Interview, Melanne Mueller on Avie Records

Founded in 2002, the UK-based independent Avie Records has been described as 'adventurous' (The New York Times), “enterprising” (Gramophone) and 'admirable' (The Sunday Times), with recent successes including a superb Liszt recital from British pianist Charles Owen, a spellbinding collection of Mussorgsky songs from Claire Booth and Christopher Glynn, and a string of award-winning recordings of Italian baroque music from Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima.

To coincide with our current promotion on Avie titles to mark their twentieth birthday (which runs until 18th April), I spoke to the label's co-founder Melanne Mueller about her own musical background, Avie's artistic philosophy and values, some of their stand-out projects over the past two decades, and what's coming up next...

You had a distinguished career as an oboist before moving into the recording industry – what prompted the change of direction, and how much does your own background as a performer feed into your work today?

It was an evolution. As a freelance oboist in New York City, I had the privilege of playing with, among others, the New York Philharmonic, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra (as a founding member), and on- and off-Broadway.

Meanwhile, whilst studying at the Manhattan School of Music, I took a part-time job at the 92nd Street Y’s Kaufmann Concert Hall, starting as an usher, moving to back stage duties and eventually front office, along the way encountering many prominent musicians including YoYo Ma, Hermann Prey and Heinz Holliger. Later I worked at Columbia Artists Management, involved in orchestral touring with the likes of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the Vienna Philharmonic, and for the first time came across recording contracts. These experiences fuelled my fascination with all aspects of the business of music, and my performing and business careers started running in parallel. Segueing into the record industry, I worked in promotions for the Japanese label Denon, then publicity for BMG / RCA which transferred me from New York to London to become Head of International Marketing. A few years later I was freelancing again, in the music business world, which evolved into the formation of AVIE Records.

What was your founding philosophy for Avie, and how much has it evolved over the past two decades?

Artist ownership. Creative partnership. Quality.

The early twenty-first century was a point in time – one of many crossroads in the history of recording – when increasingly musicians wanted more of a say in what they recorded and how their recordings were presented, so much so that we were able to assemble a decentsized roster, generate a steady output of releases, and secure international distribution.

It may sound a bit prosaic, but after decades of working for other labels, my co-founder / husband Simon Foster and I felt we wanted to give something back to musicians. As we were developing the label, we hit upon a model whereby musicians would own their recordings and copyrights. Working hand-in-hand with musicians, our aim was and remains to provide knowledge and expertise to create commercially viable recordings that were of the highest quality and of interest to the end-classical consumer. Twenty years on, none of this has changed; our core tenets still stand today.

What has changed, of course, is the music industry. The proverbial cheese has been moved many times and like all labels and musicians we have had to be nimble to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Our bedrock remains – a passion for music, partnering with musicians, and producing quality recordings.

Can I ask you to pick out a couple of Avie projects that have been especially close to your heart?

Meaning, who are my favourite children?! Well, here are a handful of highlights.

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s recording of Irene’s arias from Handel’s Theodora, with Harry Bicket and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Lorraine and Harry were reprising Peter Sellars’ production of Theodora at Glyndebourne in 2003, and Harry spotted a break in the schedule that allowed us time to go into the studio and document Lorraine’s extraordinary interpretations. We rounded the album out with Handel’s cantata La Lucrezia and, as an 'encore', 'Ombra mai fu'. Record labels often have a seminal recording that puts them on their way. For AVIE, this was it.

In 2001, Trevor Pinnock was in the pit at Sadler’s Wells for his final performances as founder and Artistic Director of The English Concert, conducting Handel’s opera Tamerlano, which became AVIE’s catalogue number 1. Five years later Trevor was contemplating how tocelebrate his sixtieth birthday and hit upon the idea to perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos with a specially assembled orchestra. The idea burgeoned into more than a concert, thanks to an amazing project manager Mitzi Matlock, a fellow-American who was based in Sheffield and devised an educational seminar at the university, a re-generation plan with the city, an international tour and the recording with Trevor’s European Brandenburg Ensemble that won a Gramophone Award and continues to be an AVIE best-seller.

Another 'elder statesman' we had the pleasure and privilege of working with was Julian Bream, whose absorbing bio-pic My Life in Music won a Gramophone Award for DVD of the Year. I spent a memorable day with Julian in London doing a round of media interviews. In between we had coffee and cakes. I loved hearing his stories and through them absorbed a great reverence for the history of performing and recording.

Jon Lord, of Deep Purple fame and hit song Smoke on the Water, came to us via the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, who recorded his Durham Concerto in the city’s cathedral on the occasion of the University’s 175th anniversary. It’s a great, large-scale symphonic work that displays Jon’s roots as a classically trained composer and integrates his legendary Hammond organ chops. We went on to record Jon’s orchestral suite To Notice Such Things, an homage to his friend John Mortimer – a skilfully rendered and touching work. Getting to know Jon through his love of music and literature, and over fine food and wine is a wonderful memory.

Anna Clyne is one of today’s most exciting contemporary composers. We’ve released two albums of her music. First was DANCE for cello and orchestra, a potent five-movement concerto inspired by the thirteenth-century Persian poet Rumi, a brilliant showcase for three formidable women – Anna, soloist Inbal Segev and Marin Alsop who conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra. We subsequently released Mythologies, an orchestral spectacular with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Alongside the CD and digital formats, we released AVIE’s first vinyl, a beautifully designed double-gatefold. There is more of Anna’s music to come on a future release by Brooklyn-based orchestral collective The Knights.

I must mention AVIE’s most recent release by the New York Youth Symphony. Under their conductor Michael Repper, this extraordinary orchestra of young musicians found a way to come together during COVID lockdown, recording in a socially distanced setting music by three African-American women – Florence Price, Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery.

What do you see as the main challenges and opportunities facing the classical recording industry over the next five years or so, and how do you plan to respond to them?

Some years ago a major label boss asked me, 'What’s your five year plan?'. At the time, it may have been a plausible question. Today our industry – not just classical – needs to be nimble and plan nearer, keeping up with talent as well as technology. Whilst responding quickly, we can develop a vision for the future.

As one of a very few women at the helm of a classical record-label, do you have any thoughts on why we’re still so poorly represented at this level, and have you seen much of a shift in terms of female representation in the industry over the course of your career?

Representation of women in our industry is something of a flashpoint. I can count several senior women executives who have provided guidance to me throughout my career. I enjoy countless ongoing business relationships with women and men alike. Diversity, not just in gender, drives business and creativity.

What can you share with us about the label’s future plans (and anniversary celebrations) at this stage?

AVIE’s twentieth anniversary release schedule is a representative combination of recordings by legacy artists and exciting young talent, innovation and internationalism. We have Brahms from cellist Antonio Meneses (who celebrates his sixtieth birthday and fortieth anniversary of winning gold at the Tchaikovsky Competition), Bach from Jeannette Sorrell and Cleveland-based baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire (celebrating their thirtieth anniversary season), and a characteristically diverse album by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers who combines her passion for new music with old music in new guises, in music by Bach, Corelli, Morten Lauridsen and none other than the King of Rock and Roll.

Rising star cellist Christoph Croisé impresses with music by his Swiss compatriot Joachim Raff; violinist Sebastian Bohren pays homage to Ida Haendel with Romantic transcriptions of baroque repertoire; and the stunning American tenor John Matthew Meyers makes his solo debut recording with works by Barber, Previn and Weill. Jennifer Kloetzel fulfils a career ambition with Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano. Inbal Segev pays it forward with her ongoing commissioning project 20 for 2020. We also come full circle in a way: when AVIE launched in 2002 one of the first releases, Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, was in partnership with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. This year we release the debut recording by American pianist John Wilson featuring music by MTT.