Bridge Records, Inc. was founded in 1981 by David Starobin, President of Bridge from 1981-2007.Starobin was soon joined in the company by his wife, Becky Starobin, now Bridge’s President. The Starobins, both musicians, have overseen the steady growth of a highly regarded catalog which is now distributed widely in the Americas, Europe, Asia and on the internet. The company has maintained its offices in New Rochelle, NY since 1996.
Writing of his motivation for founding Bridge Records, David Starobin cited “the need to create a wide-ranging forum for repertoire and performance- a home for the exceptionally interesting andchallenging personality- performer and composer alike.” To that end Bridge has not only devoted itself to the recording of hundreds of new works, but the label has commissioned dozens of new compositions, ranging from solo through orchestral. Now in its 31st year of operation, Bridge maintains its original mission with undiminished enthusiasm.
Bridge's recordings have had considerable critical success, earning 30 Grammy nominations, three Grammy awards, three MIDEM Awards, four ASCAP ‘Deems Taylor Awards', as well as hundreds of awards and citations from publications and industry journals, including the New York Times, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and The Financial Times.
Bridge’s catalog spans a wide range of music, but is perhaps best known for its recordings of 20th and 21st Century classical repertoire. Composers whose works have received premiere recordings on
Bridge include: Elliott Carter, George Crumb, Poul Ruders, Joaquin Rodrigo, Stephen Sondheim, Hans Werner Henze, Henri Dutilleux, Toru Takemitsu, Stefan Wolpe, Paul Lansky,Tod Machover, and Cecil Taylor among many others. Performers include the New York Philharmonic, The Boston Sympgony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, members of the Berlin Philharmonic, Leon Fleisher, Garrick Ohlsson, Peter Serkin, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Bridge Records has also released a substantial amount of historic archival recordings, most notably during an ongoing collaboration with the Library of Congress. Artists include: The Budapest String Quartet, Leontyne Price, George Szell, Nathan Milstein, Zino Francescatti, Samuel Barber, Benny Goodman, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra.