Artist Direct

Gunnar Johansen served as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin in Madison's School of Music from 1939–1976. Acting as his own recording producer and technician, he marketed recordings on his Artist Direct record label from his home near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. In total there were about 150 recordings issued on LP, including the complete keyboard works of Franz Liszt, J.S. Bach and the lesser known composer, Ignaz Friedman, among others. All of these releases were subsequently made available for purchase on cassette, as well. Although it has been said that some of these recordings suffered from Johansen's inexperience as a recording technician, the performances, particularly the Liszt, were highly praised by reviewers in scholarly journals and music magazines. The recording studio included a Hamburg Steinway ca. 1920 Concert Grand (D) (after ca. 1960), a Moor Steinway Double Keyboard (D), a Moor Bösensdorfer Double Keyboard, a Harpsichord, Spinet, Virginal and Clavichord built in the 1950s.