A Unique Record Label From Central Europe
Although Supraphon a.s. celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of its founding as a state-controlled company in 2006, its early history as a publisher of sound recordings in Bohemia reaches back to the days of T.G. Masaryk and the First Republic. It was in the year 1929 that the Prague firm Ravitas gained exclusive rights to the sale of recordings by the German company Ultraphon AG, which also produced records under the Supraphon label. The leading Czech stars of both popular and serious music began to appear on the Ultraphon label, among them Jan Kubelík. The colorful history of the recording industry in Czechoslovakia was deeply affected by political decisions intended to bring it under the control of the communists. Nationalization of the recording industry led to the final destruction of the free market environment, as both Ultraphon and its competitor Esta were brought under one roof. Three years later, Supraphon was designated as the export label of the State Gramophone Industry (Státní gramofonové závody) and the symbol of the lion with a lyre appeared on its records. Here a curious anomaly occurred. In spite of the fact that all cultural life was tightly monitored by the communist party, the era produced many classical music recordings of great value. For example, Karel Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonic made an extensive collection of recordings which recently aroused the attention of the whole cultural world, remastered and reissued as the Karel Ancerl Gold Series. Václav Talich’s recordings have met with similar acclaim in a series of digitally remastered re-releases, which began in 2005.
The 1960’s brought a new wind to the sails of the Czech recording industry with releases of artists such as violinist Josef Suk, pianist Frantisek Rauch and the Vlach Quartet. Some projects, which are part of the core repertoire still today date from the end of the 1960’s: the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Czech Philharmonic and Paul Kletzki, the Beethoven piano concertos performed by Jan Panenka, and recordings of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Václav Smetácek. Václav Neumann, principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic played an extraordinary role during this period, gradually assembling brilliant complete recordings of the symphonies of Dvorák, Martinu and Mahler. Another significant project was the recording of the complete Beethoven violin sonatas performed by Josef Suk and Jan Panenka. The Smetana Quartet, which had already earned itself a place among the top quartets of the world, recorded the Beethoven string quartets. The era of Supraphon’s independence came to an end in 1983, when the effort to centralize the music industry in turn came to an end with the Velvet Revolution in late 1988-1989.
In 1992, Supraphon became a joint-stock company, thereby ending the more than 40-year history of the state-controlled music industry in Czechoslovakia. The 1990’s marked the start of a new era for Supraphon, one that hasn’t been without complications, but which has built on the artistic reknown of its past. For a major portion of this time it has been a valuable asset of the Bonton corporation. Although Supraphon has been independent to a large degree, it has once become a part of an operation of mammoth proportions. Since for many years it has been prevented from operating in the area of popular music, or even making use of its unique archive, it has focused creatively on the area of classical music and the spoken word. Among Supraphon’s discoveries are artists who are now stars of Czech classical music and frequently admired even abroad, including singers Dagmar Pecková and Eva Urbanová, cellist Jirí Bárta, violinists Pavel Sporcl and Gabriela Demeterová, pianist Igor Ardasev, the Skampa Quartet, conductor Jirí Belohlavek, and the ensembles Musica Florea and Schola Gregoriana Pragensis. Conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, one of the best known experts on Czech music, has also significantly influenced the level of Supraphon’s projects. Supraphon’s activities are not limited to new projects, however; it is finally able and ready to systematically develop its extraordinary collection of recordings from the years 1929-1992, a collection that was proclaimed a part of the cultural heritage fund in 1988. It represents a unique historical source to which Supraphon is giving a new and living face. In this regard, it is interesting to note that Supraphon has again begun to use the once-famous Ultraphon trademark and that exclusively for its "non-classical" projects.
Even in an age when record sales are stagnating worldwide, Supraphon continues to be a dynamic part of the present-day recording industry, as evidenced by a number of awards (a Grammy nomination and Gramophone, a number of prestigious awards at MIDEM), as well as the new and interesting projects that continue to build the Supraphon catalogue.
