Ravel: Boléro; Pavane pour une infante défunte [Enhanced]

On this CD:

1. Boléro, ballet for orchestra (or piano)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Jansug Kakhidze

2. Pavane pour une infante défunte, for piano (or orchestra)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra with Alexander Tachmanov
Conducted by Jansug Kakhidze

3. Rhapsodie espagnole for orchestra (or 2 pianos)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Jansug Kakhidze

4. Piano Concerto in G major Adagio assai
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Jansug Kakhidze

5. La valse, poème choréographique for orchestra (or piano)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Jansug Kakhidze

6. Daphnis et Chloé, suite No. 2 for orchestra Awakening
Composed by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra

Tracks:

Bolero
Alborada del gracioso
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): Prelude
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 1 Tableau: Andse du rouet et Scene
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 2 Tableau: Pavane de la Belle du bois dormant
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 3 Tableau: Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bete
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 4 Tableau: Petit Poucet
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 5 Tableau: Laideronette, Imperatrice des pagodes
Une Barque sur l'ocean
Rapsodie espagnole: Prelude a la nuit - Malaguena - Habanera - Feria

Tracks:

La Valse
Pavane pour une infante defunte
Le tombeau de Couperin: Prelude
Le tombeau de Couperin: Forlane
Le tombeau de Couperin: Menuet
Le tombeau de Couperin: Rigaudon
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Modere - Assez lent
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Modere - Assez anime
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Presque lent - Azzez vif
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Moins vif - Epilogue
Menuet antique
Fanfare pour 'L'Eventail de Jeanne
Daphnis et Chloe (Suite No. 2): Lever du jour
Daphnis et Chloe (Suite No. 2): Pantomime
Dapnis et Chloe (Suite No. 2): Danse generale

Customer Reviews:

Simply wonderful!.......2007-01-09

If you are a music buff like myself ( and I do like all kinds of music ), than what's not to like about The Boléro, by Ravel? And I don't buy into that hog-wash of a story that Ravel wrote this piece in the beginning of dementia...gimmie a break and give that man credit where credit is due.....The Boléro is a master piece! Ok...my review: It was a pleasure to shop for this Cd on Amazon ( after a disappointing search in a main music store )I found what I was looking for, ordered it and anxiously waited it's delivery, which was only about 5 days. The Cd was delivered in tip-top shape and I have enjoyed repeated plays of The Boléro! ( if it were an LP, the grooves would have been worn down by now! ) Today...it's back to classic rock for me. I would surely order from Amazon again!

quiet time reorganization of the mind.......2007-01-05

Have listened to this over the years from a teen who couldn't understand why anyone would write something so slow and repetitive, to a young married who now understood a vehicle for passion in a world filled with disraction, to a person who hears the joy and passion and struggles of a composer and appreciates the pain as a growth process for humans. Tenderly,hot,good stuff.More please.

Sumptuous.......2007-01-04

To heck with arguments about Elvis, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, etc. Ravel's Bolero was the first ever piece of rock music, so there. This version by Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony totally nails it, always been my favorite version. The trick is to not let things get over the top as the intensity heightens. Flawless readings of the Rapsodie Espagnole and La Valse to boot makes this an essential disc. This is all the evidence you need that Charles Dutoit is the greatest living Ravel interpreter.

You never have enough Ravel - just never........2006-01-15

This two disk set is one of those that you should add to your collection because it is wonderful music, sounds great, and is extremely affordable. Everyone knows and loves "Boléro". Commissioned by Ida Rubinstein as a ballet and premiered in 1928 was not a musical success. At another performance, led by Toscanini, Ravel complained that the tempo was too fast. Toscanini replied that it was the only way to save the work. But it soon became a mass success to Ravel's surprise and consternation. He felt they loved it for all the wrong reasons. The violinist Hélène Jourdan-Morhange relates this interesting story of one incident involving the work:

"Ravel was extremely surprised at the mass success of "Boléro" `They're going to turn it into another "Madelon", he said, rather crossly; and deep down he felt that the obsessive, musico-sexual element in the piece was probably behind its enormous popularity. But one old lady was proof against the contagion. Ravel's brother Edouard saw her, at the first performance, wedged tightly in her seat shouting above the applause `Rubbish! Rubbish!' Maurice, when informed by his brother, replied mysteriously: `That Old Lady got the message!'" from Ravel et nous 1945 page 166.

The other works on this disk are more substantive than the 15-minute crescendo and its constantly changing orchestral colors. The entire "Mother Goose" ballet - who doesn't love this? Although you usually here it performed as the suite. The "Rhapsodie Espagnol" is a favorite and delivers that wonderful Spanish flavor with a French sauce.

"Le tombeau de Couperin" and "Valses nobles et sentimentale" are orchestrations of major piano works (with some alterations in the tombeau) (there are other pieces on these disks that also began as piano works) that are probably more well known to the general public as orchestral works. However, they are very essential works in the pianist's repertoire, and I encourage you to get to know them in that form as well.

"La Valse" is really two things. There is a tribute to Johann Strauss. Ravel admitted that every composer wanted to write a very good waltz, but that it was very difficult. So, he wrote this symphonic waltz as a tribute. However, the second half is something else, is it not? There is decadence and a madness to it that seems like a nightmare to me. As if we are all trapped in this thing until everything falls apart with pain and loss into nothing. A fascinating piece.

There are other small and popular pieces on this disk that are all done well.

Recommended!

The Best of Ravel By Master Conductor And Orchestra.......2005-11-10

French-Canadian conductor Charles Dutoit and the Motneral Symphony Orchestra deliver what is the most musically satisfying collection of Ravel Bolero's French music. At a fine price, this is a fine jewel, with moments that sparkle and burn with a beautiful fire. The first track is of course the famous Bolero, with its hypnotic, singular theme that is expanded into a climatic crescendo which is overtly sexual, primal and sensuous. It was originally a ballet about a Spanish dancer (dancing the bolero of course) in a bawdy cafe. She is spurred on to dance even more erotically by the lusty men until we can assume the men can take no more. The Rhapsody Espagnole is an evocative portrait of Spain, with lyrical passages and tonal beauty. The Valse is another classic of French music of the early 20th century. Ravel's mother had died prior to the premiere. It is a slow, romantic waltz that escalates into a frenzied dance of death. In musical terms, there is nothing too different from La Valse and Bolero. They are both basically one motif that is repeated but changes in volume and pacing. The Pavane For A Dead Princess is my favorite work of his. It is possibly the most gorgeous funeral music one will ever hear. Far from being a melancholy piece, it is a stately, Renaissance-like work that pays homage to exoticism of the East and Romanticism of the West. The Dead Princess we assume is either Moorish or Spanish and the music is lilting and spiritual without ever reaching the heights of frustration or despair that Bolero or Valse take on. The Tomb of Couperin is also a funereal piece but its beauty lies in its imitation of Baroque music. Couperin was a Baroque composer of keyboard works. The music is aptly called neo-baroque or neoclassical since it was composed in the 20th century. This same style is embedded in Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales and Minuet Antique- all works that reflect the music of the Baroque and classical eras, an homage to Handel and Gluck. Daphne Et Cloe is perhaps his most ambitious work, as it expands on the Baroque classic and makes it more operatic and orchestrally grander. All fans of Ravel will want to own this recording. Dutoit knows this music down to a T and the orchestra captures nuance and subtlety in a variety of both light and dark textures. The music is brimming with life and the sound is crisp and beautifully remastered.

Average customer rating:

Ravels Greatest hits

Ravel: Greatest Hits

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

$6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

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Debussy's Greatest Hits
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Greatest Hits
Saint-Saëns: Greatest Hits
Grieg: Greatest Hits
Liszt: Greatest Hits

ASIN: B000002A27
Release Date: 1994-08-09

Tracks:

Bolero
Pavane For A Dead Princess
Alborada Del Gracioso
Rapsodie espagnole: Feria
Le tombeau de Couperin: Rigaudon
La Valse
Piece In The Form Of A Habanera
Mother Goose Suite: The Fairy Garden
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2: Daybreak
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2: Pantomime
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2: General Dance

Customer Reviews:

Ravels Greatest hits.......2007-07-20

Listen to the genuis of Ravel on a clean sounding recording that you can enjoy time and time again without deterioration.Be advised the recording levels are not dampened so dinner guests and headset wearers will certainly be awokened especially at the end of Bolero.If you listen closely the music pages can be heard turning ,nice sense of being there ,get the cd they dont make em like this anymore.

Average customer rating:

The only set you need
Outstanding performances at any price
More Evocative than some of Mahler's Symphonies
One stop shopping! Unparalleled Debussy, and excellent Ravel
In Debussy Martinon is unbeatble!

Debussy, Ravel: Orchestral Works
Claude Debussy , Jean Martinon , and Orchestre de Paris
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Strauss: Orchestral Works
Sibelius: The Complete Symphonies & Tone Poems
Liszt: Works for Piano and Orchestra
Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies
Stravinsky: Ballets; Stage Works; Orchestral Works

ASIN: B00006HM8X
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Tracks:

I: De L'aube A Midi Sur La Mer - Jean Martinon
II: Jeux De Vagues - Jean Martinon
III: Dialogue Du Vent Et De La Mer - Jean Martinon
I: Nuages - Jean Martinon
II: Fetes - Jean Martinon
III: Sirenes - Choeurs De L'Ortf
Prelude A L'apres-midi D'un Faune - Alain Marion
Marche Ecossaise - Jean Martinon
Berceuse Heroique - Jean Martinon
I: Fanfare - Jean Martinon
II: Le Sommeil De Lear - Jean Martinon

Tracks:

Jeux (Poeme Danse) - Jean Martinon
1. Gigues/2. Iberia - Jean Martinon
I: Par Les Rues Et Par Les Chemins - Jean Martinon
II: Les Parfums De La Nuit - Jean Martinon
III: Le Matin D'un Jour De Fete - Jean Martinon
3. Rondes De Printemps - Jean Martinon
Premiere Partie - Jean Martinon
Deuxieme Partie - Fabienne Boury

Tracks:

1. Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum - Jules Goetgheluck
2. Jimbo's Lullaby - Jules Goetgheluck
3. Serenade For The Doll - Jules Goetgheluck
4. The Snow Is Dancing - Jules Goetgheluck
5. The Little Shepherd - Jules Goetgheluck
6. Golliwoggs Cakewalk - Jules Goetgheluck
I: En Bateau - Jean Martinon
II: Cortege - Jean Martinon
III: Menuet - Jean Martinon
IV: Ballet - Jean Martinon
I: Danse Sacree - Marie-Claire Jamet
II: Danse Profane - Marie-Claire Jamet
I: Le Magasin De Jouets - Jean Martinon
II: Le Champ De Bataille - Jean Martinon
III: La Bergerie A Vendre - Jean Martinon
IV: Apres Fortune Faite - Jean Martinon

Tracks:

I: Andante - Allegro - Aldo Ciccolini
II: Lento E Molto Espressivo - Aldo Ciccolini
III: Allegro Molto - Aldo Ciccolini
La Plus Que Lente - John Leach
Premiere Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Avec Clarinette Principale - Guy Dangain
Rapsodie Pour Orchestre Et Saxophone Solo - Jean-Marie Loneix
Khamma - Fabienne Boury
Danse: Tarantelle Styrienne - Jean Martinon

Tracks:

Bolero - Marcel Galiegue
Une Barque Sur L'Ocean (Miroirs: No.3) - Orchestre De Paris
Prelude - Orchestre De Paris
Premier Tableau: Danse Du Rouet Et Scene - Orchestre De Paris
Deuxieme Tableau: Pavane De La Belle Au Bois Dormant - Orchestre De Paris
Interlude - Orchestre De Paris
Troisieme Tableau: Les Entretiens De La Belle Et De La Bete - Orchestre De Paris
Interlude - Orchestre De Paris
Quatrieme Tableau: Petit Poucet - Orchestre De Paris
Interlude - Orchestre De Paris
Cinquieme Tableau: Laideronnette, Imperatrice Des Pagodes - Orchestre De Paris
Interlude - Orchestre De Paris
Sixieme Tableau: Le Jardin Feerique - Orchestre De Paris
Alborada Del Gracioso (Miroirs: No.4) - Andre Sennedat
I: Prelude A La Nuit - Orchestre De Paris
II: Malaguena - Orchestre De Paris
III: Habanera - Orchestre De Paris
IV: Feria - Orchestre De Paris

Tracks:

Sheherazade: Ouverture De Feerie - Orchestre De Paris
La Valse (Poeme Choregraphique) - Orchestre De Paris
I: Prelude - Orchestre De Paris
II: Forlane - Orchestre De Paris
III: Menuet - Orchestre De Paris
IV: Rigaudon - Orchestre De Paris
Menuet Antique - Orchestre De Paris
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte - Michel Garcin-Marrou
1. Modere - Orchestre De Paris
2. Assez Lent - Orchestre De Paris
3. Modere - Orchestre De Paris
4. Assez Anime - Orchestre De Paris
5. Presque Lent - Orchestre De Paris
6. Assez Vif - Orchestre De Paris
7. Moins Vif - Orchestre De Paris
8. Epilogue: Lent - Orchestre De Paris

Tracks:

Introduction - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Religieuse - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Scene - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Generale - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Scene - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Grotesque De Dorcon - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Legere Et Gracieuse De Daphnis - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Scene - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Nocturne - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Lente Et Mysterieuse Des Nymphes - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Interlude - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Introduction - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danses Guerrieres Et Diverses - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Suppliante De Chloe - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Introduction - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Lever Du Jour - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Pantomime - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera
Danse Generale - Bacchanale - Choeurs Du Theatre National De L'Opera

Tracks:

Lento - Aldo Ciccolini
Piu Lento - Aldo Ciccolini
Allegro - Aldo Ciccolini
I: Allegramente - Jean-Claude Malgoire
II: Adagio Assai - Jean-Claude Malgoire
III: Presto - Jean-Claude Malgoire
Lento, Quasi Cadenza - Moderato - Itzhak Perlman

Amazon.com

At long last, Jean Martinon's classic EMI Debussy and Ravel cycles from the 1970s have been gathered in a space-saving, budget-priced box set. If you love this repertoire, you'll gasp with joy at the conductor's crystal-clear orchestral balances, which truly reproduce what you see in the printed music. If you respond to a lean, sinewy approach to this repertoire in the manner of Toscanini and Boulez, but pine for the timbral characteristics that used to distinguish French orchestras (silver-coated strings, tart woodwinds, and slightly watery brass) in gorgeous, vibrant sonics, Martinon's your man. Aldo Ciccolini's crisp, diamond-edged finger work stands out in Ravel's two piano concertos and in Debussy's rarely heard Fantasie. The young Itzhak Perlman's dazzling, effortless traversal of Ravel's Tzigane will humble many an aspiring fiddler. And you won't find a more sparkling, translucent Ravel Mother Goose Suite on record. Martinon was a marvel, and a sadly underrated podium giant. Grab this set while you can. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

The only set you need.......2006-01-13

After owning dozens of Debussy, Ravel recordings, all I can say is ,
if you have this set, no need to look further.
My Ingelbrecht sets are good, but Martinon is better.
Forget the Munch and Monteaux, Bernsteins, Levine, Karajan (UUCCKKKK) etc etc.

Outstanding performances at any price.......2005-04-28

This boxed set provides a comprehensive collection of the orchestral works of both Debussy and Ravel. Jean Martinon conducts the Orchestre National de l'ORTF in the Debussy and the Orchestre de Paris in the Ravel pieces. The sound is stunning, and the performances are extraordinarily engaging. I have other sets of music by these composers (Simon and the Philharmonia Orchestra for the Debussy) Michal Tilson Thomas and the LSO as well as Boulez and the Berlin Philharmonic for some of the Ravel pieces (Boulez and the NY Phil for Daphnis and Chloe) but these other sets do not contain all the music in the 8 CDs by Martinon and his orchestras. I agree with the other reviewers who find the Debussy especially compelling. I am listening to La Mer now, and the recording captures the performance perfectly, clearly separating the horns, strings and woodwinds and providing a great balance. This is a very dramatic reading of La Mer! However, I find the Ravel performances equally inspired. The Daphnis and Chloe performance is tremendously exciting, and the ballet Ma Mere l'Oye is exquisite. When I decided to buy this set, I was looking for performances that would give me new insight into familiar works and also introduce me to some musical treats like Debussy's La Boite a Joujoux. I was not disappointed. This set is not just a bargain, it's a real treasure!

More Evocative than some of Mahler's Symphonies.......2005-01-25

I can't exactly visualise the oils of the French impressionists when hearing these pieces. But I do know what the other reviewer is talking about and the point is well made. They are so inspiring and evocative that they touch your heart strings perhaps deeper than most of Mahler's symphonies despite Mahler's gigantic orchetrations! The recorded sound is excellent: and the conductor is obviously gifted and the orchestra is just beautiful despite the fact that I am no big fan of either Ciccolini or Perlman. Believe it or not, in Hong Kong HK Records and HMV are selling the boxset at about 60% of the listed price in US: a real bargain. Grap it while it is still available, particularly those who live in HK.

One stop shopping! Unparalleled Debussy, and excellent Ravel.......2004-11-21

I've treasured both of these cycles since the 1970s when both appeared in single LP installements, each one eagerly awaited with deserved anticipation. To get them both in outstanding remasterings in a bargain priced box set is almost unthinkable. I'd pay twice the price, even more, if I had to for these recordings.

Other recordings of individual works may excel these, like Karajan's La Mer, or Monteux's Daphnis, Haitink's Nocturnes, and so on. But when listened to in such consistent interpretations as these from Jean Martinon, the works as a whole take on a different dimension. Each work is like a chapter in a novel, and they all weave together to make a very satisfying experience that is quite different than one gets with just the individual compositions.

That is especially true of the Debussy.

Two different Orchestras are represented. The Debussy are performed by the French National Orchestra, the Ravel by the more well known Orchestre De Paris, an orchestra that made recordings in those days with such notables as Kerbert von Karajan and Seiji Ozawa. The Debussy, though is actually better executed. The ensemble is tighter, the string tone more sumptuous.

The Debussy has no competition for completeness. No other conductor has traversed the entire orchestral output with the thoroughness that Martinon has. Boulez is probably the closest available. I think very highly of the Boulez recordings, especially the newer ones for DG. But the interpretations lack the unity and consistency that Martinon maintains throughout the cycle.

There is more competition with the Ravel, though. When issued, the cycle was met equally by an excellent set from the Minnesota Orchestra under Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, which came in a box at a lower price. Again, Martinon won my heart for his consistency. The Skrowaczewski was better executed by the Minnesota Orchestra than Martinon's Orchetre De Paris. The EMI sound was better, but back then the quality of the Angel LPs was terrible, so the Skrowaczewski go tthe nod for technical superiority unless you were fortunate enough to get your hands on more expensive import copies of the Martinon. There was a cycle from Ozawa on DG also, but artistically it could not match up with the other two. When CDs were introduced, along came Charles Dutoit and the Montreal SO on London/Decca. And they came with a huge splash and acclaim. I puked! and I have always puked when I hear Dutoit conduct anything, with maybe one or two exceptions. Dutoit makes Ravel sound too smooth and glossy. I do give the Decca engineers great credit for the sound (though the Daphnis gets my vote as the worst CD ever produced, being that it was 55 minutes long with no tracks or indexes!).

Now that EMI have so excellently remastered the Martinon recordings though,the choice for a complete set of the orchestral works is very clear. The experience of Martinon's unified consistent interpretations is not quite the same with Ravel as it is with Debussy, partly owing to a less well formed vision from that composer than Debussy. Debussy was more rigid in his world view and musical thought throughout his life, whereas Ravel wavered in many different directions.

When you consider the price, there no reason to think twice about this set. The accompanying booklet is not extremely comprehensive, but adequate enough.

In Debussy Martinon is unbeatble!.......2004-07-31

Jean Martinon is the last director really inmersed in the impresionist mood . His performances are deeply inspired and above all idiomatic . Marie Claire Jamet in the Sacred Dances is absolutely comitted with the elusive forms and pagan enchantment.
Martinon belonged to that hard to find status conductor who really know to engage with the composer mood . So when he played his music the results were overwhelming . He had a enormous gift to suggest . I still remind The Prokoviev seventh symphony with the Chicago Symphony and I can not get another first movement so well performed , for instance .
Back to Debussy he combines the charm and nuance with that incorporean and elusive approach that Debussy and Ravel demands . I state a parallel (if I may) between Martinon - Debussy and Beecham - Delius in what idiomatism concerns .
When Martinon performs Debussy the paintings of Matisse , Monet and Manet seem to awake and come to our mind .
The prientemps and the children 's corner are absolutely of first rate . The clarinet rhapsody is the best in the market .
In the images I prefer the Ansermet version , but the whole set is fundamental if you enjoy the orchestral music of Debussy.
Notice I have not mentioned Ravel works . I have another name in Ravel : Andre Cluytens . But this is out of context.

Ravel: Bolero; La Valse; etc. [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

Ravel, Minnesota, Skrowaczewski: YES: Treasures from the Past
Sheer Brilliance
Superb-Stands along Boulez!!!!
Nothing else even close!
Bravo Mobile Fidelity!

Ravel: Bolero; La Valse; etc. [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity Koch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suites; Ma Mère l'Oye; Valses nobles et sentimentales [Hybrid SACD]
Holst: The Planets [Hybrid SACD]
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)
Bach: The Four Great Toccatas and Fugues [SACD]
Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary Edition

ASIN: B0000ADXG2
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Customer Reviews:

Ravel, Minnesota, Skrowaczewski: YES: Treasures from the Past.......2006-05-16

Remember the brief, good old days of quad? Various labels, Vox included, were experimenting with ways to get four channel sound out of the long-playing vinyl platter. I believe the old USA RCA label had a discrete four channel system that actually cut four separate channels into the otherwise 2-sided LP groove. This meant you had to have a special cartridge/needle combo to safely ride and reproduce the four tracks cut into the groove. Never took off. Others, EMI and Vox among them choose the matrixed sound path, rather like the ways FM radio was matrixing a stereo signal into its carrier waves, so that your home receiver could decode it down to two channels in your home.

A complete set of the Ravel orchestral music was recorded in Minnesota with the era's music director, Stanislav Skrowaczewski. Like the golden era recordings of the old Mercury Golden Presence label, the engineers adopted a deliberate minimalist miking strategy. Once they found what they thought was the sweet spot, they just left the microphones alone, and let Ravel and the orchestra do the rest. Then we got these wonderful performances, highly lauded from the moment they hit the streets, on vinyl with four channels of matrixed sound. You could listen in regular stereo, or if you had the matrix decoder, get four.

Now we are really well into the surround sound era, thanks mainly to how home theater got all of us to finally upgrade our hardware. Since we already have the equipment for movies, and now for HD television; we have little reason not to let our music collections into the mix. And, voila. These master tapes revive, standing up to something like their original audible stature, thanks to the new high resolution Superaudio format. Pentatone is doing something similar to what Mobil Fidelity is doing here, with those almost forgotten quad master tapes; and what a nice surprise - the sound couldn't be better.

The Minnesota Orchestra of the era wasn't particularly known for its French tradition or influences as such. If anything, the Boston Symphony had inherited that crown prince designation when Koussevitsky arrived from Paris, bringing star French players with him. Then Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch helped maintain that legacy once the big K was gone. The Jean Martinon period in Chicago never really took root, and so as time passed, the Montreal Symphony and Charles Dutoit inherited the nomination for outstanding French orchestra outside of France. Nevertheless, these are utterly superb captures of a sophisticated Ravelian orchestral fabric - replete with finesse, sheen, silver - all polished to high gloss. This will remind one perhaps of the famous Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, reflecting light in all directions. And raising almost metaphysical questions of just what is real, and what is reflection, in the cross-hatch of all the refracted light.

Skrowaczewski knows well enough to let Ravel speak, without intruding. No mannerisms or oddities mar the music, either at the musical surfaces or in the melancholy or grotesque, subtle depths lurking beneath their polish. Tempos are consistently well chosen for the piece at hand. Some may at first hear the warhorse Bolero at too slow a pace, but comparison with the extant old version conducted by the composer in person would show that this slower, more languorous tempo is what Ravel himself adopted. There is still plenty of flash and fire in this Bolero, but also lots of that French intoxication with all things North African. Tourists are still going to far places to smoke kif and indulge in love-making with the local service industry that still knows where to find them.

Whatever you may think of French tourists smoking kif or the more hedonistic undergrounds in the North African tourist industry - As music: This is all simply marvelous to hear, especially in surround sound that finally yields up for our ears what has been sleeping on these old master tapes, all along.

Of course, this disc offers more than Bolero done with a slow, knowing hand that feels what it is reaching out to touch, namely, you. The Rhapsody, La Valse, Pavane, and Daphnis et Chloe suite no. 2 are the real point. Each of these works is simply so fine that they make Ravel's case as one of the acknowledged Great Composers of the West, all over again. What a felicity that Vox had the imagination and guts to go to Minneapolis, and get all this down, just when the other major labels had seemingly forgotten that Minnesota ever had a great orchestra. These Ravel performances will wear extremely well, no matter who else does them in surround sound and high resolution superaudio or dvd-audio. The only sad thing about this disc is when it inevitably ends, having played through. One could only have wished that Vox had been willing to get the full score of Daphnis from these sessions, the recording of the suites is so very finely done.

(You will find a second equally fine disc from these Minnesota sessions, also in surround sound superaudio from Mobile Fidelity. Plus, you can get their St. Louis sessions with Walter Susskind, which captured a very fine Smetana cycle of Ma Vlast, along with a rich and dramatic vision of Holst's Planets suite for large orchestra. Do not diss Susskind, by the way, because he was highly regarded by other musicians, including the likes of Ginette Niveau, Heifitz, Rubinstein, Milstein, Firkusny, Ricci, and Artur Schnabel. Nor is St. Louis confined to being a regional band: it is one of USA's oldest orchestras.)

Five stars. Is that enough? Hardly. This disc and its companion are simply among the true peaks in the mountain ranges of the history of recorded music. They may be equaled, but probably will never be bettered. Very highly recommended. Indeed.

Sheer Brilliance.......2005-08-12

There are not enough words in the English language to describe how good this performace is. The quality of the recording is also quite good. If you are looking for the definitive version of Ravel's masterpiece, you have just found it.

Superb-Stands along Boulez!!!!.......2005-07-31

What a tremendous SACD.
So well done. Worth every penny I paid.
Even my wife said she enjoyed it!!
Great Service!!!!

Nothing else even close!.......2005-06-14

I know you already have 3 Boleros, but you haven't heard it until you get this one, to say nothing of La Valse and over an hour of other gorgeous Ravel. Flawless in every way: exciting, beautifully recorded and totally engaging.

Bravo Mobile Fidelity!.......2003-09-29

My God! So this is how Bolero should be heard :) A remarkable and tasteful debut into the universe of classical surround sound by a traditionally rock oriented audiophile leader. At times bombastic, ominous, and spine tingling. . . & for an Encore?

Average customer rating:

Wonderful interpretations of Ravel music
Everything is good but Le Tombeau de Couperin

Ravel: Orchestral Works

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Serge Koussevitzky conducts Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D Op. 25 "Classical"; Danse finale from Chout, Op. 21bis / Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Op. 7 / Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini Op. 32
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 "Pastoral" [Hybrid SACD]
Dvorák: Symphony No. 8; Cello Concerto

ASIN: B000001GHS
Release Date: 1995-05-16

Tracks:

Bol - Tempo di Bolero moderato assai
Rapsodie espagnole: Prde a Nuit: TrMod
Rapsodie espagnole: Malaguena: Assez Vif - Assez Lent
Rapsodie espagnole: Habanera: Assez Lent et d'un Rythme Las
Rapsodie espagnole: Feria: Assez anim Trmod - De plus en plus anim
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Mod
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Assez lent
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Mod
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Assez Anim
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Presque Lent
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Assez Vif
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Moins Vif
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Epilogue: Lent
Ma M L'Oye: Prde: TrLent - Anim
Ma M L'Oye: Danse du Rouet et Sc: Allegro - TrLent
Ma M L'Oye: Pavane De La Belle Au Bois Dormant: Lent
Ma M L'Oye: Les Entretiens de La Belle et de La B - Mouvement de Valse Mod
Ma M L'Oye: Petit Poucet: Trmod
Ma M L'Oye: Laideronnette, Imptrice des Pagodes Mouvement de Marche
Ma M L'Oye: Le Jardin Fique: Lent et Grave

Tracks:

Menuet antique - Maestoso
Le tombeau de Couperin: Prelude: Vif
Le tombeau de Couperin: Forlane: Allegretto
Le tombeau de Couperin: Menuet: Allegro moderato
Le tombeau de Couperin: Rigaudon: Assex vif Moins vif - Assex vif
La Valse
Alborada del Gracioso
Une Barque sur l'Ocean
Pavane pour une infante defunte
Daphnis et Chloe
Daphnis et Chloe
Daphnis et Chloe

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful interpretations of Ravel music.......2006-03-16

This double decker DG release of the Ravel Orchestral works with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony are first rate recordings. This was my first exposure really to Ravel as a child and have since amassed recordings of various works by great conductors of his music including Abbado, Boulez, Martinon, and Previn. This collection still remains to be a favorite of mine.

I suspect that they are a favorite of mine in large part due to the fact that Mr. Ozawa was fresh in Boston having recently taken the helm there in the early 1970's. They are light, dynamic, fast-paced, exciting, not to mention the incredible recording techniques of the DG engineers.

My favorites in this collection include Alborada, La Valse, Rhapsodie, and of course Daphnis et Chloe Suite No.2. What I especially love about this Daphnis is that Seiji did not opt out of the chorus for the suite like so many conductors do. It really adds to the impressionistic sound that Ravel was so famous for.

As a percussionist myself , i found the section to be played cleanly - and these recordings bring out all the nuances without overpowering. The section simply sparkles. On the whole - the BSO (in my opinion) really stand up to their European counterparts.

I highly recommend this set - treat yourself and pick it up.

Everything is good but Le Tombeau de Couperin.......2001-04-30

I had never heard of Seiji Ozawa before I purchased this double-CD set. I can't say that I am awe-struck, but I am not disappointed.

Tracks:

Bolero - Leonard Slatkin
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte - Ravel
Daphins Et Chloe - Ravel

Customer Reviews:

Another Masterfull TELARC.......2000-11-21

I have owned this Ravel by TELARC for several years. One of the best recordings of Bolero ever! TELARC does it right, the Saint Louis Symphony gets this rendition so right this is the defacto standard for Bolero perfomances and Digital recordings. YOU MUST ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION NOW. Then put this CD away for that evening when you are alone with someone special. Enjoy!!

Ravel: Bolero; Rapsodie Espagnole; Pavane; Alborada del Gracioso; Daphnis et Chloe, Suite no. 2

Average customer rating:

Authoratative Ravel

Ravel: Bolero; Rapsodie Espagnole; Pavane; Alborada del Gracioso; Daphnis et Chloe, Suite no. 2

Manufacturer: Erato
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Daphnis et Chloe: Deuxieme Suite: Lever du Jour - Pantomime - Danse generale
Rapsodie espagnole: I. Prelude
Rapsodie espagnole: II. Malaguena
Rapsodie espagnole: III. Habanera
Rapsodie espagnole: IV. Feria
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
Alborada Del Gracioso
Bolero

Customer Reviews:

Authoratative Ravel.......2000-08-29

This disc is a collection of Some of Ravel's best and most famous works for orcestra: Suite no. 2 of Daphnis et Chloe, Rhapsodie Espagnole, Pavane, Alborada del Gracioso, and, of course, Bolero.

Daphnis et Chloe started out as a full ballet with an orchestra and choir. The ballet itself was never very popular, but the last part of the music (with or without the voices), also known as Suite no. 2, has had continuing success. It starts out with the most amazing musical representation of dawn I have ever heard, moves into a long flute solo (beautifully played here by Donald Peck), then into a boisterous dance in 5/4 meter. The subtleties of the music here are excellently captured by Barenboim; it is clear simply in this first track that he is a conductor very sensitive to the music.

Next comes Rhapsodie Espagnole, or Spanish Rhapsody. The prelude, with its constant overlay of E D# C# C is followed by the wonderfully spanish sounding Malagueña. Then comes a pensive Habanera, then the dance-like Feria. The whole Rhapsody is performed with precision.

My favorite tracks on the disc follow. First is the exquisite Pavane pour une Infante Defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess). Pavane, as most of Ravel's orchestral pieces, started out as a piece for piano. He wrote it while he was somewhat young, and it became a worldwide favorite, which it should have. Toward the end of his career freed it to the orchestra. The orchestral version is twice as exquisite as the original, and here is presented with such delicacy and pathos that it is not to be missed.

Next is a piece that began life in a piano suite entitled "Miroirs", Alborada del Gracioso, which in Spanish roughly means "The Comedian's morning song". This piece, like the Malagueña of the Rhapsody, sounds so delightfully Spanish with its triplets and rhythms that it makes you want get up and move. Barenboim's interpretation stays on tempo and the entirity of the fast sections simply dance in themselves and not a note is missed, even in the impossible repeated triplets (which are especially hard for pianists playing the original, such as myself). The slow section is wonderfully melancholic and the ending makes one fully aware as to why the piece has the title it does.

Tracks:

Bolero: Tempo di bolero, moderato assai
La Valse - Poeme Choregraphique: Mouvement de valse viennoise - Un peu plus modere - 1st mouvement - Assez anime
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G major: 1. Allegramente
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G major: 2. Adagio assai
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G major: 3. Presto
Rapsodie espagnole: 1. Prelude a la nuit. Tres modere
Rapsodie espagnole: 2. Malaguena. Assez vif
Rapsodie espagnole: 3. Habanera. Assez lent et d'un rythme las
Rapsodie espagnole: 4. Feria. Assez anime
Jeux D'Eau: Tre doux
Pavane pour une infante defunte

Tracks:

Daphnis et Chloe - Fragments symphoniques - 2e serie: 1. Lever du jour. Lent
Daphnis et Chloe - Fragments symphoniques - 2e serie: 2. Pantomime. Lent - Tres lent - Vif - Tres lent
Daphnis et Chloe - Fragments symphoniques - 2e serie: 3. Danse generale. Lent - Anime
Gaspard de la nuit - Trois poemes pour piano d'apres Aloysius Betrand: 1. Ondine. Lent
Gaspard de la nuit - Trois poemes pour piano d'apres Aloysius Betrand: 2. Le Gibet. Tres lent
Gaspard de la nuit - Trois poemes pour piano d'apres Aloysius Betrand: 3. Scarbo. Modere
Trio For Piano, Violin And Violoncello In A Minor: 1. Modere
Trio For Piano, Violin And Violoncello In A Minor: 2. Pantoum. Assez vif
Trio For Piano, Violin And Violoncello In A Minor: 3. Passacaille. Tres large
Trio For Piano, Violin And Violoncello In A Minor: Finale. Anime
Tzigane - Rapsodie de concert pour violon et orchestre: Lento, quasi cadenza - Moderato - Allegro - Moderato - Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Taste-ful!!.......2004-06-11

This is a very tasteful collection of performances of Ravel's music, and that's perhaps the greatest compliment I can give it.
Ravel's fastidiousness was legendary, and no matter where his music goes, the taste that one applies to how it gets there is the key element in judging the performance.
There's a lot of good stuff here from surprising sources. You expect the Martha Argerich performances to be of the highest order, and they are. I don't think I've ever heard any pianist
get to the core of Ravel's music while overcoming its technical
and interpretive challenges with quite the grace that she does.
Those these pieces (the Piano Concerto in G, Jeux d'eau and her astounding Gaspard de la nuit) are available on other CD's, but they shine here in particularly brilliant relief to the orchestral pieces which are the bulk of the program. The word for her playing here is SPELLBINDING.
The surprises come from unexpected sources. One does not usually link the big, robust orchestral sonorities one associates
with the Berlin Philharmonic under Karajan with the delicacy and precision of Ravel's music happily. Yet, this performance of "Bolero" works very well. Karajan reins in those usual big sonorities and holds them for the very end, while building his
orchestral forces with infinite care and precision from a tiny opening pianissimo into one long, carefully graded crescendo. It makes you sit up straight and pay attention to this piece as if you're hearing it for the first time.
Pierre Boulez' approach with the same orchestra to La Valse, is full of sunlight, fresh air and the magic of childhood. La Valse was Ravel's valedictory work for his mother, and Boulez
communicates all the magic of maternal love in this performance.
A gem, by any standard.
Seiji Ozawa's long, protacted tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony had many ups and downs, both commercially (lack of any steady recording contract for the first time in the orchestra's history) and artistically. Because recordings of the BSO under Ozawa were sporadic, one tends to forget what a really marvelous orchestra it was and is, and the wonderful sensitivity and sensibility Ozawa could bring to bear on particular works, particularly the French repetoire. The performances he leads here are all wonderfully shaded pastel colors, scents of dozens of flowers, delicate raindrops against
window panes, the memories of simple treasures you hold onto for life.

This is a really marvelous collection. Listen to it and fall in love with Ravel, and fall in love with life.

Good selection!.......2002-10-26

This reviewer would have to disagree with the previous review. I believe the selection is appropriate for this type of collection. To have both Piano Concerti on the compilation wouldn't be very tasteful. The most important things were there - Daphne et Chloe, Gaspard de la Nuit, Tzigane, G Major Piano Concerto, and everything else. I would be highly disappointed if any these were missing. The performers all do a 1st rate job except for Accardo's Tzigane. I prefer Joshua Bell for this beast. And of course, Argerich, the all mighty herself - to not have her representing the Concerto and Gaspard de la Nuit would be a travesty. All this coming from a Ravel fanatic who has played his complete works for piano!

Average customer rating:

Paavo Järvi Conducts Ravel

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0001BS3I4
Release Date: 2004-02-24

Tracks:

Lever Du Jour (Daybreak)
Pantomime
Danse Generale (General Dance)
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
La Valse
Pavane De La Belle Au Bois Dormant
Petit Poucet
Laideronnette, Imperatrice Des Pagodes
Les Entretiens De La Belle Et De La Bete
Le Jardin Feerique
Bolero

Amazon.com

This gorgeously recorded disc might have been called "Ravel Favorites," and, indeed, it's a collection of some of the composer's most beloved works. The second Daphnis et Chloe Suite's performance is notable for the thrilling way in which it is focused towards the final dance. "Daybreak" is a bit understated, but its gentleness, we realize, is just right within the context of the build-up towards the finale. "La Valse" features lovely string playing without any annoying "schmaltzy" mannerisms, and the famous "Pavane" is warm and composed. "Bolero" has been led by other conductors with more of a maniacal upsurge; here it is only the last few minutes which are gripping. Perhaps Järvi should have taken the whole piece a bit more slowly? Five Nursery Songs from the Mother Goose Suite are a delight: childlike in their directness, each a magical little gem. In short, this collection is handsomely performed but a bit tame; a really good buy is the Dutoit set on Decca, which has all of these pieces and more. --Robert Levine

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