"Melody" is licensed. Records released by VFG under licenses. 1989-91

MOZ "GRAMRECORDING"

I discovered a magazine with a photo report by V. Milushenko in my archive when I was writing an article on CD in the USSR. I looked through it with interest, especially since on the second page in the upper left corner I saw a photo of myself at the drawing board. The idea arose to leave a comment on the report because 13 years of work at the plant (from 1978, the year the enterprise was launched, until May 1991, the year when the CD completely replaced the vinyl record at the plant) remained forever in my memory.

I came to Moskovsky in 1978, 2 months after its opening. Recruitment was underway for departments and laboratories. I already had experience working in a design bureau in the defense industry, I was very interested in sound recording, and was interested in everything that had to do with vinyl records. I was lucky to get into the design department of the plant. In addition to management, the VFG Melodiya system included 8 factories, several studios, including the All-Union Recording Studio, and several record houses and stores. The Ministry of Health "Gramzapis" in this system occupied, of course, a special position. Originals were made here and sent to factories to make copies of them, right down to the matrices. And sometimes, for small runs, the Ministry of Health “G” produced the matrices themselves and sent them to factories. In 1987, the plant received and mastered the DMM technology (copper disk instead of “varnish”), which brought Melodiya closer to leading Western companies and improved the quality of records.

Left: TOOLEX ALPHA 1201 (photo: www.qualityrecordpressings.com) Right: LENED press dashboard (photo: www.flickr.com)

In philophonist circles, even before this, it was believed that MOZ “G” produces the highest quality vinyl records. On the one hand, this was true since the press shop was equipped with new TOOLEX ALPHA 1201 (Sweden). There were several such machines at the Riga studio. LENED presses , USA (more than 100 units were installed in 1969-1970). It should be recognized that spare parts for the presses were supplied and maintenance was carried out regularly. Well, the rest of the equipment was very old and was living out its life. The quality of control at the Moscow plant was kept at a good level because the volume of vinyl was incomparably small compared to Aprelevka, Leningrad, etc. In addition, flexible records, which many laughed at, were produced only by the Gramzapis Ministry of Health, and the magazines Krugozor and “Kolobok”, equipped with sets of such records, enjoyed success (especially the children’s “Kolobok”) even in the late eighties.

Another type of product, namely stencils, was developed after my rationalization proposal (together with Mr. Ilyinsky). And before the advent of printers and computers to the masses, for a good ten years, stencils made of blue PVC film were used by millions throughout the USSR, and then the Russian Federation.

Well, in 1989, the development of CD production began - this involved installation, personnel training, and commissioning. I was lucky that I stood at the origins of this event, and in 1989-1991. supervised this production (for more details, see the article “Compact Disc in the USSR” Part I and Part II). In the next three years (from 1989) before the organization of disk production at the Ural plant, ours was the only one in the country, and many people subsequently took advantage of our experience, although the technology of “clean rooms” was soon replaced by the technology of “clean zones” - monolines.

MOH "Gramzapis" today - shopping center "Krona" (photo: V. Kuzin)

And finally, directly about the photos and texts of the report. On the first page there is a piece of the facade of the main building, the design of which was carried out by the Giprotheatr Institute, the architect is V. Mikhailov. Now it would hardly attract anyone's attention, but for the 70s the building looked modern and impressive. Bottom left is the first director of the plant, Gennady Chebotarev. I think he was a very worthy leader, slightly imposing, strict, but fair, which cannot be said about his successor. GAUSS galvanic baths , and on the third there is a photo of the pressing workshop (vinyl record). In boxes near the presses, the LPs were kept in a stack to avoid warping (“plate” or “propeller”). Of course, the text part about exceeding the plan, socialist obligations for the 60th anniversary of the USSR, the title of “exemplary enterprise” for young people will seem nonsense, but people of my age will confirm that it was so: social obligations of workshops, departments and personal, weekly political information, duty in the DND , work at vegetable warehouses - all sorts of ridiculous things happened in those years. This was the last year of Brezhnev’s life, and the rest of the decrepit old men in the Politburo (Andropov, Chernenko, etc.) did not last long. And in Afghanistan during these years, thousands of young people died. But that is another story.

And the plant developed and grew as part of Melodiya until 1992. When general chaos began in the 90s, the Gramzapis Ministry of Health separated from the company, was privatized (Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 15, 1993), then “sick” and finally "died" at the turn of the century.
All this happened because of the greed and cowardice of the leadership. After all, spare parts and materials had to be purchased independently, and not at Melodiya’s expense. Spending money on new equipment was a “toad’s choking.” Piracy no longer helped - dozens of factories were doing the same. From 2001 to this day, the building has housed a shopping and business center; it is called the Krona shopping center. «>Share Author: Victor Kuzin

⁣In the fragment about “Back in the USSR” by McCartney, the facts are presented correctly, but I do not agree with the cause-and-effect relationships, justifications and theories. Let me clarify that the final answer can only be given by reading the license agreement, and I have not seen it, but I tried to study this topic on many topics, incl. Western sources. 1. [Quote] ... In 1987, McCartney, in the wake of foreign echoes of Soviet perestroika sentiments, announced that he had decided to release the next numbered album only and exclusively in the USSR on . Since the ex-Beatle did not have his own musical ideas at that time, and the promise had to be fulfilled, in 2 studio shifts, with session musicians, he recorded re-covers of rock and roll hits from the 50s. A total of 22 songs were recorded, 11 of which were transferred, under a license agreement, to the disposal of the licensee - “International Book”, and then ended up in the WFG.” It was just the opposite: McCartney without any far-reaching goal, i.e. for fun, he recorded his favorite rock and rolls with session musicians, after which, so that the finished recordings would not disappear without a trace, he announced that he had decided to release the next numbered album only and exclusively in the USSR on . At the same time, he did not say: “at least in the USSR,” but in essence it was so. 2. [Quote] ... Demo discs were produced and sent to McCartney for approval. While Sir Paul was studying the demo production, they managed to print copies of the record, and at the end of October 1988 it went on sale. Meanwhile, at the same time, McCartney sent notes on the disc, and, according to the new protocol addendum to the license, the content of the album was to be expanded to 13 songs, and the annotation on the back of the sleeve, written in the first edition by Soviet music critic Andrei Gavrilov , was to replace an article by British music columnist Roy Carr. Melodiya took all this into account, and subsequent editions of the album were released in a slightly different form, albeit under the same catalog number. It would make sense to mention the “new protocol-addition to the license” only if it is possible to provide a scan of this document. In the meantime, my version is that everything was the other way around: the license agreement initially determined the content of the album in the form of 13 songs, as well as the presence of an article by Roy Carr on the back of the envelope. “Melody,” as usual, at its own discretion, adjusted both the content to 11 songs (otherwise it would turn out to be “too long”) and the design of the back of the envelope. But in this case it was not an ordinary commercial license, but an exclusive one, and when McCartney’s side (not necessarily McCartney himself) was indignant, the Soviet side was simply afraid of possible accusations that they could not release a one-of-a-kind record as it should, and backed off, urgently reformatting the circulation to the “correct” version.

Recording studio "Melody"

Melodiya recording studio is the oldest sound industry company in Russia. Founded as a state-owned company for the production, storage and distribution of sound recordings. The studio reflected the sound history of the century in all its diversity of genres, collecting in its archives masterpieces of world art performed by Soviet artists, ensembles, musical theaters, and orchestras. Melody, representing domestic art both in the country and abroad, has become the custodian of the national musical heritage. The studio's record library is a cultural heritage, which is why special attention is paid to high-quality restoration and release of archival recordings. Melodiya is bound by exclusive agreements with many copyright holders.

Management of the recording studio "Melody"

Krichevsky Andrey Borisovich General Director Tel. [email protected]

Abrahamyan Karina Sergeevna First Deputy General Director Tel. ext.5105 [email protected]

Melnikova Elena Nikolaevna Chief accountant Tel. ext.5112 [email protected]

Markina Olga Nikolaevna Head of HR Department Tel. ext. 5120 [email protected]

Zelenova Elena Nikolaevna Director of the Production Department Tel. ext. 5125 [email protected]

Kryukov Ildar Maratovich Head of the Art Department Tel. ext. 5103 [email protected]

Radugina Nadezhda Yurievna Head of the Hardware and Studio Complex Tel. ext. 5122 [email protected]

Golubeva Marina Petrovna Head of the Sound Recording Archive Tel. ext. 5104 [email protected]

Pshenichnaya Natalya Borisovna Head of the Editorial Office of Children's and Literary Programs Tel. ext. 5118 [email protected]

Veoletta Gennadievna Afanasyeva Deputy Head of the Licensing Department Tel. ext. 5108 [email protected]

On April 9, 2022, she released recordings of chamber, orchestral and theater music by composer Alexander Alyabyev. Most of them are being published on disc for the first time: Violin Sonata, String Trio in A minor and quartets, Quintet for winds, variations for violin and orchestra, vaudeville overtures and suite from the ballet “The Magic Drum”. A digital album is also on sale. The compositions were recorded by outstanding musicians of the late 20th century

On March 23, 2022, she presented the album “Paganini and Koshkin” by guitarist Artem Dervoed. The collection combines the four-movement concerto for guitar and string orchestra “Megaron” by Nikita Koshkin and the Great Sonata by Niccolo Paganini in Koshkin’s transcription for quartet. Niccolo Paganini's Grand Sonata was originally written for guitar and violin. Nikita Koshkin chose the “Paganinevsky” quartet for transcription: guitar, violin, viola and cello. Artists of the famous chamber orchestra “Moscow Virtuosi” Alexey Lundin, Kirill Semenov and Daniil Shavyrin took part in the recording.

On February 19, 2022, Melodiya presented a collection of all Ludwig van Beethoven's string quartets performed by the Beethoven Quartet. The publication was published on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The recordings were made between 1969 and 1972. The Quartet included Dmitry Tsyganov, first violin, Nikolai Zabavnikov, second violin, Sergey Shirinsky, cello, Fyodor Druzhinin, viola. The Beethoven Quartet existed from 1923 to 1990, and this ensemble was given a special place in the history of musical and performing arts of the Soviet period.

On February 12, 2022, the Recording Company presented the disc “Vocal Cycles” by Soviet and Russian composer Alexander Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky's vocal cycles were recorded with the participation of leading representatives of the vocal art of the new generation: soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Academic Musical Theater Natalya Petrozhitskaya, soloist of the Mikhailovsky Theater Olesya Petrova and soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Pyotr Migunov. In the ensemble with the singers is Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Goribol.

January 21, 2022 Album “Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Selected Works", released, was awarded the International Prize in Classical Music in the category "Best Collection". The company presented for the first time on CD recordings of the composer's chamber music performed by Soviet musicians Timofey Dokshitser and Fyodor Druzhinin, as well as the Moscow Chamber Orchestra conducted by Rudolf Barshai and the Borodin Quartet.

On January 17, 2022, the Sound Recording Company released for the first time on CD and digital format an archival recording of the opera “Mazeppa” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, which was made by the staff of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR. The recording was originally prepared as part of the project “The Complete Works of Tchaikovsky in Recording” and released on vinyl in the 1980s.

On December 17, 2022, Melodiya posted an unprotected part of the “golden” music collection on the Noosphere digital platform for free access, as a result of cooperation between the company and the Association of Internet Publishers. Phonograms for which the property rights have already expired were selected for publication in the public domain, which means that users will be able to freely listen to these audio files, and information about their legal status through the Noosphere node will appear in the national network of transactions with rights and intellectual property objects IPChain. The collection contains about two thousand audio recordings, and among them are masterpieces of classical music, the best works of famous authors. The bulk of the collection dates back to the 19th century, but some items belong to the 18th and 20th centuries.

On December 12, 2022, Melodiya presented historical archival recordings for the 95th anniversary of the birth of violist, conductor, orchestrator and composer Rudolf Barshai. The discs contain a solo partita by Johann Sebastian Bach and “Funeral Music” by Paul Hindemith, a concert symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in an ensemble with David Oistrakh and orchestral concertos by Igor Stravinsky, orchestrations of “Fleetnesses” by Sergei Prokofiev. The culmination of the publication is a complete recording of Bach's orchestral "Art of Fugue".

On December 5, 2022, she released the disc “Fast Movement” by the winner of the Gold Medal of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, pianist Dmitry Masleev. The disc presents the first concert of Dmitry Shostakovich, the concert suite of Alexander Tsfasman and the second concert of Nikolai Kapustin - in these works classical structures are combined with improvisational freedom, hard ri with emotional tone.

On November 28, 2022, the Sound Recording Company released an album with previously unreleased CD recordings of his music for the 85th anniversary of the birth of composer Alfred Schnittke. The album consists of two discs. Of particular interest to music lovers is the recording of the Moscow premiere of Concerto Grosso No. 4 / Symphony No. 5 with an opening speech by Gennady Rozhdestvensky, made at the composer’s evening. Listeners will be able to completely immerse themselves in the performances of Schnittke’s premieres.

On November 22, 2022, for the 175th anniversary of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, for the first time, an archival recording of the 1949 opera “Kashchei the Immortal” was released on disk. The main roles were performed by outstanding musicians: soloist of the All-Union Radio, concert singer Natalia Rozhdestvenskaya, one of the leading soloists of the Bolshoi Theater Pavel Lisitsian, owner of a unique tenor timbre Pavel Pontryagin.

On November 5, 2022, the Sound Recording Company released a vinyl record “Songs of Alexandra Pakhmutova” in honor of the composer’s 90th anniversary. Songs from different years were recorded with the participation of the Vocal Duet of Lev Polosin and Boris Kuznetsov, the Soviet Song Ensemble of Central Television and All-Union Radio, the Youth and Student Choir under the direction of Boris Tevlin, as well as other groups.

On July 31, 2022, the music record label released a collection of original recordings by composer Dmitry Shostakovich. The collection includes concerts, chamber ensembles and vocal cycles that Shostakovich recorded with the participation of the greatest musicians of the 20th century - Daniil Shafran, Nina Dorliak, Zara Dolukhanova, Alexei Maslennikov, Maxim Shostakovich and the Beethoven Quartet. Bonus - a “home” recording of a violin sonata performed by the author himself and David Oistrakh.