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FAST FACTS

Largest classical music site on the web 40,034 media files (MIDI / WMA / MP3)
by 2,091 composers
Site inception: 1994
(Operating as www.prs.net since March 1995)
Classical Archives, LLC
organized in California
2000
(Operating as www.classicalarchives.com since August 2000)
Main Domain:
See the complete list of domains
classicalarchives.com
prs.net and prs.com are equivalent and also valid
TIP for IE users: Enter "prs" in your browser's address bar and press Control-Enter.
"Must-Read" pages:
Media file types:
  • MP3 - 128kbps HiFi MP3 Live Performances (available to subscribers)
  • WMA - 20kbps Streaming Windows Media Audio of Live Recordings
  • MID - MIDI Synthesizer Sequences
  • ZIP - Compressed MIDI Collections (available to subscribers)
  • WMV - Streaming Windows Media Video Clips
Indexes:
Traffic:
  • Close to 3 million unique visitors/month.
  • Delivery of over 20 Gigabytes/day.
Subscriber
Demographics:
Demographics by
Legal:
Awards and Honors:
Press Resources and Notices:
Press/Media Contact: Lou Mann
Mann Media Partners
1-323-828-8080
Email for and from Press/Media only!
(Click HERE to communicate directly with Archives.)
Head Office address: Classical Archives LLC
200 Sheridan Ave Ste 403
Palo Alto CA 94306-2041

(Support offices in Denver, Moscow, Paris, San Diego/La Jolla, and Voronezh)
CONTACT US Telephone:
 
Email:
1-650-330-8050
(11AM-6PM Pacific Time)
Email the Archives
Jobs available:



OUR STORY

The Classical Archives was created in 1994 by Pierre R. Schwob while he was living in Hong Kong. The World Wide Web was at the beginning of its exponential growth and he published a small web page - "The Archives of Classical MIDI Sequences" - to share about 40 MIDI classical music files he had sequenced. At the bottom of the page, Schwob invited visitors to send him their own sequences. He emailed several potential contributors and explained that he wanted to provide a central location on the web where classical music MIDI files would be available and clearly cataloged to permit others to locate easily. Rather quickly, the site attracted such important collections as the complete Scarlatti Sonatas by John Sankey and other wonderful sequences by Finley, Leen, Moclin, Yokochan and others.

Soon after inception, the site moved under the URL "www.prs.net" - usually as a virtual server, hosted by friends who believed in the merit of such an endeavor and who agreed to provide space on their servers. Schwob maintained the site as a hobby, spending one to two hours each day to catalog the submissions and to answer what became a steady stream of correspondence from all over the world. The site became an important stop for classical music lovers on the net, and its value was underlined by the requests (usually granted) to mirror the whole site by several universities and organizations on different continents.

In 1997, right after the reversion of Hong Kong to China, Schwob moved back to the U.S. and settled in Silicon Valley where he continued to develop the Archives. Then in 1999, he received an offer to sell the site to an outstanding group that had an intense interest in music and culture. However, due to the facts that Schwob and the potential buyers quickly determined that they were temperamentally well suited for each other, and as Schwob wasn't all that keen to completely let go of the site, it was agreed that the Classical Archives would be organized (Classical Archives, LLC) with Schwob as CEO, and the group would provide an infusion of capital to permit the Archives to greatly expand its offering.

Although the majority of the Archives was to continue offering most of its contents to visitors at no charge, it began seeking the support of its users so that the site could both grow and maintain its position as the premier web site for music and culture lovers. A subscription system was launched which allowed those users who wished to do so, to contribute $25/year for an Individual Subscription.

The Classical Archives was then joined by David Barg as Artistic Director. David is an internationally noted conductor with a deep commitment to music education and working with young musicians and conductors. With David's help, the Archives launched its "Featured Artists" section, which offers live recordings in WMA and MP3 by outstanding orchestras, soloists and vocalists. David also created the "Learning Center" where he shares tips with other conductors and with music students. The number of wonderful letters and emails we receive about the Learning Center is testimony of the impact and value of this inspired effort. The Archives was able to underwrite the on-line publication of illustrated biographies of great composers by Allen Krantz, composer, guitarist, and lecturer on music history at Temple University; and for Warren Pepperdine, Professor Emeritus at Indiana University at South Bend, to publish his always thought-provoking editorials in our columns.

Many new features have been added since then, notably the Classical Archives Radio Station, a useful search engine by keywords and composers; and timelines and historical displays that provide a context to the composers and their music. But the Archives is most proud of the continued addition of outstanding artists to its roster, largely due to the wonderful efforts of Leila Yangurazova, our agent in Moscow, and Andrea Nemecz in Paris. When David, due to the pressures of his conducting schedule, had to move back to New York and had to restrict himself to the management of our Learning Center, we had the extraordinary good fortune to be joined by Dr. Nolan Gasser - now our Artistic Director - who is an outstanding musicologist (Stanford Ph.D.), composer, arranger, and performer with an unbounded enthusiasm for our mission. A great debt of gratitude is particularly due to Vladimir Volovich, Perl guru extraordinaire, who has for many years provided invaluable support and countless hours to the Archives. We recognize also our Director of Web Engineering Dimitri Stamatis who also happens to be a brilliant flamenco guitarist and teacher. Finally, we must mention the tireless efforts of our sysadmins in Colorado, and administrative support teams in La Jolla and San Diego. All these people are a joy to work with and their dedication and inspiration make the Archives an invaluable asset on the internet for all.

We look forward to the continuing development of the Archives, particularly to the expansion of our offerings to include other types of music, as well as opera, ballet, and the theater. All this made possible by the marriage of technology and a great reverence for our cultural treasures.




You may also want to read the READ THIS! page.
Click for Pierre's vanity page
Click for his vanity page
PIERRE R. SCHWOB
CEO and founder

Born in Los Angeles, brought up in Geneva, Switzerland; lived 15 years in New York, 11 years in Hong Kong, now in Palo Alto, CA. Self-taught (except in flying); built his first computer in 1977; books published on history (translated into several languages), calculators (chosen as special selection of the Mathematical Book Club) and chess openings. Adjunct assistant professor computer science, N.Y.U. 1981-86; holder of several U.S. and foreign patents; founded PRS Corporation, an R&D company in 1978 where he developed the award-winning ID LOGIC® technology which was incorporated into a U.S. national standard and licensed to the major consumer electronics manufacturers. Appointed Co-Chairman & CEO of Classical Archives, LLC in August 2000. Pierre is a hopeful amateur musician who has served on the board of directors of several classical music organizations. A cosmology and astronomy groupie (asteroid 32890 Schwob has been graciously named after him), he helped establish the Computing and Information Center at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford/SLAC. Happy on his boat, he is happiest scuba diving under it. He is blessed with his son Jonathan (1989) and his daughter Nathania (2001).
More details on his vanity page... [Top-of-page]


Dr. Nolan I. Gasser DR. NOLAN GASSER
Artistic Director

Born and raised in Southern California, Nolan is a critically acclaimed composer, pianist, conductor and arranger, as well as a published musicologist. He received his Ph.D. in Musicology in 2001 from Stanford University, where he is an Adjunct Professor in Medieval and Renaissance Music History. Nolan studied composition in Paris (and Fontainbleau) with Betsy Jolas, Gilbert Amy and Tristan Murail; received a Masters in Composition from NYU (studying with Todd Brief and Menachem Zur) and a Bachelors of Music degree from California State University, Northridge (studying with Aurelio de la Vega). He is the composer of numerous award-winning musical works, ranging in style from classical to jazz to popular, including music for the stage. His works have been performed in such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Alice Tully Hall, and La Salle Pleyel in Paris. His Oration on July 4th ­ the first movement of his oratorio American Festivals ­ for orchestra, chorus, and orator was premiered to great success at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC in May 2004 by the Charleston Symphony and Chorus under Maestro David Stahl, and with actor Sam Waterston as orator. In February 2005, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under Maestro David Loebel will premier the second movement of the oratorio, Black Suit Blues, for orchestra, chorus, and baritone soloist. Nolan also performs and records regularly with marquee performers as diverse as Steve Miller, John Handy, and Carol Channing. He recently enjoyed great commercial success with his holiday song, Christmas by the Bay. In all, Nolan brings to the Classical Archives a rich and eclectic array of musical interests and expertise, along with a great enthusiasm for the mission and philosophy of the company. He lives in the Petaluma, CA with his wife Lynn, and their two children, Camille and Preston. [Top-of-page]


David A. Barg DAVID A. BARG
Director of the Learning Center

David is internationally recognized for his work with young musicians and conductors. The co-founder of the Barg-Fritz Institute for Continuing Conductor Education, he led the opening session of the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Winter Choral Directors Workshop in spring 2002. His conducting workbook is in pre-publication. Barg works with young musicians and conductors throughout America and around the world. In North America in 2001-02, Barg worked with young orchestras in Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami and elsewhere. Barg has conducted professional ensembles in the US, Europe, Russia, Australia, and has been a Cultural Ambassador for the United States Information Agency. He recently made his debut with the Moscow State Radio & Television Orchestra at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, a concert that was recorded for Russian radio and on CD. David has a daughter, Vanessa. [Top-of-page]


Vladimir V. Volovich VLADIMIR V. VOLOVICH
Chief Engineer

Born in 1971 in Voronezh, Russia (Soviet Union), which is in the middle of the European part of Russia (the "Black Earth" region), 600 kilometers to the south of Moscow. Studied piano in musical school (7 years). Earned his M.Sc. in theoretical physics at the Voronezh State University in 1995, then worked as an assistant researcher in the department of theoretical physics. Published several journal articles on particle physics. Vladimir also has an avid interest in mathematics, particularly topology, differential geometry, and category theory. Now he concentrates mostly on computer science. Vlad joined the team of the Classical Archives when he created the first mirror of the Archives in 1996, deployed at the Voronezh University. He is married to Natasha who is also an engineer and they have two sons: Vasily (Basil) and Evgeny (Eugene). [Top-of-page]


Dimitri Stamatis DIMITRI STAMATIS
Director Web Engineering

Born in San Francisco, California, Dimitri is a professional musician, computer programmer and flamenco guitar teacher. He earned his B.S. in Psychology in 1999 at SFSU, and has been involved with computers since the age of 10, when he created his first algorithm using BASIC on his Atari 800 XL. In addition to his duties as Director Web Engineering at the Classical Archives, Dimitri has provided flamenco guitar accompaniment for Carolina Lugo's flamenco dance troupe Brisas de España. In 1999, he also founded Flamenco-Teacher.com, the first site dedicated to teaching flamenco guitar, via the Internet. [Top-of-page]


Leila Yangurazova DR. LEILA YANGURAZOVA
Senior Representative for Russia

Born in Tashkent (former USSR) her early years were dedicated to ballet, piano, Russian literature and mathematics. After the catastrophic earthquake of 1966, she moved to Moscow where she graduated from the mathematics department of the physics faculty at Moscow University. She worked in various branches of geophysics, astrophysics, lasers, and ecology. She earned her PhD in 1988 after defending her thesis on The Collapse of Dense Stellar Clusters at the Institute of Cosmic Research of the Russian Academy of Science. Following "Perestroika," she immersed herself in several social and cultural causes. She became involved with The Seasons, a Moscow chamber orchestra. She wrote an article on J.Krishnamurti which was later reprinted in several of his books. She produced the successful tour of the famous classical Indian singer Shobha Joshi which was broadcast by the major Russian radio stations and NTV (1999). Since then she is a regular participant in radio shows. She also appeared in several Moscow and Tatarstan radio programs about Islam (autumn, 2001). She was a charter member (CTM) of The Toastmaster International Club, (The Moscow Free Speakers) of which she became President in 1995, and now she is working on establishing the second TM Club in Moscow. Her son Shamil Sunyaev is a molecular biologist who heads a laboratory at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. [Top-of-page]


Andrea Nemecz ANDREA NEMECZ
European Representative

A native of Budapest Hungary, Andrea Nemecz began her musical studies at the age of four. She entered the "Special Talents Class" at the Bela Bartok Conservatory and graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy. She continued her studies at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik with Dieter Weber and at the Juilliard School in New York, obtaining the Master of Music Degree. Andrea Nemecz has won numerous prizes at national and international competitions, including Second Prize at the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, First Prize at the I.Hogg Piano Competition in Houston Texas which resulted in her American orchestral debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared as recitalist and soloist with orchestras in Austria, Poland, Germany, Portugal, Holland, Canada and the United States. As a winner of Artists International Auditions, she made her New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall where she has returned in three consecutive seasons. Andrea Nemecz recorded Mozart concertos with Tamas Vasary and Arpad Joo, as well as solo repertoire with works of Schumann and Schubert for Sefel Records. Vice-president and Artistic Director of the Alice Rosner Foundation whose aim is to broaden the reach of classical music through the promotion of musicians, concerts and other events. Living in Paris, France with her husband, pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, she has appeared in several festivals (Radio France/Montpellier, Menton, Musée des Arts Décoratifs...), on France Musique and classical cable stations. Andrea and Jean-Efflam have two daughters Julia and Laura.

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Layne Tippets LAYNE TIPPETS
Rights Manager

Layne was born in Montana. He studied accounting and received his Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Montana. He then moved to California where he graduated from Stanford Law School and passed the California Bar. His work experience includes tax work with one of the Big 5 accounting firms, as well as legal work and several financial and legal consulting engagements. Some of his most rewarding work involved developing early prototypes of custom digital recording systems at Custom Digital Sounds which he founded in 1986 in Palo Alto and of a multimedia encyclopedia for grade school children. He lives in Los Altos with his wife Terri, three children Lauren, Katie, and Matt, and his dog Shadow.

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Scot Stafford SCOT STAFFORD
Musicologist

Scot Stafford studied music theory (Richard Cohn, Easley Blackwood), musicology (Charles Rosen, Howard Mayer Brown) and composition (Andrew Imbrie, Jay Alan Yim) at the University of Chicago, where he received Special Honors from the music department for his thesis on Balinese polyrhythms (1994). He has since founded StudioCLA ("Cambodian Living Arts") a nonprofit ethnographic studio in Phnom Penh that is creating the world's largest archive of endangered traditional Cambodian music, as well as training young Cambodians for careers in the audio and video production arts. His music has appeared in film festivals (2006 Mill Valley Film Festival), TV commercials (Southwest Airlines), industrial films (Microsoft, Williams Sonoma, Electronic Arts), rock albums (Applesaucer, nominated "Most Outstanding Debut," 2000 California Music Awards) and independent films (The Dance, dir. H.Rhodes). He is currently music directing "Where Elephants Weep," a Khmer Rock Shadow Puppet Opera (premier Lowell, MA in April '07). He also served as Director of Online Music/Entertainment for BlueLight.com/Kmart. He lives in San Rafael with his wife Monica and their son Octavio.

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Connie Lau CONNIE LAU
Musicologist

Connie is a Ph.D candidate in Musicology at Stanford University, where she also received an M.A. in Musicology. A pianist, harpsichordist, and soprano, Connie's musicological research focuses on the political and religious contexts of Luigi Cherubini's choral works. Besides music, her passions include travel, books, languages and tea. Originally from Hong Kong, she lives in the Bay Area with her husband and their dog Charlotte.

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