Yves Robert

One of France and Europe's most distinguished film composers, Vladimir Cosma scored more than 150 films and TV productions. Although he enjoyed almost immediate success in comedies, he continued to experiment with different styles and genres, and this versatility brought him wide international acclaim.

From Rutebeuf to Aragon and Prévert, and including Villon, Baudelaire, Verlaine and Desnos, this anthology confirms the musical potential of French verse. Many composers, not the least of them being Fauré, Duparc, Debussy, Poulenc, Kosma, Ferré, Brassens or Gainsbourg, added their own images in music by weaving melody and harmony into the poems that spoke to their sensibilities. In so doing, as Aragon himself wrote, it was in this way that poetry, doubled with the magic of music, made it possible for us all to read by ear. Philippe LESAGE

Decca Classics commemorates the centenary of the death of Claude Debussy through a new anthology honoring French performers: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Pierre Boulez, Philippe Cassard, Régine Crespin, Jacques Février, Maurice Gendron, Hélène Grimaud, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Pierre Monteux, Pascal Rogé, Manuel Rosenthal, Gerard Souzay, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and many others.

The great musical border crosser of the twentieth century, George Gershwin excelled in the fields of concert music and popular song alike. The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, he was born Jacob Gershvin in Brooklyn on September 26, 1898. His father ran a great variety of small businesses, and George, in the words of the New Grove Dictionary of Music, "excelled at street sports." He also studied the piano and was introduced to the European classics by his teacher, Charles Hambitzer. Gershwin immersed himself in popular music after dropping out of school in 1914 and getting a job as a salesman for the music publisher Remick. He was influenced by ragtime and stride piano music, and as a songwriter enjoyed his first hit in 1920 with "Swanee," recorded by the leading vocalist of the time, Al Jolson.

Ambient & Downtempo label founded in 1999 by the owner of the sunset bar "Café Del Mar" in Ibiza.