# Accentus Music

Accentus Music is a German classical music record label and production company founded in March 2010 in Leipzig, Germany, where the company is based. The label produces audio recordings (CD) and video (DVD/Blu-ray).

## History

Based in Leipzig, Germany, Accentus Music is a record label, film and audio production company that was founded by film producer Paul Smaczny; he had worked for EuroArts the 20 years prior to founding Accentus. Accentus Music products have become well established in the contemporary classical and music research fields. Directors, screenwriters and cinematographers associated with productions for Accentus Music include Anne-Kathrin Peitz.
The company has its own staff of 12 producers, directors, camera operators, audio producers and editors. Establishing itself as a DVD/Blu-ray label on the classical music market in 2010, Accentus produces concert and opera recordings (audio and video) as well as feature-length documentaries and artist portraits. The DVD and Blu-ray releases include productions featuring artists such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Evgeny Kissin, Martha Argerich, the New York Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin as well as many others. The products include classical music recordings, high-profile concert and opera performances as well as feature-length documentaries. The label has also had a close association with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Staatskapelle Berlin. Accentus works closely with major television production companies in Europe such as WDR, Arte, RBB, SWR, ZDF and numerous other broadcasters to produce special shows and documentaries for regularly scheduled programming. The company has over 160 commercial products available to date.
Productions by Accentus are regularly featured and film festivals around the world and have earned them numerous honors such as the 2017 "Czech Crystal", Gramophone Classical Music Award (2017), Label of the Year at the 2015 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) as well and many others. Reviews of Accentus recordings are consistently featured in classical music publications and major journals including Der Spiegel, Fono Forum, Rondo, Wiener Zeitung, Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, the Guardian, Classic FM Magazine, Crescendo Magazine and International Record review. The label has built and manages a YouTube channel which is viewed worldwide. Accentus also uses WildKat PR for their promotion and distribution. The label's recordings and DVD's are offered through numerous sites such as Presto Classical and Naxos Records. In 2020 the label produced a commemorative set of videos to mark their 10th Anniversary.

## Productions and distribution (partial lists)
### Documentary

* The Unanswered Ives -- American Pioneer of Music (2018)
* Maestras – The Long Journey Of Women To The Podium (2016)
* Music, War and Revolution – a three-part documentary series (2016)
* Arvo Pärt – The Lost Paradise (2015)
* Satiesfictions (2014)
* Sounds of the Sidewalk – On the Road with Buskers (2013/14)
* John Cage – Journeys in Sound (2012)
* A Year in the Life of the Boys Choir Leipzig (2012)

### Live music video

* Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin (2018)
* Lucerne Festival 2017 – Sir Simon Rattle’s farewell as principal conductor of Berliner Philharmoniker (2017)
* Mahler 8 – The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and its new music director Riccardo Chailly (2016)
* Berg’s Wozzeck with Christian Gerhaher at Zurich Opera House (2015)
* Vincenzo Bellini: Norma – From China NCPA Beijing (2015)
* St. Matthew Passion – St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig and Georg Christoph Biller (2012)
* Tango Buenos Aires – Café de los Maestros & Friends (2011)

## Awards and honors
### Awards for label

| Year | Award Received |
| 2015 | ICMA Label of the Year |

### Awards for individual CDs, DVDs, documentaries and projects

| Year | Title of production | Genre | Notes | Awards received |
| 2019 | The Unanswered Ives -- American Pioneer of Music | Documentary: DVD | Produced for WDR/Arte by Accentus Music | Golden Prague Film Festival 2019: Czech Crystal – Best Documentary Dedicated to Music, Dance and Theater |
| 2019 | Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro | Performance Video (Opera): DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | ICMA Best Video Performance |
| 2018 | Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies | 5-CD set | Produced by Accentus Music | ICMA Best Collection |
| 2017 | Szymanowski: Overture op. 12, Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto, Symphony No. 4 | Concert Video: DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | ICMA Best Collection |
| 2017 | Alban Berg: Wozzeck | Performance Video (Opera): DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | ICMA Video performance Gramophone Classical Music Awards: Opera BBC Music Magazine Awards: Best DVD |
| 2016 | Silenced - Composers in Revolutionary Russia | Documentary: DVD | Produced for WDR/Arte by Accentus Music | Golden Prague Film Festival 2017: Czech Crystal – Best Documentary |
| 2016 | Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 | Concert Video: DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | ICMA DVD performance |
| 2015 | Johann Sebastian Bach: The Art of Fugue Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations | Concert Video: DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | ICMA Special Achievement Award International Festival of Films on Art: Award for Best Essay |
| 2015 | Adam’s Passion – Arvo Pärt, Robert Wilson | Documentary: DVD | Produced for WDR/Arte by Accentus Music Available on DVD & Blu-ray | Diapason d'Or |
| 2015 | Barbara Hannigan – Concert and Documentary | Concert/Documentary: DVD | Produced by Accentus Music Available on DVD & Blu-ray | Festival International du Film sur l’art (FIFA) 2015: Award for Best Portrait |
| 2014 | Satiesfictions – Promenades with Erik Satie | Documentary: DVD | Produced for WDR/Arte by Accentus Music Available on DVD & Blu-ray | Diapason d'Or Documentary and Short International Movie Awards (DSIMA) Jakarta 2015: Platin Award – Best European Documentary Vierteljahresbestenliste der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2015 |
| 2013 | Isang Yun - In between North and South Korea | Documentary: DVD | Produced for by Accentus Music Available on DVD & Blu-ray | Golden Prague Festival 2013: Special Mention for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement Mumbai International Film Festival: Best Documentary (2014) |
| 2012 | John Cage – Journeys in Sound | Documentary: DVD | Produced for WDR/Arte by Accentus Music | International Television & Film Awards 2014: The Arts, Bronze Medaille Echo Klassik 2013 – Musik-DVD Produktion des Jahres Chicago International Film Festival 2013: Silver Hugo ICMA DVD Documentaries Festival International du Film sur l’art (Fifa) 2013: Best Educational Film Golden Prague Festival 2012: Czech Crystal – Best Documentary |
| 2012 | Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 | Concert Video: DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | Diapason d'Or (2011) ICMA DVD performance BBC Music Magazine Awards: Best DVD |
| 2012 | Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 | Concert Video: DVD | Produced by Accentus Music | Gramophone Award: DVD performance |