Features
Schwenkow’s Classic Reappearance
DEAG chief Peter Schwenkow has introduced his company back into the U.K. market by teaming up with the country’s best-known major classical music promoter.
He’s formed a joint-venture company on a four-year deal with Raymond Gubbay, which will promote classical music concerts in the U.K. and Ireland.
Schenkow’s DEAG Classics, a fully owned subsidiary of DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG, already promotes shows in mainland Europe for some of the acts represented by Gubbay’s IMG Artists.
The management of the new company will be in the hands of Raymond Gubbay Ltd., which also has a 49 percent share, with the remainder of the stock split equally between DEAG Classics and IMG.
DEAG’s connection with the U.K. music market pretty much ended when the Berlin-based company split with Barrie Marshall in the summer, although Schwenkow has publicly said he’d be back.
His return hasn’t come in the contemporary live music business (although he has a tie-up with Philip Anschutz’s AEG), but in a co-operation with one of the most experienced and reputable English classic promoters.
AEG also stepped in and bought roughly the same amount of Marshall Arts shares – close to 50 percent – that DEAG let go.
Gubbay and Scwhenkow already work together in Austria, Switzerland, France and Holland in promoting events like "Classical Spectacular" and "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Last Night of the Proms."
The main acts the new company is likely to be promoting include Anna Netrebko,