Le meilleur d'une vie: Recordings 1958-1997

Maurice André's greatest recordings, made for Erato then EMI Classics (his two exclusive labels), are combined for the first time in a 3CD compilation. Forty years of legendary recordings: trumpet concertos, baroque hits, pieces for trumpet and organ, opera arias and all genres of music (from Gershwin to Cole Porter, from The Bridge on the River Kwai to Michel Legrand or La vie en rose).

As Herbert von Karajan is to conducting, Maurice André is to the world of the trumpet, fully embodying his instrument. He has sold millions of albums, was a great star, a regular on TV shows, and was known far beyond the classical audience. His kindness, simplicity and eloquence, combined with an outstanding technique and a passion for all repertoires, brought his peers to recognise him as the 'trumpeter of the century'. In a US poll in 2006, he was officially elected the world's best trumpet player, ahead of Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis.