I have been working on concert programs since 1970 and producing records since 1986. So music is
my life. Since my background is in jazz, founding the classical music label was something special,
something very personal.
Musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic noticed and liked my CD covers. Around 15 years ago, Walter
Küssner came up to me at a private party: he also wanted a modern design for the cover of his CD.
Others came later, including Martin Stegner, Edicson Ruiz, Klaus Stoll and the Berlin
Baroque Soloists. Then I was introduced to Kolja Blacher, with whom I still work very closely today.
We were joined later by the Vogler Quartet. With them and Walter Küssner I put together the
program for the Erwin Schulhoff Festival in the Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic and in
the Bauhaus Dessau. A CD with works by Schulhoff came out of that.
But in the beginning it was the Berlin Baroque Soloists that played the biggest role.
My interest in contemporary music led me to want to focus on something new in classical music. I
had already produced John Cage with Schleiermacher and Satie with Gumpert. I brought these
recordings with me to the Phil.harmonie label.
Edicson Ruiz was now working with Heinz Holliger. Kolja Blacher and I assembled the box with works
by his father, Boris Blacher. For me a highlight of the label is Dmitri Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony
with arrangements by Viktor Derevianko and the Suite for Variety Orchestra, also known as Jazz
Suites, by Oriol Cruixent. This ensemble came into being with Amici della Musica in Firenze and with
Jens-Peter Maintz, Özgür Aydin and the percussionist Raymond Curffs (Bayrisches Rundfunk
Sinfonieorchester), Claudio Estay (Bayrische Staatskapelle) and Mark Haeldermans (RSO Hilversum).
Several concerts followed in the Berlin Philharmonic, in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, in Milan
and in Turin.
Now Bach is at the top of the agenda. Martin Stegner with the Cello Suites arranged for viola and
Kolja Blacher with Solo Suites and Partita for Violin (release in fall 2021) by Johann Sebastian Bach
and the Goldberg Variations with Blacher, Stegner and Tim Park.
Ulli Blobel
