"One reviewer in France attacked Pieter's performance of the Shostakovich's first cello concerto, saying that you cannot play Shostakovich like this. If it's not played well and the recording is terrible, then fine, but only to say that 'this is not the way to play Shostakovich' and then write off the whole recording is stupidity!"

As with many record producers, Sacks is constantly beleaguered by musicians wanting to make CDs: "I have three or four tapes come in each week, and thereby stands one of the biggest problems associated with the recording industry, since it is important that we choose the right artists. For those who play well on tape, I usually manage to get along to a performance, since it is so important to hear them live, so that I can judge for myself how they communicate with an audience. Often I ask how many concerts they do in a year, to which the usual reply is that they need the CD to help them get performances. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation; they need the CD for promotion, without which they might never be taken seriously, but they also need that performing experience to help them get a recording contract. But that's not my problem…at the end of the day, if they are any good, they should have a stack of concerts and their schedules will speak for themselves…those are the only people I am really interested in working with."

He admits that he is unusual in that he takes chances few other companies might consider, especially when it comes to material that has already been recorded scores of times: "We record pieces because we believe that we have something different to say, which is not something critics always like. One reviewer in France attacked Pieter's performance of the Shostakovich's first cello concerto, saying that you cannot play Shostakovich like this. If it's not played well and the recording is terrible, then fine, but only to say that 'this is not the way to play Shostakovich' and then write off the whole recording is stupidity!"

'Big is beautiful' is perhaps not an adage with which Sacks feels totally comfortable. Five years ago, he scaled down his company's operation and halved the workforce, putting the money instead into promotion. "Recordings cost an absolute fortune to put out and we often have to rely on some funding from artists themselves – with our arrangements, artists do manage to get concerts for which they always get paid, so we have an arrangement whereby they are not paid up front for recordings and instead are paid on a royalty basis. That way, money is freed up for promotional work."

At a time when so many small recording companies are facing extinction, the future looks bright for Channel Classics. Even though it might not yet have the same universal prestige the bigger companies enjoy, it certainly benefits from both a reputation that is highly regarded and a loyalty base amongst a group of artists of which many would be proud. With a string of awards behind them and, no doubt, with many more to come, the world's critical forums await with anticipation each new release.

Two Channel Classics CDs are reviewed in this month's Online Journal: Pieter Wispelwey Milestones and Bart Schneemann plays Lebrun concertos.