Special Achievement

Brian Couzens, founder of the label Chandos, is described by Gramophone as a man who “understands the business: he has a gut instinct that has populated the Chandos roster with musicians who thrive in the rather strange environment of the recording studio.”

Among the artists closely associated with the label over its 31-year history are Mariss Jansons and the Oslo Philharmonic, Neeme Järvi, Richard Hickox, Louis Lortie, Raphael Wallfisch, Sophie Yates, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Gianandrea Noseda and Vernon Handley.

Over the years, Couzens has cultivated a particular sound for Chandos’s recordings and, as an early proponent of digital recording, made it one of the first independent labels to release CDs. The Chandos catalogue today is notable as much for its breadth as its depth. In saluting Brian Couzens, Gramophone is paying tribute to a pioneering figure who has enriched the lives of music-lovers the world over.