French love songs from three centuries, interspersed with reflective lute solos, constitute an Idylle for mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and lutenist Thomas Dunford. As they explain: "The emotions of love are explored in different forms - languor, desire, fascination, happiness." The word 'idyll', evoking a blissful, tranquil experience, derives from Ancient Greece and poetry on a pastoral theme. Desandre and Dunford spin a thematic and musical thread between eras and styles, starting with a sequence of 10 airs de cour from the 17th century. Spanning the era from the 1860s to the 1920s are arias and songs by Offenbach, Debussy, Hahn and Messager, and the album then fast-forwards to the 1960s and two iconic French chanteuses, Barbara and Fran�oise Hardy. Dunford supplies instrumental interludes in the form of two dances by Robert de Vis�e, a court musician for both Louis XIV and Louis XV, and Erik Satie's Gymnop�die No 1 and Gnossienne No 1.

BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTOS NOS. 4 & 5

Gautier Capu�on TITLE: Intuition - Intuition, a captivating album of short pieces for solo cello with piano or orchestra, has been conceived by Gautier Capu�on to "reflect the story of my life and follow the various stages in my emotional development". It brings together much-loved numbers by composers such as Saint-Sa�ns, Faur�, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Elgar with newer music by Astor Piazzolla, the Italian cellist Giovanni Sollima and the pianist J�r�me Ducros, who also appears on the album. As Gautier Capu�on says: "In music, in life, communication is the essence of everything and of anything... You share something."

Vinyl LP pressing. 2019 release from renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Songplay is sure to delight not only listeners of opera, but listeners of jazz and tango as well. The album brings together musicians from numerous genres, hand-picked by DiDonato in a band led by pianist and arranger Craig Terry. Among them are bassist Chuck Isreals, drummer Jimmy Madison, Lautaro Greco on the bandoneon, and trumpeter Charlie Porter. Joyce DiDonato greets you with a song in her heart and twinkle in her eye. The American mezzo-soprano's album Songplay unites world-class musicians from the varied worlds of opera, jazz and tango in the pure pleasure of improvisation, experimentation and exchange. Together they create their own musical language, surprising listeners with timeless melodies transformed and universal stories retold over centuries; songs in English, in Italian and - naturally - in the universal language of music. On Songplay, along with her hand-picked band led by pianist and arranger Craig Terry, Joyce draws inspiration from Cavalli and Chet Baker in equal measure. The languishing heart in Giordani's Caro mio ben is as emotionally charged as Jerry Bock's hopeful Will he like me?. Perhaps the most compelling reminder of how the music of Songplay breaks down divides is from DiDonato's experience leading vocal and composition workshops in the New York prison Sing Sing, where one of the men who is incarcerated was particularly moved upon hearing her rendition of Caro mio ben: 'I feel like I've known this song my whole life.'

A pianist whose exceptional intelligence and sensitivity draws on her effervescent spirit, Anne Queff�lec learned her craft in both Paris and Vienna. She had a close relationship with Erato and Virgin Classics, which produced a rich discography. This recording is an absolute best seller, and probably the most famous version of Erik Satie's masterpieces, the Gymnop�dies and Gnossiennes. It's featured here in it's original iconic cover artwork.

Cellist Edgar Moreau and pianist David Kadouch have some pleasurable surprises in store with this programme of French sonatas from the late 19th and 20th centuries. The composers are Franck, Poulenc and two little-known figures, Rita Strohl and Fernand de La Tombelle. Forming an adjunct to the programme is theworld premiere recordingof a piece byPoulenc, titledSouvenirsand written in 1944. As the French magazineT�l�ramahas written: 'Both known as outstanding soloists, David Kadouch and Edgar Moreau also form a close-knit, well-balanced chamber duo, playing with passion and commitment.'

Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole, Bruch: Violin Concerto Renaud Capu�on exudes a youthful air, but, now firmly established as one of the world's leading violinists, he celebrates his 40th birthday on 27 January 2016. This release of the best-known works of three composers - Edouard Lalo, Pablo de Sarasate and Max Bruch - marks this important personal occasion in a suitably festive fashion. Capu�on made the recordings with Paavo J�rvi and the Orchestre de Paris at the orchestra's new home, the French capital's Philharmonie, which opened in early 2015 and was immediately hailed for it's superb acoustics. The Bruch concerto became the first piece to be recorded there, in May 2015. As it happens, Capu�on shares a birthday with Edouard Lalo, born in 1823 - and with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart too! As Renaud Capu�on explains: "These three works, first heard between 1868 and 1878, are among the most famous in the history of the violin, and there are links of friendship and respect between their three composers - Lalo, Sarasate and Bruch: Lalo dedicated his Symphonie espagnole to Sarasate [born in northern Spain and one of the most celebrated violinists of his time]. Bruch dedicated his Scottish Fantasy to Sarasate some years later, but it was the great Joseph Joachim who gave the first performance of Bruch's Concerto No 1."

LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN

In November 2021, Emmanuelle Ha�m led two celebratory charity concerts - one in Berlin, the other in her home city of Paris - to mark 20 years of her ensemble Le Concert d'Astr�e. The music, mostly from operas, was by Handel, Rameau, Purcell, Vivaldi and Campra, and the spectacular line-up of vocal soloists included sopranos Natalie Dessay, Sabine Devieilhe, Emoke Bar�th and Sandrine Piau, mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, tenors Michael Spyres and Rolando Villaz�n, bass-baritone Laurent Naouri, and bass Andrea Mastroni. In Berlin, a distinguished guest conducted extracts from Rameau's Les Bor�ades: Sir Simon Rattle, whom Emmanuelle Ha�m describes as the 'godfather' of Le Concert d'Astr�e. "I like richness and colour," she says, "I like to embody meaning in sound without ever losing the narrative thread... We are lucky to be making music, and it is wonderful to be able to share this joy with an audience."

Chopin: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Samson Francois Composer: Fr�d�ric Chopin Other participants: Orchestre National de l'Opera de Monte Carlo

John Eliot Gardiner will celebrate his 80th birthday on 20th April 2023. On 7th April, we are releasing a 64-CD boxset including his complete Erato Recordings, and are also celebrating this wonderful conductor with two of his most emblematic albums to be released on vinyl: Purcell's King Arthur and Handel's Water Music. As John Eliot Gardiner converted his Monteverdi Orchestra to early instruments in the mid-1970s and renamed it the English Baroque Soloists, he engaged his magnificent instrumentalists, choir and a host of first-class soloists in the most emblematic works by "the Greatest Genius we [England] ever had": Henry Purcell! The reception was unanimously enthusiastic and led Diapason magazine to say: "Gardiner's reading of Purcell, dramatic, hyper-refined, sometimes burning, overwhelming, at all times enchanting, cannot escape the discography of the enlightened music lover. Purcell himself is there!" King Arthur was first staged at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London in mid-1691. It proved to be the most popular and enduring of all Purcell's stage works, and enjoyed revivals throughout the eighteenth century and beyond.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2020 release. Gautier Capu�on is recognised the world over as one of the most charismatic, enchanting and exuberant musicians performing today. He receives consistently high critical praise for his performances with the major orchestras and conductors across the globe, as well as for his recital and chamber music work at many of the world's most prestigious venues and festivals. A prolific recording artist, he records exclusively for Erato.

Alexandre Tharaud's relationship with film music runs deep - it also ranges wide. On his double album CINEMA, the French pianist delves into 50 celebrated film scores by composers from France, Italy, the USA, Japan, Poland, Romania and Lebanon - 19 in all. Among them are Michel Legrand, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Francis Lai, Marvin Hamlisch, Nino Rota and Philip Glass. As Tharaud says: "This album pays tribute to them with a selection of pieces for piano and orchestra and for piano solo, most in their original versions, creating a sound-world every bit as thrilling without the motion picture." The movie magic is reinforced by Tharaud's starry partners on the album: Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and making guest appearances are singers Vanessa Paradis, Cam�lia Jordana and Sabine Devieilhe, clarinettist Michel Portal and vioinist Nemanja Radulovic.

Renaud Capu�on recognises Vivaldi's Four Seasons as "a highlight of the violin repertoire", but It has taken him some time to add it to his discography. "For years, I refused to play it," he explains. "I'd heard it too much in the corridors of the M�tro in Paris and as holding music on the phone. But once I'd accepted to play it, I was blown away by the power of the music... I realised that it's famous because it's amazing! It's a masterpiece. I've now played it frequently with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and it feels fresh and new every time." He has chosen to complement Vivaldi's four concertos with two sparkling concertos composed in Paris some 40 years after Vivaldi's death. They are by Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799), born in Guadeloupe of French and African descent, who became a prominent and influential figure in Paris. He has been described in the New York Times as a composer who holds a "truly unique place in Western classical music history".

For his first album as an exclusive Erato artist, the French clarinettist Pierre Ge�nisson focuses on his instrument's most inspired 18th century advocate: Mozart. The centrepiece of his programme is the composer's sublime clarinet concerto. "The spiritual and symbolic scope of this concerto is immense," says Ge�nisson. "Every time I come back to this masterwork, I experience the same thrill as when I discover a piece for the first time... Mozart and the clarinet - what a special combination!" Ge�nisson is established as one of today's leading French wind instrumentalists. A multi-faceted soloist, and a frequent guest with orchestras around the world, he trained in Paris at the Conservatoire National Sup�rieur de Musique and in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. His repertoire ranges from Mozart to jazz by way of folk music, and his lively interest in new music has led to collaborations with a number of prominent composers. Collaborating on this album with the period instruments of Concerto K�ln and conductor Jakob Lehmann, Ge�nisson plays period clarinets, copies of instruments from Mozart's time, and modern clarinets specially crafted for the recording. The programme complements the sublime concerto with a number of shorter pieces. In two arias from La clemenza di Tito G�nisson partners mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes, but his clarinet also 'sings' the vocal lines in arrangements of numbers from Cos� fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro. Rounding out the album is a new arrangement by Bruno Fontaine of the 'Lacrimosa' from the Requiem, made for clarinet, organ and Fender Rhodes electric piano.