Nimbus
Nimbus Records issued its first LP recordings in 1977. The small factory was built into the courtyard of a Victorian country mansion called Wyastone Leys on the English / Welsh border near Monmouth. The master tapes had been recorded in the Birmingham studio built in the late 1960s by the company's founders. First to be released were recordings by living legends: Vlado Perlemuter playing Ravel, Hugues Cuenod singing Satie's Socrate, the mysterious Romanian pianist Youra Guller, not to mention Bernard Roberts in the complete Beethoven sonatas. The style of the company was set from the outset: to be in control of each step in the recording and manufacturing process, to record using the simplest microphone techniques, and to encourage performers to approach recording in the same spirit as they would a concert.
Over nearly thirty years the catalogue has grown to almost 1,000 titles, with an international flavour. The company has always supported its independence through its LP and CD manufacturing businesses. From the outset this provided a revenue stream to fund recording activity. The label got an enormous increase in funds, beginning in 1984, when Nimbus opened the first CD plant in the UK. Through to the early 1990s the plants were market leaders and with this strength behind it, the label recorded at a dizzying pace. Notable orchestral performers were The Hanover Band, the English String Orchestra under William Boughton, Adam Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Tadaaki Otaka. The project to record all the compositions of George Benjamin continues to this day. Under the new umbrella of Wyastone Estate Limited, the company continues with a mixed business base of music recording and disc manufacturing.
Over nearly thirty years the catalogue has grown to almost 1,000 titles, with an international flavour. The company has always supported its independence through its LP and CD manufacturing businesses. From the outset this provided a revenue stream to fund recording activity. The label got an enormous increase in funds, beginning in 1984, when Nimbus opened the first CD plant in the UK. Through to the early 1990s the plants were market leaders and with this strength behind it, the label recorded at a dizzying pace. Notable orchestral performers were The Hanover Band, the English String Orchestra under William Boughton, Adam Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Tadaaki Otaka. The project to record all the compositions of George Benjamin continues to this day. Under the new umbrella of Wyastone Estate Limited, the company continues with a mixed business base of music recording and disc manufacturing.
Latest releases
Recent highlights
Blackford: Christmas Dawn
Poulenc: The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant
French Bonbons: Romantic Organ Music
Taylor: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
The Best of Kevin Bowyer: Discover Organ Masterworks of the 20th Century
Blackford: Blewbury Air
Saint-Saëns: Chopin & Liszt Sonatas - arrangements for 2 pianos
Joaquín Turina: Piano Works
Franck & Fauré Piano Quintets
Isaac Albeniz: Piano Works
The Haar: Irish Traditional Songs
Philip Sawyers: Symphony No. 4 & Hommage to Kandinsky
Augusta Read Thomas: The Auditions
Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Trio Sonatas arranged for two harpsichords
The Best of Martin Jones: Discover Manuel de Falla