Reijo Kiilunen, Founder and Managing Director
Seppo Siirala, Producer
Jean-Christophe Hausmann, Product Manager
Mikko Hannuksela, Publicity & Marketing Manager
Maria Penttinen, Sales Manager
Juha Virtanen, Logistics Supervisor
Public Relations: Christina Jensen PR, LLC (U.S.A.)
The Curtis Symphony Orchestra led by Christoph Eschenbach in Antonín Dvořáks Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) on April 27, 2008. Their Ondine (ODE 1141-2) recording is available in stores April 28, 2009
2008 NORTH AMERICAN RELEASES
Feb. 12 Rolf Wallin: Act ODE 11182
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kroumata Percussion Ensemble
Jaap van der Zweden, John Axelrod and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductors Premiere Recordings
Apr. 22 Oskar Merikanto: Songs ODE 1111-2
Jorma Hynninen, baritone Ilkka Paananen, piano
May 13 Jean Sibelius: Kullervo ODE 1122-5
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam, conductor
YL Male Voice Choir Tommi Hakala, baritone CD/SACD hybrid
June 10 Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, Dumka ODE 1131-5
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Christoph Eschenbach, piano CD/SACD hybrid
Sept. 23 Juha Uusitalo: The Wagner Album ODE 1121-2
Juha Uusitalo, bass-baritone
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra Leif Segerstam, conductor
Oct. 14 Einojuhani Rautavaara: Works for Male Choir ODE 1125-2D
YL Male Voice Choir, Matti Hyökki and Pasi Hyökki, conductors
Release to coincide with Rautavaara's 80th birthday 2CD set; Premiere Recordings included
Oct. 14 Soile Isokoski: Opera Arias ODE 1126-2
Arias by Bizet, Gounod, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Verdi
Soile Isokoski, soprano
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra Mikko Franck, conductor
FEBRUARY Josef Suk: Asrael Symphony
ODE 1132-5 (CD/SACD hybrid)
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
FEBRUARY Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"
ODE 1134-2
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Singers Chorale
Simona Satuova, soprano, Yvonne Naef, mezzo-soprano
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Ondine was founded more than twenty years ago in Helsinki, Finland, where the company is still based and today offers an extremely eclectic catalogue of both contemporary Finnish music, as well as recordings with major Finnish and international artists.
Ondine's extensive catalogue includes more than four hundred recordings of artists and ensembles such as conductor/pianists Christoph Eschenbach and Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Leif Segerstam, John Storgårds and Mikko Franck, orchestras such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the London Sinfonietta, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic, sopranos Karita Mattila and Soile Isokoski, pianist Olli Mustonen, violinist Pekka Kuusisto and clarinettist Kari Kriikku. The label has also had a long and fruitful association with the Finnish composers Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg.
The roots of Ondine date back to 1985 when founder Reijo Kiilunen released the very first Ondine album under the auspices of the renowned Finnish Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival. The label's initial mission was to produce one live album at the Festival each season. The fourth album, however, featured Einojuhani Rautavaara's opera Thomas (ODE 704-2), raising major international attention and opening up the possibility for North American distribution. Kiilunen, who was running the Festival's concert agency and had begun the recording activity part-time, soon decided to devote himself fully to the development of this new business, producing and editing the first 50 releases himself. In 1991, Seppo Siirala joined as producer, and the Helsinki-based company has been expanding steadily since, currently numbering six full-time employees. Today, Ondine continues to uphold its reputation as one of the most respected labels in classical music, and its products have received numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Classic FM Gramophone Awards and the BBC Music Magazine Awards.
Universal Music Classical and Ondine entered into a distribution agreement that began on January 1, 2008. Both physical and digital distribution in the United States and Canada are covered under the agreement. Universal Music Classical comprises the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, and ECM labels and is a division of the Universal Music Group.
A reference to the beautiful, mercurial water nymph in the first movement of Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit, Ondine's name reflects the living spirit that has guided the label throughout its history: an unconditional belief in quality, a boundless love for music, and a firm vision of the future of recording. (www.ondine.net)
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