Four months after being acquired by Universal Music Group (UMG), Hyperion Records’ catalog is now streaming for the first time.
Hyperion aims to release its entire catalog of over 2,000 recordings for streaming by 2024. The first 200 albums of its catalog were made available to stream today, with subsequent collections coming every fortnight from September 15, 2023. Hyperion Records was founded in South London in 1980 by Ted Perry, who drove a mini-cab at night to fund early recordings.
“I am enormously excited to be part of this moment in Hyperion’s history,’ adds Sir Stephen Hough, pianist and Hyperion recording artist. “I’ve made over 40 albums for the company, pouring my heart, soul, and fingers into each one, and now, thirty years after my first, they are to be made available through streaming to a much wider audience. It delights and touches me to be able to reach a vast new family of music lovers in this way.”
In addition to the initial release of 200 catalog albums, three of Hyperion’s newest releases are also available to stream today. These include the latest Dvořák album from the Takács Quartet; a selection of choral anthems from Stephen Layton and Trinity College Choir Cambridge, and a new issue in The Orlando Consort’s acclaimed survey of France’s great poet-composer, Guillaume de Machaut. Future Hyperion releases will be available for streaming simultaneously alongside physical purchase options and downloads.
The first 200 catalog albums released today were selected to represent the story of the Hyperion label, celebrating the qualities that have made it a beacon in classical excellence. Key recordings from many of Hyperion’s roster of artists include Arcangelo, Mahan Esfahani, Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt, Sir Stephen Hough, Alina Ibragimova, Steven Isserlis, Steven Osborne, Polyphony, Howard Shelley, Takács Quartet among many others.
These albums also offer a glimpse into Hyperion’s vision, courage and long-term approach to Artists & Repertoire, which has led to such projects as the world’s first Complete Schubert Song Edition on 40 albums; the world’s first Complete Liszt Piano Music across 100 albums; and over 200 Romantic Piano Concertos across 87 individual albums.
The second phase of catalogue releases, scheduled for 15 September 2023, will showcase some of Hyperion’s great piano and keyboard stars, including pianists Danny Driver, Stephen Hough, Pavel Kolesnikov, Steven Osborne, and harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani among others across more than 70 albums. This ‘release chapter’ will ensure that each featured artist’s complete discography becomes available on all streaming platforms.
This move to streaming follows Universal Music Group’s acquisition of Hyperion in March 2023, which saw the label join UMG’s portfolio of world-renowned classical labels, including Decca and Deutsche Grammophon. The acquisition strengthens UMG’s position as the definitive home of classical music globally and enables it to preserve Hyperion’s distinctive identity and build its future by ensuring wider-than-ever exposure for both its impressive back catalogue and its continuing future work.
