Whither Naïve's Vivaldi Edition?

[Mark S]

I see that following its financial difficulties the Naive label has been acquired by Believe Digital. Will the new owners, or anyone else, continue the Vivaldi Edition releases? http://www.vivaldiedition.com looks neglected, so I am not optimistic.

[MickyD]

Oh dear, this is terrible news to me and many others, I'm sure...thanks Mark, for letting us know. It would be tragic for this wonderful cycle not to be continued.

[french frank]

A news report here says the deal: "… will see Believe take on the indie’s core operations and catalogue, though not its debts". Unless the VE is a heavy loss-maker, there may be reason to hope it's a rescue line. And after all, there was no chance of it continuing under Naïve. It looks as if Sony were also after it, though presumably both were looking mainly for the profitable bits.

[gurnemanz]

Agree, terrible news. Remaining discs on sale may need snapping up. I have the opera highlights 3cd, no longer available elsewhere but Amazon still seem have it. Most recently I got this 6CD mélodies set which is also excellent.

[MickyD]

The three 6CD concerti boxes are really excellent - many of us have written about them on these boards before. Definitely snap them up, superb playing and terrific bargains.

[Richard Barrett]

Frankly I don't trust any company that has a name like "Believe". Remember that flurry of fascinating reissues of early and contemporary music that came out a few years ago under the "Explore" imprint, which then promptly vanished without trace? It seems to me that there's never been a bigger audience for off-the-beaten-track music, or more enthusiasm and ability for it among performing musicians, and at the same time there's never been a more difficult time for trying to provide it through existing commercial channels. Well, the Naïve edition got to over 50 volumes, which is not bad going.

[Bryn]

Yes, Explore appear to have gone to the wall in, or shortly after, 2008. However, I think most of their 'classical' catalogue has since been re-issued by the original copyright holders, though sometimes only in multi-disc boxes.

[Mark S]

Believe's website doesn't give me the feeling that it is a company where producing CDs of Baroque music is a core activity. But the Vivaldi Edition did recover when the Opus 111 label was taken over by Naive, so maybe it will rise again, phoenix like.

[Mark S]

Andiamo! The opera Dorilla in Tempe is the next installment in the Vivaldi Edition.

[MickyD]

This is very good news, Mark. Meantime I am nabbing many discs in the edition as and when I can lay hands on them at a reasonable price. There is so much wonderful music to be heard.