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ÉLAN Recordings, established in 1985, has achieved a reputation for excellence in the recording industry. Praised for its "high standards of quality in performance and recorded sound," (Joseph McLellan, Washington Post), ÉLAN specializes in innovative programming, allowing the performer artistic control over repertoire. This approach produces a rapport between ÉLAN and the artist which results in CDs of the highest caliber. REPERTOIRE The objective of the artist and ÉLAN in selecting repertoire for recording is to issue compact discs of the highest caliber which will appeal to the CD consumer. To this end, ÉLAN releases often feature works which are either new or infrequently recorded. World premiere recordings have included Alberto Ginastera's Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 53 (CD 2202), Reflejos de la Noche by Mario Lavista (CD 2234), and Julian Orbon's String Quartet (CD 2234). One of ÉLAN's continuing best sellers is Spanish Album (CD 2206) which contains the only complete compact disc recording of the Andalucia Suite of Ernesto Lecuona. Piano in Hollywood (CD 82268) features Santiago Rodriguez and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, William Hudson, conductor, performing classic piano concertos from the movies. Several of these concertos have never before been recorded. Our release, this summer, of the duo-piano works of French composer Germaine Tailleferre (CD 82278) was selected as "Editor's Choice" by Gramophone in November 1997. The publication of many of the pieces on this disc post-dates the recording. ÉLAN also records works which are part of the popular mainstream, but only if the recording can be accomplished at the highest possible level of interpretation and performance. An example of such an achievement is ÉLAN CD 2220, which features Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, and Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26, both performed by Santiago Rodriguez with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Emil Tabakov. Musical America describes this release as one of the five best recordings ever made of the Rachmaninov concerto, and the Prokofiev was selected by National Public Radio in its Guide to Building a Basic CD Library (1994). Similarly, ÉLAN has issued a compact disc featuring the same artists performing three of the most popular concertos in today's repertoire Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Liszt. This recording has met with both sales success and critical acclaim. Both the Tchaikovsky and Liszt performances were selected by NPR in the Guide to Building a Basic CD Library; Ted Libbey writes that "the inclusion of a brilliant account of the Grieg A minor Concerto makes this disc a decided bargain."
One of ÉLAN's recent catalog additions is the re-release of historic recordings.
To date we have CD 82266 of pianist Earl Wild performing the Paderewski and
Scharwenka concertos and CD 82276 with Raymond Lewenthal performing Alkan
and Liszt. Several new CDs will be included in this category in 1998. ÉLAN Recordings is dedicated to producing only the highest quality recordings which will appeal to the widest range of CD audiences, from the occasional purchaser to the serious collector. For additional information about ÉLAN releases as well as critical reviews, please refer to the individual CDs in our catalog which is included on this web page along with the opportunity to order.
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