In full neoclassic mode as in the opening bars of 'Les Biches,' Francis Poulenc sounds quite a bit like Igor Stravinsky. (It's the predominance of wind instruments and the careful attention to instrumental voicing.) He shifts modes easily, and the shadow of Stravinsky disappears as smoothly as it came. Poulenc has often been taken to be a composer of trifles, of light music. His elegance and wit came at a time when music had to be profound and atonal to be taken seriously. Yet in Paris between the wars, Poulenc's music fared well. Each of his works is an evocative, tuneful jewel, unabashedly tonal yet filled with inventive chromatic turns.

DG present a new recording of fascinating repertoire completely new to the Universal Music catalogue: Symphonies No. 1–3 by George Enescu, plus his most well-known works, the Romanian Rhapsodies. GRAMMY® Award winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru, Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival, and his Orchestre National de France are the perfect ambassadors for the symphonic works by Enescu (1881–1955). Enescu, composer and violin virtuoso was teacher of Yehudi Menuhin, lived in Romania, the US and France. Inspired by the musical heritage of his home country he created a completely unique oeuvre. Pablo Casals called him „The most amazing musician since Mozart“. And while the Romanian Rhapsodies (especially No.1) included here are much loved, the three symphonies are yet to be discovered as truly centre pieces of the symphonic repertoire.

Beyond their brilliant virtuosity and craftsmanship, Camille Saint-Saëns’s epic Piano Concerto No. 2 and irresistibly exotic No.5 (‘Egyptian’) invite listeners on a riveting and richly imaginative journey. Hailed ‘the new French prince of the piano’ (Diapason), Bertrand Chamayou also reveals a more intimate side to the great composer-pianist, exploring the hidden charm and secret sensuality of his rarely-heard etudes and solo piano miniatures.

The music of Ravel is especially close to Alexandre Tharaud’s heart. Now, in partnership with the Orchestre National de France and conductor Louis Langrée, he has recorded both the composer’s piano concertos, pairing them with Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain), Manuel de Falla’s sumptuous work for piano and orchestra. “Ravel’s Concerto in G major is fresh and Mozartian in its colours, while his Concerto for the Left Hand is haunted by dark shades and suppressed fears,” says Tharaud. Both concertos were premiered in 1932. “Characteristically for Ravel, they are simultaneously unique and alike.

This 7CD set is the fruit of the love affair that developed in Paris between Leonard Bernstein and the Orchestre National de France in the 1970s. Beside long-admired studio recordings, featuring Mstislav Rostropovich and Alexis Weissenberg among the soloists, it presents live performances completely new to the catalogue: a 1975 programme to celebrate Ravel’s centenary – with Bernstein himself as soloist in the G major piano concerto – and orchestral suites taken from two of Bernstein’s most celebrated and brilliant works, both infused with jazz: the film score On the Waterfront and the landmark Broadway musical West Side Story.