Decca
The name "Decca" has its origins in a portable gramophone called the Decca Dulcephone, patented in 1914 by the manufacturers of the instrument, Barnett Samuel and Sons. Invented by Wilfred S. Samuel, the name is the result of the fusion of the word ‘Mecca’ with the initial D of ‘Dulcephone’. The company then renamed itself the ‘Decca Gramophone Company’, and at the same time became known as ‘The Supreme Record Company’. It was bought in 1929 by the former stockbroker Edward Lewis.
In 1939 Decca was the only record label in the United Kingdom, aside from EMI. Within a few years it had become the second biggest label in the world. During the 1930s and 1940s, Decca counted within its catalogue a plethora of legendary signatures: including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Jane Froman, the Boswell Sisters, Billie Holiday, the Andrews Sisters, Ted Lewis, Judy Garland, the Mills Brothers, Billy Cotton, Guy Lombardo, Chick Webb, Louis Jordan, Bob Crosby, the Ink Spots, Dorsey Brothers, Connee Boswell and Jack Hylton, Victor Young, Earl Hines, Claude Hopkins and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
In 1966 Edward Lewis created Deram, the first British label devoted entirely to pop and rock music. Deram released the albums Songwriter and Night Flight by Justin Hayward, and in 1969 launched a progressive rock section of the label, entitled Nova, which lasted less than a year. Consequently, the 1970s were disastrous years for the Deram label as a whole. Meanwhile, Decca became increasingly famous for its classical repertoire. On the death of Edward Lewis in January 1980, the company Polygram took on what remained of Decca. Deram reappeared briefly during the early 1980s with albums by the groups Bananarama, the Mo-debts and Splodgenessabounds.
In 1997 Seagram bought MCA, Universal Studios and Polygram Deutsche Grammophon. Decca Records has now become a trademark of Universal Group; comprising Decca Classics (employing a blue and red logo), Deutsche Grammophon, Philips and Verve Music Group, Concord Records, Blue Thumb, and UCJ Round Records.
Today, Decca Records continues to support our chosen artists and unearth new talent, be it in pop, rock, folk or Americana (especially in its Broadway repertoire), releasing albums by Robert Plant, Imelda Peut, William Orbit, Kirsty Almeida, Melody Gardot, Eric Whitacre and Nikki Yanofsky. It also promotes the classical music of a new generation of great artists; including Riccardo Chailly, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nelson Freire, Cecilia Bartoli, Renee Fleming, Juan Diego Flórez, Jonas Kaufmann, Janine Jansen and Albrecht Mayer. Decca continues to release music from older classical musicians such as Wilhelm Backhaus, Benjamin Britten, Clifford Curzon, Radu Lupu, Kathleen Ferrier, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, Julius Katchen, Georg Solti, Alicia de Larrocha and Luciano Pavarotti.
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Dvorák: Symphonies,Tone Poems, Requiem...
London Symphony Orchestra, István Kertész
Symphonies - Released by Decca on 1 Nov 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Romance – The Piano Music of Clara Schumann
Classical - Released by Decca on 5 Jul 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: The Complete Symphonies
Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Doráti
Symphonies - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Farinelli
Cecilia Bartoli, Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini
Secular Vocal Music - Released by Decca on 29 Nov 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky, Bartók : Ballet Music
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, Lorin Maazel, Wiener Staatsopernchor
Ballets - Released by Decca on 10 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Coffee With Peggy Lee
Vocal Jazz - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 1956
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Louis And The Good Book (Expanded Edition)
Jazz - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 1958
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Play Bach N. 1
Jazz - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 1959
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite
Nicola Benedetti, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru
Classical - Released by Decca on 12 Jul 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt : Piano works (9CD)
Solo Piano - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Brahms Ungarische Tänze, Dvorak Slawische Tänze (Classical Choice)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Indes Galantes, Castor et Pollux – Suite (Audior)
Orchestra Of The 18th Century, Frans Brüggen
Classical - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Beethoven: Klavierkonzert Nr. 3 & 4
Alfred Brendel, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Classical - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Concertgebouw Recordings
Jean Fournet, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Decca on 11 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner : Symphonies Nos. 3, 4, 5 & 8
Symphonies - Released by Decca on 7 Feb 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov : Scheherazade - Capriccio espagnol
Igor Markevitch, London Symphony Orchestra, Erich Gruenberg
Symphonic Music - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo