"Firma Melodiya” was founded in 1964 as a state-owned company for production, storage and distribution of sound recordings. Being the successor of All-Union Recording Studio “Melodiya” it was the only record company in the country till the collapse of the Soviet Union. “Melodiya” kept the sound history of the past century in a variety of genres - from light to classical music, from folklore to works of contemporary Soviet composers. The studio gathered together masterpieces of art by prominent Soviet artists, ensembles, orchestras, musical theaters. Representing the domestic arts at home and abroad, on all continents, “Melodiya” became the guardian of the national musical heritage for many generations.

Foundation A was a major contributor to high-quality restoration and releasing of archival records of "Melodiya", showing the best pieces of Russian performing arts of the XX century and the best composers’ works. The donation covered the cost of recording equipment needed to retain thousands of rare recordings such as performances by Feodor Shaliapin, Elena Obraztsova, Sviatoslav Richter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Vladimir Vysotsky, Galina Vishnevskaya, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Rudolf Barshai, David Oistrakh, Daniil Shafran, Yuri Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, Grigory Sokolov, Mark Bernes, Klavdiya Shulzhenko, Leonid Utyosov. Some of them were previously considered destroyed and some of them could be lost forever if not for this titanic work and opportune donation.