Concord expands classical and European interests by acquiring Sikorski Music Publishing

13 June 2019 - Press release

Sikorski Music Publishing will be combined with Concord Music Publishing's venerable Boosey & Hawkes division, bringing together two giants of Russian classical copyrights

Concord is pleased to announce the acquisition of the esteemed classical music publisher, The Sikorski Music Publishing Group, home to a wide range of major works by legendary composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofieff, Aram Khachaturian, Dmitri Kabalevskyand Alfred Schnittke,plus ongoing relationships with important active composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheliand Lera Auerbach. 

Under this landmark arrangement, the German-based Sikorski business will join the Concord Music Publishing family, sitting alongside Concord's market leading Boosey & Hawkes classical business unit, which is also the custodian of a blue-chip catalogue of 20th-century masterworks and an eminent list of top contemporary composers. 

Sikorski is celebrated as being one of the main custodians of golden Russian and Soviet era copyrights.Both Boosey & Hawkes and Sikorski share a heritage of active engagement with music written by Soviet era composers, promoting their works over decades in complementary territories in the West.   

Beyond these historic copyrights, the Sikorski business is active in the furtherance of classical music through its engagement with current composers writing across a spectrum from chamber music, orchestral music, operas and ballets to music for children.

This new phase in the history of Sikorski will see the publisher become a key component in the active growth of Concord's classical business and European presence, whilst plugging into the company's major sync and marketing network.

John Minch, the long-term head of Boosey & Hawkes and President of Concord Music Publishing, Europe comments, "The union of Boosey & Hawkes and Sikorski under the Concord family of companies is a real signal to the continued value of classical repertoire. Concord is now at a moment to bring further investment and commitment to not only these evergreen catalogues, but the next generation of composers and the wider classical sector too." Minch further noted, "I have known Dagmar and Axel Sikorski for almost 20 years and have the greatest amount of respect for their stewardship of these wonderful assets throughout their lives." 

Glen Barros, Chief Operating Officer at Concord comments, "This acquisition is important to us on many levels. In addition to adding an amazing collection of compatible works to the publishing side of our company, it is a big step toward the fulfilment of key strategic goals. Namely, we very much believe in the market for classical music and plan to further expand our presence in this genre. Further, we are looking for opportunities to expand our presence in Europe and other international markets. As a result, the acquisition of the Sikorski business really is a perfect fit."

Dagmar Sikorski, the Managing Partner for the group and its majority shareholder, states, "We could not have found a better home for our family's legacy classical assets. Our decades-long, deep relationships with our composers is something of which we are highly protective, and we are confident that these composers will be well looked after by the Concord and Boosey teams. We also want to acknowledge the significant efforts of Lisbeth Barron, who brought our two companies together and worked over many months to get the transaction across the finish line."

Lisbeth R. Barron, Chairman & CEO and her team at Barron International Group, LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor to The Sikorski Music Publishing Group for this transaction.