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General musical discussion / Melodiya
« Last post by dhibbard on December 24, 2025, 06:32:35 pm »Towards the end of the year, Melodiya resumed record production at its own plant in Novosibirsk. Kultura asked Karina Abramyan, First Deputy General Director of Melodiya, to comment on this news.
— How long ago did the idea of ��establishing record production arise? What is the reason for the recent increased demand for vinyl among music lovers, and especially record collectors?
— The idea came to Melodiya's General Director, Andrey Krichevsky, in the summer of 2024. So, it took about fourteen months from the initial concept to its implementation.
As for the increased demand, which has indeed been observed over the past ten to fifteen years... I think it's connected to the trend toward "the desire to own art." In our case, vinyl is a unique way of "owning music." The medium has now reached a certain plateau: that is, mass-market vinyl sales are unlikely to be expected—everything "multi-million" is now digital.
— The four "first signs" of the renewed Russian vinyl industry: David Tukhmanov's album "On the Wave of My Memory," Zodiac's Disco Alliance record, recordings by VIA "Dos-Mukasan," and also... "Autogenic training for alcohol abusers. Emotional-stress psychotherapy session for those wishing to quit smoking."
— The release of "Autogenic Training" is, of course, a pre-New Year's joke, but the recording is nonetheless quite interesting and valuable, as this material hasn't been released on a physical medium for over forty years. Jokes aside, few people remember that, in addition to psychological training, this record also features a wealth of wonderful music: Vivaldi, Saint-Saëns, and Massenet, performed by great musicians—the Rudolf Barshai Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theater Violin Ensemble, and others. As for the other releases, it's simple: these records were consistently immensely popular in the USSR and continue to generate interest among music lovers.
— Which task is Melodiya's higher priority: reissuing famous records from its extensive back catalog or releasing new recordings on vinyl?
— For now, we're primarily focused on releasing the most iconic recordings from our archive. We've already prepared albums dedicated to the works of Alexandra Pakhmutova, Anna German, and the Pesnyary and Orlan ensembles. There will also be time-tested classical music releases featuring artists such as Grigory Sokolov and Vladimir Spivakov. We also plan to release several famous children's records, including "Ali Baba" and "Old Man Hottabych." All of them will go on sale in the spring of 2026.
— The need to revive the domestic vinyl industry is truly long overdue. However, isn't there a concern that something will hinder the triumphant march of records? In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as we recall, records lost the battle to compact discs.
— Observations over the past few decades have shown that vinyl has not only made a comeback but has taken a firm place in music lovers' music collections. However, I wouldn't draw parallels with compact discs in this case. After all, if we're talking about new trends in this area, Zoomers have once again shown a strong interest in both CDs and DVDs. So, I believe that all the previous media will now be able to coexist harmoniously in niche formats within the music community. And that's encouraging: let all flowers bloom!
Denis Bocharov, December 22, 2025
— How long ago did the idea of ��establishing record production arise? What is the reason for the recent increased demand for vinyl among music lovers, and especially record collectors?
— The idea came to Melodiya's General Director, Andrey Krichevsky, in the summer of 2024. So, it took about fourteen months from the initial concept to its implementation.
As for the increased demand, which has indeed been observed over the past ten to fifteen years... I think it's connected to the trend toward "the desire to own art." In our case, vinyl is a unique way of "owning music." The medium has now reached a certain plateau: that is, mass-market vinyl sales are unlikely to be expected—everything "multi-million" is now digital.
— The four "first signs" of the renewed Russian vinyl industry: David Tukhmanov's album "On the Wave of My Memory," Zodiac's Disco Alliance record, recordings by VIA "Dos-Mukasan," and also... "Autogenic training for alcohol abusers. Emotional-stress psychotherapy session for those wishing to quit smoking."
— The release of "Autogenic Training" is, of course, a pre-New Year's joke, but the recording is nonetheless quite interesting and valuable, as this material hasn't been released on a physical medium for over forty years. Jokes aside, few people remember that, in addition to psychological training, this record also features a wealth of wonderful music: Vivaldi, Saint-Saëns, and Massenet, performed by great musicians—the Rudolf Barshai Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theater Violin Ensemble, and others. As for the other releases, it's simple: these records were consistently immensely popular in the USSR and continue to generate interest among music lovers.
— Which task is Melodiya's higher priority: reissuing famous records from its extensive back catalog or releasing new recordings on vinyl?
— For now, we're primarily focused on releasing the most iconic recordings from our archive. We've already prepared albums dedicated to the works of Alexandra Pakhmutova, Anna German, and the Pesnyary and Orlan ensembles. There will also be time-tested classical music releases featuring artists such as Grigory Sokolov and Vladimir Spivakov. We also plan to release several famous children's records, including "Ali Baba" and "Old Man Hottabych." All of them will go on sale in the spring of 2026.
— The need to revive the domestic vinyl industry is truly long overdue. However, isn't there a concern that something will hinder the triumphant march of records? In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as we recall, records lost the battle to compact discs.
— Observations over the past few decades have shown that vinyl has not only made a comeback but has taken a firm place in music lovers' music collections. However, I wouldn't draw parallels with compact discs in this case. After all, if we're talking about new trends in this area, Zoomers have once again shown a strong interest in both CDs and DVDs. So, I believe that all the previous media will now be able to coexist harmoniously in niche formats within the music community. And that's encouraging: let all flowers bloom!
Denis Bocharov, December 22, 2025
I would certainly buy more of the cpo recordings if I had the spare dosh (I found the Der Fidele Bauer for around a fiver!) Also,the interest generated by the recent operetta revival and all these new stage productions (in german speaking countries! Alas,not here yet!) and recordings might lead to even better recordings?!