Orion Records
Encyclopedia
Orion Records was a primarily classical record
label active from the late 1960s until 1988. It grew out of an earlier, Canadian label, Baroque Records, founded by former Everest Records
executive Giveon Cornfield. After subsuming portions of Baroque's catalogue, Orion specialized in recording promising young artists; some, such as harpsichordist-organist Kenneth Gilbert
and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman
, went on to significant recording careers for larger labels.
Taking advantage of personal connections, Cornfield secured for Orion an association with the Menuhin Foundation, improving the label's access to retail channels, and arranged for distribution by Everest. Orion's catalogue would eventually list some 600 titles, and the label had its share of awards—several Grand Prix du Disques, two "Recordings of Special Merit" from Stereo Review, and the Grand Prix International du Disque Liszt 1977—but sales were small, generally less than 25 copies of any given title annually, and the company relied on financial infusions from Cornfield to remain in business. An exception was one of the label's rare non-classical issues, a collection of torch songs recorded by Anita Ellis; with a few thousand copies sold, it was the label's most successful release.
As the compact disc
decimated the market for conventional records, in 1988 Cornfield opted to retire rather than retool the company's output for the digital era. Unsuccessful at finding a buyer for Orion, he donated its archives to the University of Hawaii with the proviso he could reissue recordings at will. As of 2007, the Canadian Marquis Classics label began a program, under the direction of Cornfield's son, to reissue 25 selected Orion titles, including recordings by Kenneth Gilbert
, Steven Staryk
, Joel Krosnick
, and Robert Silverman and others that Orion had inherited from Baroque. Some of these issues derive from master tapes; others are dubbed from LPs.. In addition to the 25 Marquis-reissued items, the bulk of Orion's archives are being reactivated (streaming) on two Naxos web sites: ClassicsOnLine.com and NaxosMusicLibrary.com
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
label active from the late 1960s until 1988. It grew out of an earlier, Canadian label, Baroque Records, founded by former Everest Records
Everest Records
Everest Records was a stereophonic record label based in Bayside, Long Island started by Harry D. Belock and Bert Whyte in May 1958. It was devoted mainly to classical music.-History:...
executive Giveon Cornfield. After subsuming portions of Baroque's catalogue, Orion specialized in recording promising young artists; some, such as harpsichordist-organist Kenneth Gilbert
Kenneth Gilbert
Kenneth Gilbert, OC is a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist and music educator.Gilbert was trained at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he was a pupil of Yvonne Hubert and Gabriel Cusson . He also studied the organ privately with Conrad Letendre in Montréal...
and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman
Richard Stoltzman
Richard Stoltzman is an American clarinetist. Born Richard Leslie Stoltzman in Omaha, Nebraska, he spent his early years in San Francisco, California and Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from Woodward High School in 1960. Today, Stoltzman is part of the faculty list at the New England Conservatory...
, went on to significant recording careers for larger labels.
Taking advantage of personal connections, Cornfield secured for Orion an association with the Menuhin Foundation, improving the label's access to retail channels, and arranged for distribution by Everest. Orion's catalogue would eventually list some 600 titles, and the label had its share of awards—several Grand Prix du Disques, two "Recordings of Special Merit" from Stereo Review, and the Grand Prix International du Disque Liszt 1977—but sales were small, generally less than 25 copies of any given title annually, and the company relied on financial infusions from Cornfield to remain in business. An exception was one of the label's rare non-classical issues, a collection of torch songs recorded by Anita Ellis; with a few thousand copies sold, it was the label's most successful release.
As the compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
decimated the market for conventional records, in 1988 Cornfield opted to retire rather than retool the company's output for the digital era. Unsuccessful at finding a buyer for Orion, he donated its archives to the University of Hawaii with the proviso he could reissue recordings at will. As of 2007, the Canadian Marquis Classics label began a program, under the direction of Cornfield's son, to reissue 25 selected Orion titles, including recordings by Kenneth Gilbert
Kenneth Gilbert
Kenneth Gilbert, OC is a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist and music educator.Gilbert was trained at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he was a pupil of Yvonne Hubert and Gabriel Cusson . He also studied the organ privately with Conrad Letendre in Montréal...
, Steven Staryk
Steven Staryk
Steven Sam Staryk, OC is a Canadian violin virtuoso.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of Ukrainian descent, he began his musical education as a child at the Harbord Collegiate Institute...
, Joel Krosnick
Joel Krosnick
Joel Krosnick is an American soloist, cellist, recitalist, and chamber musician who has performed all over the world for over thirty-five years...
, and Robert Silverman and others that Orion had inherited from Baroque. Some of these issues derive from master tapes; others are dubbed from LPs.. In addition to the 25 Marquis-reissued items, the bulk of Orion's archives are being reactivated (streaming) on two Naxos web sites: ClassicsOnLine.com and NaxosMusicLibrary.com