The Story Of Naxos

In 1987, a budget classical record label was started in Hong Kong by Klaus Heymann, a German businessman who loved classical music. Swiftly, it gained a world wide reputation for reliable new digital recordings of the classics at a remarkably low price. Despite opposition from the classical record establishment, it grew at a remarkable pace and soon expanded into opera, early music, contemporary music and specialist repertoire so that it became appreciated by specialist collectors as well as the general music lover. It is now the leading provider of classical music and as an innovator in digital delivery.

At the heart of Naxos is one man: Klaus Heymann. The combination of his broad knowledge of classical music and his acute business acumen has enabled him to build the most varied classical music label in the world, but also the most effective distribution network to ensure that his recordings are available everywhere.

This fascinating story explains how it happened, how a one-time tennis coach in Frankfurt became a classical recording mogul in Hong Kong and how, at the age of 75, he still holds the reins as firmly as ever.

“"Naxos' cast of characters is often as fascinating as Heymann himself." - Strings”

highly readable . . . I enjoyed reading this densely packed, enlightening book - Classical Recordings Quarterly - Graham Silcock

Nicolas Soames throws himself into telling the story of how the music loving Heymann, a tennis coach-turned businessman built his recording empire and took it to the world - Time Out - Colin Anderson

endlessly informative book... which embraces everything everyone has wondered about this unique company. An educational read, with great stories - Herald

Nicolas Soames is a former classical music and judo journalist. For the past 18 years, he has run Naxos AudioBooks, the award-winning label with a particularly reputation for its spoken word recordings of literary classics from Homer and Dante to James Joyce and Haruki Murakami.

In 1987, a budget classical record label was started in Hong Kong by Klaus Heymann, a German businessman who loved classical music. Swiftly, it gained a world wide reputation for reliable new digital recordings of the classics at a remarkably low price. Despite opposition from the classical record establishment, it grew at a remarkable pace and soon expanded into opera, early music, contemporary music and specialist repertoire so that it became appreciated by specialist collectors as well as the general music lover. It is now the leading provider of classical music and as an innovator in digital delivery.At the heart of Naxos is one man: Klaus Heymann. The combination of his broad knowledge of classical music and his acute business acumen has enabled him to build the most varied classical music label in the world, but also the most effective distribution network to ensure that his recordings are available everywhere.This fascinating story explains how it happened, how a one-time tennis coach in Frankfurt became a classical recording mogul in Hong Kong and how, at the age of 75, he still holds the reins as firmly as ever.

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