Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Erato Disques S.A. by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. 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's Te Deum 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[1] and French artists: Jean-François Paillard (234 records), Marie-Claire Alain (234 records), Maurice André (198 records), Jean-Pierre Rampal (127 records), and Lily Laskine.[2]
Conductors of Baroque music included Michel Corboz, Claudio Scimone and Marcel Couraud, while Theodor Guschlbauer conducted music of the classical period. Corboz also recorded numerous works by Claudio Monteverdi. Charles Dutoit, Jean Martinon and Alain Lombard conducted works from the standard orchestral repertory