Asian orchestra signs major record deal
mainDeutsche Grammophon has signed the Seoul Philharmonic to a 10-CD deal, the first by any major label with an orchestra from the Far East – and, I suspect, not the last.
Seoul is a special case.
South Korea has the highest classical share of the record market on earth, around 17% of all record sales, and the consumers are overwhelmingly young and upwardly mobile. This is a demographic to die for.
The Seoul Philharmonic has Myung-whun Chung as music director. He has been a DG artist for much of his career, notably at the Opéra de Paris, the Radio France orchestra and the Santa Cecilia academy in Rome.
It also has Michael Fine as artistic adviser and chief producer. Michael is a former President of DG. He was spied upon and hounded out of the job by his Universal boss, Chris Roberts, a story I told here. Roberts has since gone. Michael’s return must feel very sweet indeed.
And there’s is one more cherry on the cake. The Seoul Philharmonic are starting to tour. They will be at the Edinburgh Festival this summer. Good time to release a record.
Good luck to all!!
any orchestra with Michael Fine as artistic adviser and chief producer is guaranteed of success.