Diversions Recordings

Two years after Divine Art was launched, the company began to issue recordings at mid-price. Initially, this was because recordings (otherwise of very high quality) were a little too short in duration to justify a full price tag or were older recordings being issued on CD for the first time.

Later, it was decided to re-name the mid-price series “Diversions” and to expand its scope to cover a range of specialisms – so now the label carries re-issues from Athene (for example Peter Katin’s highly acclaimed square-piano recordings), and from other sources, such as the French label SFP, but also brand new recordings of operetta and musical comedy, guitar, choral and organ music and much more.

As with its parent label, Diversions carries a remarkable number of rare and previously unrecorded musical compositions in its catalogue. Our CD “The Monckton Album” was Gramophone Magazine “Critics’ Choice” for 2004 and was followed by the “Finck Album” both exploring almost -forgotten British musical comedy/operetta.

More recently we have seen highly acclaimed debut albums from young musicians such as Anja German (from Slovenia), Catalina Butcaru (from Romania) and Odinn Baldvinsson (English but of Norwegian descent) and the biggest Diversions project yet, a 7-CD series of the complete piano music of Erik Chisholm, of which the first four CDs were released in November 2008, the remainder following throughout 2009 to 2011.

The label’s development has included the re-issue of many fine recordings from the Dunelm catalogue.

The first release from our American branch appeared in September 2008 – “Little Pieces” by Nashville based classical/jazz group OTTO.