Erato Records is a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

founded in 1953 as Disques Erato by Philippe Loury to promote

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Boston, and he made Erato's first recording in January 1953:

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

with Les Jeunesses Muslcales. Michel Garcin became the label's artistic director and producer and built up the catalogue with contemporary French composers such as Henri Dutilleux and French artists:

Jean-François Paillard Jean-François Paillard (12 April 1928 – 15 April 2013) was a French conductor. He was born in Vitry-le-François and received his musical training at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize in music history, and the Salzburg Moz ...

(234 records), Marie-Claire Alain (234 records), Maurice André (198 records),

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the Western concert flute, flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th ce ...

(127 records), and Lily Laskine.

Notable recordings

Erato released first recordings of * J S Bach's complete organ works, played by Marie-Claire Alain, in 1968 * J M Leclair's works, played by

, in 1978 * D Scarlatti's complete keyboard sonatas, played by

Scott Ross Scott Ross may refer to: * Scott Ross (film executive) (born 1951), Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Digital Domain (1993–2006); pioneer in digital entertainment * Scott Ross, interviewer for ''The 700 Club'' with ties to various 1960s and 1970s ro ...

, in 1988. *The world premiere of

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano Jr. (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His scores, now numbering over one hundred, have won him the Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, an ...

's Symphony No. 1, performed by the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

under

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

, in 1990

Warner acquisition

Erato was distributed in the US on the RCA Red Seal label for many years. In 1992, Erato was acquired by

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

. In 1999, Erato launched a subsidiary named

Detour Records __NOTOC__ A detour or (British English: diversion) is a (normally temporary) route taking traffic around an area of prohibited or reduced access, such as a construction site. Standard operating procedure for many roads departments is to route a ...

. A large prestige project, the Koopman Bach cantatas project, was canceled mid-way after Warner also acquired Teldec in 1998, although the Dutch conductor was able to buy back his recordings and finish the project on his own label. In 2001, Warner closed Erato.

Revival with Virgin Classics catalogue

In 2013, the label was revived with WEA’s acquisition of

EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded mus ...

and Virgin Classics, which became part of

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...

. Erato absorbed the Virgin Classics artists roster and catalogue (the EMI Classics label's artists roster and catalogue was absorbed into the Warner Classics label) but not the rights to the EMI or Virgin names.Warner clarifies future of EMI and Virgin Classics artists
/ref> In October 2013 several of Virgin Classics key artists—

Alexandre Tharaud Alexandre Tharaud (born 9 December 1968) is a French pianist. He is active on the concert stage and has released a large and diverse discography. Life and career Born in Paris, Tharaud discovered the music scene through his mother who was a danc ...

Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French singer, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, ...

, Diana Damrau, Renaud Capuçon, and Philippe Jaroussky—appeared on new Erato titles that had already been in production by Virgin Classics/EMI.

References

{{Authority control French record labels Classical music record labels Early music record labels Record labels established in 1953 Warner Music labels

Notable recordings

Warner acquisition

Revival with Virgin Classics catalogue

See also

References