New Series and commemorative editions
The ECM New Series was created in 1984 to document Western classical works. It has released works by composers from the early (Thomas Tallis, Carlo Gesualdo, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina) to the contemporary (John Cage, Elliott Carter, Steve Reich and John Adams). The series was initiated for Arvo Pärt's record debut Tabula Rasa, which Eicher recorded and produced in 1977, 1983, and 1984. Since then Pärt and Eicher have built a strong relationship: all works premiere on recordings for the label and all are done in presence of the composer. Keith Jarrett, better known as a jazz musician, contributed together with Gidon Kremer amongst others to Tabula Rasa. He later recorded several classical works by Bach, Mozart, Shostakovich, and others for the series.
The three albums Music for 18 Musicians, Octet/Music for a Large Ensemble/Violin Phase, and Tehillim by Reich were recorded before 1984 (all with the composer performing) and were later moved to the classical department together with some by Meredith Monk, Thomas Demenga and Harald Weiss.[2] Several of John Adams' works from his minimalist period have been released through the label as well, including Harmonium and Harmonielehre.
Over the years, many other works by contemporary composers such as Valentyn Sylvestrov, Tigran Mansurian, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Heinz Holliger, Giya Kancheli, György Kurtág, or Heiner Goebbels as well as the soundtracks of several works by the filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard have been issued on the ECM New Series label. Interpreters who released records in classical genres include Kim Kashkashian, András Schiff, Gidon Kremer, the Hilliard Ensemble, Thomas Zehetmair, Carolin Widmann, Till Fellner, Herbert Henck, Alexei Lubimov, András Keller, Miklós Perényi, John Holloway, John Potter or most recently Patricia Kopatchinskaja.[3][4][5][6][7]
On many releases, the orientations towards jazz and classical music of ECM are combined: For example, Garbarek's Officium (1994) features him playing saxophone solos over the Hilliard Ensemble singing Gregorian chant, early polyphony and Renaissance works. Garbarek's work with guitarist Ralph Towner continued, and has been influenced by 20th century chamber music as much as by jazz-oriented material. John Potter, formerly of the Hilliard Ensemble, recorded works by John Dowland with jazz saxophonist John Surman and others, and Surman's Proverbs and Songs is a suite of choral settings of Old Testament texts, recorded in Salisbury Cathedral. The label has also released unique works that fit into no obvious genre at all (like the records of composer Meredith Monk).
In 2002 and 2004, ECM released a series of compilation CDs titled :rarum. Twenty of the label's artists were asked to compile a single CD of their work. (Garbarek's and Jarrett's compilations are double CDs.) Artists who contributed to this series are Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Bill Frisell, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Terje Rypdal, Bobo Stenson, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Egberto Gismonti, Jack DeJohnette, John Surman, John Abercrombie, Carla Bley, Paul Motian, Tomasz Stańko, Eberhard Weber, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen.
After working as a writer for Melody Maker magazine, Steve Lake first joined the ECM-staff in 1978.[9] While working predominantly for the writing department he now has also produced more than 40 records which are more in the experimental areas of jazz like ones of Evan Parker, Roscoe Mitchell, Hal Russell, Robin Williamson, Joe Maneri or Mat Maneri.[10] Furthermore, he published the book Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM (2007) with music critic/novelist Paul Griffiths and made contributions to the books Sleeves of Desire: a Cover Story (1996), Windfall Light: The Visual Language of ECM (2010) and ECM - A Cultural Archaeology (2012).[11]
Recent developments in online distribution
On November 14, 2017, ECM announced in a press release that its entire catalog would be made available for streaming on all major music streaming platforms (Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz). Previously, ECM recordings had never been available for streaming, save for a few select compilations of major performers. In a press release on its website, ECM explained its decision:
"In recent years, ECM and the musicians have had to face unauthorized streaming of recordings via video sharing websites, plus piracy, bootlegs, and a proliferation of illegal download sites. It was important to make the catalogue accessible within a framework, where copyrights are respected.[12]"
ECM further added that the physical recordings (CD & vinyl records) still constitute the "preferred mediums".[12]
