and photo archivist Barbara Lauterbach has chosen a selection of 25 outstanding covers for the exhibition, her accompanying texts shedding new light on the creative process involved in their concept and production.

New items will be added to the display on dg-125.com every month until December. Among the images chosen are German theatre photographer Ilse Buhs’ stunning shot of Martha Argerich and Claudio Abbado, taken in 1967.

The website provides an insight into what makes this portrait so powerful (here), as well as offering exclusive content about the cover for Rolando Villazón’s cielo e mar album (here) and behind-the-scenes shots from Daniil Trifonov’s Destination Rachmaninov albums (here), among many more examples.

Iconic Re-issues

The Original Source – June this year saw the launch of The Original Source, a series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. Renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4‑track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques to create versions of the highest possible audio quality.

The Lost Tapes

DG announces a new series presenting hidden treasures from the label’s archives. The first of these previously unreleased recordings features the legendary pianist Rudolf Serkin’s final Beethoven recordings and will be issued on 17 November 2023. Further treasures are set to follow, including the digital release of Thomas Quasthoff and Christian Thielemann’s 2006 recording of Lieder by Hugo Wolf with the Münchner Philharmoniker.

Avantgarde Series Edition

55 years ago DG launched Avantgarde, a series that has since acquired cult status. The Avantgarde recordings have now been gathered together for the first time for CD and digital release. The 21-CD edition presents music by such forward-thinking composers as Berio, Cage, Kagel, Ligeti, Lutosławski, Nono, Penderecki, Schnebel and Zimmermann.

Yellow Music: 125 years of Deutsche Grammophon – An Eric Schulz video series

Famed for his classical music films, German director Eric Schulz has created a new five-part video series about the 125-year history of Deutsche Grammophon.

He speaks to leading figures at DG, past and present, takes a behind-the-scenes look at recent recording sessions, and interviews some of the artists who have played a part in the label’s evolution and its success, with contributions from established DG artists including Lang Lang, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Víkingur Ólafsson, as well as more recent signings such as Jonathan Tetelman and Joe Hisaishi.

DG125 Merchandise

A new range of merchandise has been designed especially for the 125th anniversary. A limited number of “Since 1898” branded hoodies, t-shirts and tote bags will be available exclusively from the DG Store.

More info about Deutsche Grammophon

One of the most prestigious names in global classical music since its foundation in 1898, Deutsche Grammophon has always stood for the highest standards of artistry and sound quality.

Home to the greatest artists of all time, the famous yellow label is a beacon to which music lovers all over the world look for outstanding musical interpretations, audio recordings and visual productions. Highly dedicated to the development of new repertoire in art music,

Deutsche Grammophon fosters and promotes a whole range of popular contemporary artists and eminent composers. The label also prides itself on its innovative use of the latest technology to provide music digitally to audiences worldwide.

Deutsche Grammophon’s current artist roster boasts some of the most distinguished figures in classical and contemporary music today, including Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Elīna Garanča, Hélène Grimaud, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Jan Lisiecki, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini, Grigory Sokolov, Bryn Terfel, Daniil Trifonov, Rolando Villazón and Krystian Zimerman, as well as Joep Beving, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Dustin O’Halloran, Agnes Obel, Víkingur Ólafsson and Max Richter.

In addition, the label’s catalogue represents the cultural legacy of whole generations of maestri and features recordings from many of the finest artists in music history, including Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Vladimir Horowitz, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, Mstislav Rostropovich and Andrés Segovia.

Watch this space for regular updates in the Music News category on Running Wolf’s Rant.