BIS Records

"BIS (record label)" redirects here. For other uses, see BIS (disambiguation) § Music.
BIS Records
Parent companyPlatoon (Apple Inc.)
Founded1973 (1973)
FounderRobert von Bahr
GenreClassical
Country of originSweden
LocationÅkersberga
Official websitewww.bis.se

BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr.[1][2] It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.

BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings.

The company has recorded the complete works of Sibelius.[3] Other composers of the Nordic countries and Estonia are also well represented in their catalogue, including Kalevi Aho, Christian Lindberg, Jón Leifs, Geirr Tveitt, Eduard Tubin, Allan Pettersson[4][5] and James MacMillan.

Other notable BIS projects include the Bach Cantatas by the Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki, and the complete piano music of Edvard Grieg by pianist Eva Knardahl.[citation needed]

In 2009,[6] BIS completed a five-year Beethoven symphony cycle with Finnish born conductor Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. The cycle features 5.0 Surround Sound as well as being a Super Audio CD.

Von Bahr set up the company by delivering records in a pram through the Stockholm Metro.[7]

BIS was acquired by Apple Inc. in 2023.[8][9]

In 2023 BIS Records celebrated its 50th anniversary [10] On October 4, 2023, BIS was also awarded the prestigious "Label of the Year" award at the Gramophone Awards in London [11]

  1. ^ "Das Label, bei dem nichts vergriffen ist – Ausgabe: 10/17 – neue musikzeitung". nmz (in German). 27 October 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  2. ^ "BIS Records At 40 – A Brief Conversation With Robert Von Bahr". ICMA. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  3. ^ "THE SIBELIUS EDITION – an introduction". BIS Records. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  4. ^ "The Allan Pettersson Project". SON. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Wieder gefundener Gesang der Seele". oe1.orf.at (in German). 8 June 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  6. ^ "BIS Records – Beethoven – The Nine Symphonies". BIS Records.
  7. ^ Franck, Remy. "Robert von Bahr: The Man With The Pram … And 2.300 Recordings". International Classical Music Awards. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  8. ^ Vanian, Jonathan (5 September 2023). "Apple buys Swedish classical record label". CNBC.
  9. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (5 September 2023). "Apple's BIS acquisition is a bet on a classical music catalogue, and on building cred in the industry". TechCrunch.
  10. ^ "'We take the artists' side': Robert von Bahr on 50 years of BIS Records". Classical Music. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  11. ^ "BIS Records". bis.se. Retrieved 1 July 2024.