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Edition Egtved

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Danish music publisher 1951-2001 founded as [l=Musikhøjskolens Forlag]. From 1969/70 also a record label. From 1974 [u]called[/u] and from 1979 officially [u]named[/u] "Edition Egtved". Its publications initially consisted of choral music and educational material, later also of new music. "Edition Egtved" can be recognized by a horizontal music note logo with the text "Edition Egtved / Danmark" or by credits to Edition Egtved without "Musikhøjskolens Forlag". [b]History[/b] Originally founded in Copenhagen in 1951 by [a=Svend-G. Asmussen] and a group of young music educators (founded under the auspices of Københavns Musikhøjskole), the company was taken over by Svend-G in 1959. In the beginning, everyone worked in their spare time and without pay. The business grew steadily and in 1964, Svend-G and his wife Hanna and two other married couples, Inga Haugland & Sigurd Haugland and Anne Barfoed & [a=Hans-Ulrik Barfoed], chose to give up their ordinary civil work and move with the publishing house to Tågelund near Egtved in Jutland. With the move to Egtved, Musikhøjskolens Forlag first became truly professional. The company published new music by Danish composers and released some remarkable publications for school usage, the song book "555 sange" (1972), for example, which sold well over 200,000. The publications and the 'Egtved'-name were also profiled through a course business in the affiliated Musikhøjskole, which attracted teachers and musicians from all over the country. According to "Dansk Musikforlægger Forening", Edition Egtved was Denmark's largest music publisher in 1979 - with twenty employees and a company that, in addition to a large music trade in sheet music, instruments and LPs, also housed sheet music setters, repro facilities, printing house and bookbindery. Due to growing international sales and cooperation, the name "Edition Egtved" was introduced in 1974. Svend-G became ill in the mid-70s and in 1978 he was replaced as director by [a=Hans-Ulrik Barfoed]. In 1979 the ownership was transferred to an employee-owned foundation, "Svend G. Asmussens Fond", and the name "Edition Egtved" became official (Edition Egtved ApS). In 1987 [a=Ole Ugilt Jensen] took over the directorship. Edition Egtved was increasingly challenged by the spread of copy machines and competition from, among others, [l=Folkeskolens Musiklærerforening]. In 1996, the printing house was closed, the administration reduced and Edition Egtved moved to Århus. The ownership was taken over by [l=Edition Wilhelm Hansen] in 1997 and the year after it moved to Taastrup where distribution was handed over to [l=Kleinerts Musikforlag] as a wholesaler until Edition Egtved finally merged with [l=Edition Wilhelm Hansen] in 2001. The last edition of an Egtved publication was published in 2003.