Soon after writing his great works for piano and orchestra (available on VOX-NX-3018CD), Gershwin turned to his ‘tone poem for orchestra’, An American in Paris. With indelible themes, and masterly string writing, it remains one of his best-known works. Gershwin’s Rumba for orchestra, the vivacious Cuban Overture, was inspired by a visit to Havana. A few years later Porgy and Bess opened to mixed reviews in New York and Gershwin hoped to salvage some of the music in a suite that, when it was rediscovered in 1958 by Ira Gershwin, was called Catfish Row. These classic Vox recordings from 1974, performed by multiple Grammy-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin with the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, are newly remastered in high definition from the original master tapes.

The Elite Recordings for Vox by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

The recordings were originally released in 1974 and so are coming up to their 50th anniversary.

Produced by Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz these Vox recordings are acknowledged as Audiophile classics.

The booklet notes were written by the eminent writer Edward Jablonski who wrote The Gershwin Years (Doubleday, 1973) at around the same time the Vox recording was released; he subsequently wrote Gershwin in 1987, again for Doubleday.

Leonard Slatkin has recorded a huge body of music for Naxos including major American, French and Russian works and these recordings can be promoted.

He has won six Grammy Awards and received 35 nominations. He holds the National Medal of Arts and is a Chevalier in the French Legion of Honour.

‘This recording is mesmerising for start to end… If you are even remotely interested in Gershwin or American music, grab this set when you see it!’ – flyinginkpot.com

Classical Music edited by Alexander Morin, wrote of these performances that ‘The sound is magically warm – few digital sets surpass it… Slatkin conducts this music intellectually and with classical sophistication…always tasteful, and often meltingly lovely… The St. Louis Symphony plays the music like silk…’

‘Slatkin and the St. Louis' feel for Gershwin was unaffected and affectionate, and their interpretations here are delightful, exciting, and often quite captivating… and, in their magnificent Mobile Fidelity reissues, well worth hearing by anyone who loves Gershwin.’ – www.allmusic.com