Virgin

Virgin Classics was formed in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's Virgin empire. It featured a number of important artists from the start and early on achieved notable successes with Mikhail Pletnev's recording of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique and the first recording of Britten's Paul Bunyen. In 1992 Virgin Classics became part of EMI Classics but it has continued to remain a distinct record label. Now based in France, Virgin Classics has achieved a prominent place in the classical music artistry thanks in part to the signing of a new generation of French artists possessing formidable interpretative skills. This includes the soprano Natalie Dessay, period-aware director Emmaulle Haim, the brothers Gautier and Renaud Capuçon and the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. Now into its third decade Virgin Classics has acquired a sizeable catalogue of quality recordings which it is constantly adding to. Virgin Veritas is a sub-label which focuses on period performances.