Costa Pilavachi is back!

[joanne]

Jun 4, 2010 15:56:17 GMT stevemacdonald said:

I bet it Costa lot to rehire him

:je Hahaha that made me smile at my computer screen; my little brother gave me a weird look. But aside, I'm really happy to hear that he's back! Though to be honest, I didn't know he had left. But from what I read in Hayley's autobiography, it sounds like great news! Exciting stuff, to see what this'll bring

cheers,
Joanne

[Libby]

Thanks for working so hard to find the thread, Richard!

Hmm, so he left after the release of Odyssey. So, does he have much say on the tracks that go on an album, and which versions, and all that? I'm just wondering, because I'm remembering the 22 songs that are scattered on many versions of Odyssey... We sure don't want anything like that happening again. Of course, it didn't for Pure, so maybe it wasn't his fault. But he didn't stop it from happening. Hopefully Hayley won't let it happen, because I don't think she was especially happy about it, either.

[martindn]

Hi Libby,

My instinct says that this album won't be like that. With Ennio Morricone involved, it will probably not be amenable to that kind of treatment. I think this one will be the same everywhere. Just a feeling.

Martin D

[grant]

Jun 5, 2010 21:09:48 GMT martindn said:

My instinct says that this album won't be like that. With Ennio Morricone involved, it will probably not be amenable to that kind of treatment. I think this one will be the same everywhere. Just a feeling.

Interesting point Martin - I have to agree - Cost implications would surely be prohibitive.

Best wishes
Grant

[Elliot Kane]

I think you're right, Martin. Morricone is a legend. You can bet he won't come cheap - and he certainly won't want his work messed around with in that fashion, either! Which is really good from my POV.

Whatever he and Hayley create together is bound to be epic!

[Libby]

Well, that's encouraging, but I'm not entirely convinced that the American version will get everything the UK gets. Or Japan, for that matter. Another bonus track on the Japanese version seems quite likely, going by the last 2 albums.

[Dave]

Hi everyone,

In case anyone was wondering, five years later, Costa Pilavachi is still going strong as Universal Music Group International's senior vice president of classical A&R and earlier this year was interviewed by John Brunning of Classic FM, so here it is, he has some interesting things to say about the classical music scene.

www.classicfm.com/concerts-events/abo-conference/news/costa-pilavachi/#M62LPSTEbqcmwKrP.97 (video and text)

But why mention it now, you may wonder? Well, Richard has just pointed out that Mr. Pilavachi has 'Liked' our Facebook page, which is now linked on his Facebook profile: www.facebook.com/costa.pilavachi (at the bottom). I wonder why, or rather, why now? Hmmm...

Cheers, Dave

[Richard]

Hello folks!

If you're logged in to Facebook, you can see Costa Pilavachi's public posts on his Timeline, so I'm keeping an eye on it.

Richard

[martindn]

Well, we can speculate and hope. A relaunch of Hayley's career? Well, she has been so quiet for so long that that is what it needs. Those off us who have stuck with her know that she is mindblowingly better than she was at 15. She has it in her to be the world's number one female singer. Is there something truly spectacular coming I wonder. I live in hope.

Martin D

[Libby]

Why now? As Dave and everyone else have been suspecting, something new (and hopefully special) from Hayley is most likely brewing. Remember the negotiations that her Seattle Times horoscope mentioned? i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif Album meetings, perhaps? Meetings that involve Mr. Pilavachi? Meaning things might get exciting soon. Must be why she can't tell us anything except about her household chores. LOL

May 16, 2015 20:28:13 GMT martindn said:

Well, we can speculate and hope. A relaunch of Hayley's career? Well, she has been so quiet for so long that that is what it needs. Those off us who have stuck with her know that she is mindblowingly better than she was at 15. She has it in her to be the world's number one female singer. Is there something truly spectacular coming I wonder. I live in hope.

Martin D

Me too, despite nary a peep from her since 2 whole weeks (from tomorrow; it's already tomorrow in London).

[Richard]

Today is Costa Pilavachi’s last day as Senior Vice President, Classical Artists and Repertoire, at Universal Music, but he will be returning in an advisory capacity:

slippedisc.com/2016/05/label-news-counting-the-costa-farewell/

LABEL NEWS: COUNTING THE COSTA FAREWELL

May 26, 2016 by Norman Lebrecht

Tomorrow is Costa Pilavachi’s last day as Senior Vice President, Classical Artists and Repertoire, at Universal Music.

Costa, who has been head of Philips and Decca, with a further spell as president of EMI Classics, is one of the last labels chiefs still standing from the golden era, and always the nicest.

He will take a slow boat around the Mediterranean for the next couple of months, returning later this year as a consultant and talent scout for Universal.

Here’s the staff memo that has just gone the rounds:



Dear colleagues,

I am writing to let you know that the inimitable Costa Pilavachi, our much admired Senior Vice President, Classical Artists and Repertoire is stepping down from the role at the end of this week.

Taking some well-deserved down time, Costa will be embarking on an incredible journey for the next two months, sailing his boat from England to Greece.

Although Costa is moving on from his full-time role with us I am glad to say that from September he will return in an advisory capacity, working directly with me in addition to continuing his efforts with artists, labels and other projects including talent scouting.

As well as his continued work at Universal Music, Costa is a member of several advisory boards, most notably the International Mozart Society of the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Istanbul Festival, the Birmingham Conservatoire, the Verbier Festival Academy and the Toronto Symphony’s committee for the forthcoming Canadian Sesquicentennial.

Costa’s career has been nothing short of phenomenal. His wealth of experience in classical music takes in over four decades of high profile positions the world over, including at Toronto Arts Productions, Canada’s National Arts Centre, the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood Festival. Prior to his most recent role, he served as worldwide president of three major classical music labels: Philips Classics, Decca and EMI Classics.

In 1999 Costa played an integral role in the merger of the Philips and Decca labels, leading the combined Universal Music owned group until 2006.

Costa has been central to the signing and, or, the success of a great many classical artists at Universal Music including Valery Gergiev, Andrea Bocelli, Seiji Ozawa, Mitzuko Uchida, Hayley Westenra, Sir Neville Marriner and many others.

His knowledge and input have been invaluable and imperative to Universal Music’s continued success with classical music and we have been lucky to have such a passionate and invigorating person on our side.

I look forward to working with Costa in the future and I’m sure you will join me in wishing him all the very best for his next adventure.

Thank you Costa for all your hard work and achievement at Universal Music.

Dickon Stainer

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF GLOBAL CLASSICS

I hope Costa will continue to follow the HWI Facebook page!

Richard