“Toccata Classics deserves the support of music lovers everywhere, not least for its high standard of presentation and its quixotic mission.” —Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone
“Martin Anderson has almost single-handedly done more for bringing worthwhile but unknown music to the attention of music lovers than anyone else” —David deBoor Canfield, Fanfare
A little history
In 2005, on the evening of his fiftieth birthday, frustrated by the fixation of the recording industry on the same narrow list of ‘classics’, Martin Anderson launched Toccata Classics, with the express aim of bringing music by unfamiliar composers before the public. Twenty years later, not only is he still alive, but Toccata Classics and its more recent sister label Toccata Next have now released almost 800 recordings, every one of them featuring at least one first recording; most albums consist entirely of music that has not been recorded before. The range of composers covered is vast, from the Renaissance to the present day, with particular attention paid to those musical traditions unfamiliar to most listeners – from the Andes to the Alps, from the Balkans to the Baltic… well, you get the picture.
We will be celebrating throughout this anniversary year, with a series of special offers that we hope might tempt you to explore our large catalogue of recordings. One standing feature throughout the year, on the 20th of every month, will be ‘20@20’ – when you visit this page, you’ll find a shopping list which allows you to buy 20 Toccata CDs or downloads @ $1 each (minimum order 20).
Join the Toccata Discovery Club
Membership of the Toccata Discovery Club brings you huge savings on all Toccata Classics recordings and all Toccata Press music books – with the added advantage that you can enjoy the new releases and publications well before they reach the rest of the world. And you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to rewrite musical history and right some historical wrongs!
It works very simply: add the annual membership fee of £36 (approx. $45) to your shopping basket and then check out so that it can take effect; you can log in to your new account and have instant access to the entire Toccata Classics catalogue, either on CD or as downloads, at a 30% discount on both existing and new recordings, and to all Toccata Press books on music – and as soon as you join, you will receive a £30 coupon (approx. $38) towards your next purchase!
With your £30 coupon, you’ve nearly got your money back as soon as you join, and you continue to make big savings every time you buy something else through this site. There’s no minimum purchase, and nothing will be sent to you if you haven’t asked for it. As soon as you’ve joined the Discovery Club, you will immediately begin seeing your lower prices.
Once you join, you’ll get an e-newsletter every month to let you know what’s coming out, with links to the music so you can hear what’s on offer. If you like it, you simply buy it online and as soon as the CDs come in from the factory, they’ll be sent out to you – you’ll have it in your hands well before anyone else hears it. If you prefer to download, you’ll likewise have access to the links way ahead of the rest of the world.