1. ARMONIKA DISCOGRAPHY
2. CORPORATE DOCUMENTS (COLUMBIA/ODEON/VICTOR)
3. TERRITORIAL CLAIMS GRAMCO & VICTOR
4. GRAMOPHONE RECORD CATALOGUE PROJECT 2025
5. CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE EMI ARCHIVE, VOL. 1 (1900-1911)
6. CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE EMI ARCHIVE, VOL. 2 (1900-19xx)
7. COLUMBIA (EUROPE): A DATING GUIDE BY PETER COPELAND
8. ZURNA-PLAYERS AND SINGERS: 1900-1912.
   A discography of Vidoslu Yakomi/Γιακουμής/Giakoumis,
   Üsküdarlı Arap Mehmet, Gülistan Ηanım and others.
9. TURKISH GIPSIES IN CONSTANTINOPLE 1900: COMING SOON
10. CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE EMI ARCHIVE, VOL. 3 (1919-1930)
11. GREEK HMV CATALOGUES (1922-1931).
       →   4. GRAMOPHONE RECORD CATALOGUE PROJECT 2025
12. CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY’S “ORIENTAL” RECORDING SESSIONS: 1900-1939
13. RECORDING SHEETS OF THE GRAMOPHONE COMPANY: 1909-1927:
    Recorders: Fred Gaisberg (1909), Arthur Clarke (1910), George Dillnutt (1911), Arthur Clarke (1911-1912), Charlie Scheuplein (1912), George Dillnutt (1919), Harry Fleming (1922) and Edward Fowler (1927).
14. THREE GREEK SINGERS IN MILAN (1900-1903).
15. GramCo’s 1900-1914 Turkish & Greek recordings:
1. An introduction
2. BOOK I (is based on matrix numbers; elaborate version)
3. BOOK II (based on side/catalogue numbers; refers back to BOOK I)
16. RECORD LABEL STICKERS IN MY ARCHIVE
    Photographs taken by Peter Endendijk.
    Check out the wonderful website of The Endendijk Collection:
    www.tradmusictrails.com

The editor and publisher of the now defunct English magazine The AV collector called his first product in the beginning “an occasional periodical”. That apparently was his way of avoiding unwanted, counterproductive deadlines.
Likewise our newsletter THE MISSIONARY TIMES could indeed be called “an occasional newsletter”. The last one appeared in 2014!

The near future
In other words, it is high time to make amends and pick up the pieces.
After Putin, Trump and Netanyahu it is time for some good news.
The website www.recordingpioneers.com still exists and – what is more – it has got a new president!
After giving birth to this website - if I am not mistaken in 2009 - I was in charge for sixteen years. Now the time has come to hand over the baton to someone else.
I decided to ask Maria Kapkidi (Athens) to become the new president of www.recordingpioneers.com. In the corridors often briefly referred to as “RP”. Some fresh blood will do the website no harm. On the contrary, I hope a new leader will open up and explore new avenues of research.
Of course I shall be hovering about in the wings as long as I can, to keep an eye on my adult brainchild.

Who is Maria Kapkidi?
For a number of years Kapkidi and I have worked closely together on several discographical pursuits. She has produced a number of excellent discographies. In recent years she has also been active as co-researcher, compiling biographies of unexplored pioneers whose vital statistics and careers until then had been uncharted waters.
Now she has been promoted to become president of www.recordingpioneers.com effective immediately. Welcome on board, Maria!
To give RP users a more precise idea who Maria Kapkidi is and what she has done so far, here is a link to Kapkidi’s vital statistics and her extensive curriculum vitae.

Other news?
II have begun emptying the shelves in my study. Many files have been lingering there, waiting to see the light of day. At the moment I am busy preparing those files for the website. The files are in various forms of completion: some have been completed, others are still in need of some or even much attention.

New items
In the meantime a number of these items have been placed on the website. A list of these items is presented in the newsletter THE MISSIONARY TIMES on the homepage under NEW 2025.
And as I am tying up loose ends one by one, the list will be updated regularly. At this stage I would like to draw your attention to a few very important new items, i.e.
#4 : THE GRAMOPHONE RECORD CATALOGUE PROJECT 2025
#5 & #6 : CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE EMI ARCHIVE (1900-1911) , VOL. 1 AND 2

During a number of visits to the EMI archive in Hayes (England) back in the 1990s I was allowed to make photocopies of all the original documents I was interested in. Especially those documents that concerned Greece, Turkey and Egypt. This vast collection of photocopies has kept me alive and kicking up to the present time.

The Catalogue Project does not need a lengthy explanation. I collected as many catalogues containing Greek and Turkish etc. repertoire as possible, but many are still missing.
If anybody can contribute scans of original catalogues – instead of photocopies from 40 years ago - be my guest!

The Correspondence of The Gramophone Company from the EMI Archive is a unique source of inside information.
It gives a clear insight into the doings and functioning of many of the “top brass” of the company in all relevant locations: London, Milan, Vienna, Constantinople, Smyrna, Cairo & Alexandria, Salonica, Athens. Indispensable for people who do research in this area!

SOFOS
I almost forgot to mention the new digital Italian magazine “SOFOS Bollettino” which first came out in 2024.
I wrote an article for the Bollettino (in English) about the earliest Greek recordings in Milan entitled Three Greek singers in Milan (1900-1903).
See: SOFOS Bollettino 1/3, pp. 4-10. That same year SOFOS published a book entitled SHELLAC. A cura di Anita Pesce e Giuliana Fugazzotto. It contains nine articles. Eight articles were written by several Italian authors in Italian. The last article – in English - was written by yours truly: The Milan Branch at the turn of the twentieth century: Correspondence from the EMI Archive. A look behind the scenes. This article is in fact a continuation of the afore-mentioned article about those early Greek Milan recordings. It describes the beginnings of the Milan Branch of The Gramophone Company and its sub-branch in Egypt during the period 1899-1909. The conflict between the Milan Branch and the Vienna Branch about territories is also discussed.

This volume can be requested by writing to sofos.direttivo@gmail.com and sending via Paypal to the same email address 25€ + 2€ for expenses.
The SOFOS Bulletin is sent free of charge to Sofos members but each issue can also be purchased. All instructions are on the web page at this link

Forthcoming
Aristomenis Kalyviotis from Karditsa (Greece) told me that a new book by him is about to be published: ΑΙΓΥΠΤΟΣ. Η ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ ΖΩΗ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ
Οι ηχογραφήσεις δίσκων, τα μουσικά καταστήματα, οι μουσικές εκδόσεις. Καρδίτσα 2025 (Εκτύπωση στις εκδόσεις ΦΑΟΣ στην Καρδίτσα) Egypt. The musical life of the Greeks. Gramophone recordings on disc, the music shops and music publications. Karditsa 2025. FAOS publications, Karditsa. The book will only be available in Greek, but since all of Kalyviotis’ books are richly illustrated they are always a joy for the eye!

Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to thank Paula Jansen for all her dedicated support on all fronts. It is impossible to further express my gratitude: I owe her indefinitely.

This website would not have existed if it was not for my invisible webmaster. Ever since we began this long term project he has honoured my countless requests for updates and has solved many of my digital problems. His expertise and support have been invaluable!

I am eternally grateful to the former Head-Archivist of the EMI Archive, Ruth Edge, and her staff (Jenny Keen and Suzanne Lewis) for “letting me have my way” on the only copying-machine the archive had at its disposal back then. Those were the days! Nowadays the EMI archive is called EMI Archive Trust and is headed by Joanna Hughes, Heritage Curator, Manager Historic Collections.

A special word of thanks also to Luuk de Suijck (Kopijwinkel, Utrecht) who carefully scanned hundreds of documents.

My advice: check out NEW 2025 regularly.
I shall add new items soon.
Enjoy the ride!

Utrecht, 9 September 2025
Hugo Strötbaum
recordingpioneers@gmail.com
www.recordingpioneers.com