Throughout her career, internationally heralded harpist Yolanda Kondonassis has found herself fascinated by the luscious creations of French composer Maurice Ravel. Ravel: Intimate Masterpieces is a celebration of Kondonassis' longtime love of Ravel's music, and a celebration of the great roster of Oberlin Conservatory of Music talent that came together with her to record the album on campus in January 2013. 'This disc is especially meaningful because I was able to make it with such wonderful players and to celebrate the wealth of artistry and musical opportunity that lives at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music,' says Kondonassis.

REVIEW:

This CD is something of a birthday present of Ondine to itself—one that’s well deserved, I think. I hadn’t come across Marius Constant’s orchestration of Gaspard de la nuit, undertaken in 1990, before this recording. André Thomas’s booklet notes explain that Constant (1925–2004) was “tormented by a youthful obsession” when he sat down to the task. “I further increased the challenge to myself by deliberately choosing a Ravel-like instrumentation (the orchestra of La valse, in fact). However, I used the orchestra in new combinations, attempting to broaden its range of sonorities (thus breaking in passing certain persistent taboos in orchestration).” Constant succeeded brilliantly, Christoph Eschenbach obviously taking a physical delight—as I did and you can—in the virtuoso washes of sound that fly through the orchestra. The three movements of Gaspard are prefaced by the Aloysius Betrand poems that inspired Ravel’s piano originals, read in sexy-schoolmistress French by Carole Bouquet. Of the four other Ravel orchestral works, it’s the Alborado del gracioso that really cooks: Eschenbach draws a swaggeringly exciting account from his Paris players, who are duly more decorous in Le tombeau de Couperin, the rarely heard Menuet antique, and the ubiquitous Pavane. Small wonder that the audience erupts at the end of the Alborado—but this is the first signal of their presence; you wouldn’t know until now that these are live recordings. Ondine presents a “bonus track”—Tzimon Barto playing “Ondine,” the first movement of Gaspard, in its original piano incarnation.

For Constant’s extraordinarily imaginative orchestral realization of Gaspard alone, this disc is worth the outlay (it’s in demonstration sound, too). But there’s a feel-good factor, too: everyone involved—the orchestra, the artists, the publishers, and Ondine, have forsworn a portion of their earnings from the disc in favor of the Musée Maurice Ravel, in his house in Monfort l’Amaury, west of Paris, “to aid in the restoration and maintenance of the museum.”

-- Martin Anderson, Fanfare

Ravel' masterpiece, Daphnis et Chloe, was composed for the Ballets Russes and premiered in 1912. Ravel described his sumptuous score, for large orchestra, wind machine and wordless chorus, as "a choreographic symphony in three parts�.

Sensuous, lushly evocative and intricately constructed, Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé is widely regarded as his greatest orchestral masterpiece and one of the 20th century’s finest ballet scores. This vast musical fresco with its shimmering harmonies, magical diaphanous textures and spectacular conclusion is compellingly realised by Gustavo Gimeno and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg in this eagerly awaited release from PENTATONE. The album also contains the haunting and exquisite Pavane pour une infante défunte and the vividly scored Une barque sur l'océan. Stravinsky regarded Daphnis et Chloé as “not only Ravel’s best work, but also one of the most beautiful products of French music” and it’s easy to see why. Written with consummate finesse for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes, this “choreographic symphony” is an intoxicating blend of warm, seductive harmonies and passionate intensity, realised on a large orchestral canvas. Three movements have become perennially popular: the luxuriant Lever du jour, the enchanting Pantomine and the raucous Danse générale (Bacchanale) which Ravel incorporated in the later Daphnis and Chloé Suite No. 2. Elsewhere, Ravel displays the same deftness of touch with the much-loved Pavane pour une infante défunte and Une barque sur l'océan, both masterly orchestrations of his charming piano miniatures. “Gimeno cultivates … a bright, transparent orchestral sound free of dull pathos and also rediscovers colours in this score,” wrote the Trierischer Volksfreund in 2014. “[...] Wonderful! This conductor is a discovery!” This is Gustavo Gimeno’s third recording with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (OPL) for PENTATONE following two releases in May 2017 of orchestral works by Bruckner and Shostakovich. A further six projects are planned in the coming years. “We’re very excited to make this multi-album collaboration with PENTATONE part of the artistic journey of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Gustavo Gimeno,” writes Matthew Studdert-Kennedy, Head of Artistic Planning at the OPL. “Having the opportunity to commit to a series of recordings of music by a broad range of composers is hugely rewarding for all involved … We believe that the albums ahead of us have a great deal to offer.”

Classical Music

Ravel was fastidious composer, slow, deliberate and painstaking about detail. Consequently his output is relatively small yet exceedingly high in craftsmanship and musical quality. It may surprise people to know that Ravel’s total output for solo piano spans just over 130 minutes and the MDG label have accommodated the complete works on this double CD set played by the outstanding soloist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

Ravel’s earliest piano works are dominated by impressionism and it is generally acknowledged that in 1901 Ravel composed the first ever impressionist work for piano with Jeux d’eaux (Fountains). The work brought the composer considerable success and on this release piano soloist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet makes a fine job of portraying Ravel’s images of the music and sounds of fountains, waterfalls and streams. The extended arpeggios pitted against dreamy harmonies are most convincing.

In 1899 Ravel composed his celebrated Pavane pour une infante défunte, which was conceived as a delicate and tender portrait of old Spain with a sensuous Debussian flow imposed on an old dance form. The Pavane remains Ravel’s most popular composition especially in his 1910 orchestration. The sheer sound that Bavouzet draws from his Steinway D piano manufactured in 1901 is ravishing and a real highlight.

Composed in 1905, for a competition conducted by a music journal, the three movement Sonatine is acknowledged as one of Ravel’s finest piano compositions. Bavouzet is particularly impressive in the surging passion of the first movement Modéré and the nervous exuberance of the Animé finale.

At nearly thirty minutes in duration Miroirs from 1905 is Ravel’s largest piano work and also arguably his most daring as he entered a new phase of development. Bavouzet skilfully moves across to this freer and more varied style with more extended developments. Ravel uses five pieces which are designed to reflect their subjects, inspired by external images as mirrored in sound. For example in the second piece Oiseaux tristes the music is symbolic never attempting to imitate bird song. Soloist Bavouzet gives a most sensitive portrait of the extensive palette of colours in Ravel’s musical description of the changing sea in Une barque sur l’océan. Bavouzet’s delicate blend of irony and tone painting is impressive and compelling in the famous Alborada del gracioso.

Originally intended as a musical tribute to the harpsichord music of François Couperin-le-Grand the celebrated Le Tombeau de Couperin was Ravel’s final work for solo piano. Composed between 1914 to 1917 Ravel was to dedicate this set of six pieces in honour of friends that had died in the Great War. Ravel was further affected by the death of his mother at this time yet there is no trace of pity or melancholy under the surface of the music. Essentially a neo-classical work Bavouzet in successful is performing the work with all the necessary seventeenth century economy and transparency and really communicates a sense of tranquillity in the spirit of a by-gone age.

In 1908 Ravel was inspired to compose three descriptive pieces for piano by the poems of Aloysius Bertrand under the collective title of Gaspard de la Nuit. In this fantasy world of gnomes, elves and ghosts the first piece of the trilogy Ondine reproduces the sound of water. Le Gibet is a musical portrait of the gallows and the final piece Scarbo is an ironic scherzo representing a will-o-the-wisp. Bavouzet makes light work of the technical demands and provides a spontaneous, almost improvisatory feel of harrowing immediacy.

Franz Schubert’s piano waltzes were the inspiration behind Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales composed in 1911. The cycle consists of seven pieces which follow each other directly, with an additional epilogue. With bold harmonies Bavouzet impressively conveys the rhythms with the pulse and lilt of the Viennese waltzes.

Bavouzet is clearly in love with this music. He provides the perfect atmosphere and is consistently impressive in the several shorter works on this release; in particular the Sérénade grotesque and the Menuet antique.

There are several illustrious alternative versions in the catalogue of the complete piano works of Ravel which are all highly recommendable. Notably the sets from heavyweight artistes such as: Pascal Roge on Double Decca 440 836 2; Louis Lortie on Chandos CHAN 7004/7; Jean-Yves Thibaudet on Decca 433 515-2; Jean-Philippe Collard on EMI CES5 72376-2 and Angela Hewitt’s recent survey on Hyperion CDA 67341/2. I have no hesitation in stating that Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s masterly interpretations on MDG can stand equally alongside the very best of these distinguished versions. Bavouzet plays with such remarkable authority, expressive strength and unadulterated brilliance. The soloist’s phrasing seems to transcend beyond Ravel’s markings on the page and allows the musical line to breathe in a natural, almost conversational way.

Assisted by the splendid sound quality provided by MDG’s natural acoustics and the comprehensive booklet notes, this recording challenges the best around. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is one of France’s best kept secrets. In fact Bavouzet’s playing is restricted to a most narrow range; wonderful to superb.

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

Noted for her wonderful integral recording of the complete Debussy works for solo piano, Larissa Dedova now brings us an equally wonderful recording of the complete solo piano works of Maurice Ravel. For over 30 years Larissa Dedova has appeared in solo and chamber recitals in concert halls throughout the world at such venues as Carnegie, New York, Kennedy Center, Washington DC, Great Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic, St. Petersburg, Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Teatro Ghione, Rome, and many more. As a soloist, she has played with famous orchestras, including St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Kiev Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Budapest, Moscow Philharmonic and Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, among many others. The lyricism, romanticism, and virtuosity of Ms. Dedova’s performances have brought her love and affection of audience and critical acclaim. Commenting on Ms. Dedova’s performance of the D-minor Brahms Concerto with Fairfax Symphony, the Washington Post described it as “performance that went straight to the heart of the music.” Larissa Dedova holds both Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees in Piano Performance from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Lev Oborin and Evgeny Malinin.

Alice Ader’s first Debussy disc (Erato) won all the awards in the specialist press on its release twenty years ago and is still regarded as an unequalled benchmark. Now this unconventional pianist at last unveils her recording of the complete Ravel piano works. And what better moment could there be than Debussy Year to present these two hours or so of music in dialogue, en Miroirs as it were, with the œuvre of ‘Claude de France’? Ravel, the hot-blooded Swiss watchmaker, the discreet Lisztian, the mediocre pianist who made such extreme demands on his colleagues, the man of so many sublime paradoxes, deserves only the finest interpreters: those who take the time to explore his deepest recesses. Alice Ader, light-years away from the flashy gestures often encountered in this music, takes us to the very heart of one of the most secretive composers of his time.

Maurice Ravel is famed as a master of orchestral colour, in the context not only of his own work but that of others, most notably Mussorgsky's awkward but brilliant piano original of Pictures at an Exhibition, and yet he wrote almost no music for the orchestra in origin, but instead arranged pieces conceived at and for the piano; so why not follow his lead and transcribe his music for another palette of instrumental colours? This was the rationale of the young and already-acclaimed members of the Orlando Quintet, who commissioned Mark Popkin and Wayne Peterson to fit three works of diverse origin within Ravel's output to the compact ensemble of the wind quintet, and the results are, as we can hear on this new recording, consistently engaging, imparting a pungency that never breaks the line or occludes Ravel's melodic genius for a sad song, such as one finds in the second movement of the string quartet, in part at least because the wind ensemble preserves that vocal quality which can be heard even in Ravel's 'abstract' instrumental music, which yet reflects the culture and vibrant colours of his native Provence, and the melancholy temperament of a deeply reserved individual, with no less precision than the operas and ballets from his pen.

Other information:
- Recorded December 2012.
- A sheer delight: arrangements for wind ensemble of three of Ravel's masterpieces!
- Ravel himself was an avid arranger/transcriber of his own music, a master orchestrator, with an incredible ear for timbre and colour. A real treat therefore to listen to these excellent arrangements of the Sonatine (original piano solo), the string quartet and the popular suite from Ma mère l'oye (original piano 4 hands). The combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn offers a completely new spectrum of sounds and colours, without doing any injustice to the original: good music stands firm in any good arrangement!
- Superb performances by Dutch elite players, soloists and first desk players of the Amsterdam and Rotterdam orchestras.
- Booklet note introductions to the transcriptions and the music.
- Extensive and personal liner notes written by all members of the quintet.

RAVEL La Valse. Ma mère l’Oye: Suite . Tzigane. 1 Boléro. Pavane pour une infante défunte • Carlo Rizzi, cond; Netherlands PO; 1 Gordon Nikoli? (vn) • TACET 207 (SACD: 63:10)


This is a true audiophile release. The CD booklet contains detailed notes and diagrams indicating where all the instruments sit in relation to the listener, when heard through six speakers. The lineup differs from one piece to the next. For example, in Ma mère l’Oye the violas are positioned directly behind you, whereas in Tzigane they move further to your left and the double basses take over the central position. For Boléro the positioning of the many solo instruments is intricately plotted. I certainly hope a critic with six speakers is able review the disc: I would be interested to hear how the surround sound strikes him or her. I only have an old-fashioned (high end) stereo system.


Tacet call their sound “sensuous and subtle” and for once the reality lives up to the hype, for even in stereo this disc sounds very smooth. Perhaps the violins don’t have the strength they need to dominate in the mix (at moments when they need to, of course), but that may also be because this is not balanced quite like a traditional concert hall set up. In stereo every solo instrument, especially woodwind, has genuine presence, while parts of La Valse practically turn into a bass drum concerto.


The Netherlands Philharmonic is a fine and disciplined orchestra, while Rizzi brings the pliancy he shows as an opera accompanist to the French orchestral repertoire. His tempos for La Valse and Boléro sound just right to me: the former elastic enough to conjure up the Viennese spirit, the latter keeping up momentum without pushing forward à la Charles Munch—although Rizzi does finish the piece a touch faster than he began. In Tzigane the double basses may be behind you, but Nikoli??s gypsy fiddle is very much in your face; he dashes off the long opening solo with élan. The sound quality pays dividends everywhere, from the mysterious swirling sonorities that usher in La Valse to the blossoming climax of “Le jardin férique,” the fifth and final movement of Ma mère l’Oye . (The lower strings are beautifully warm in this movement.) Rizzi only gives us the orchestral suite, not the complete ballet.


While these performances may not match the excitement of Reiner, the elegance of Monteux or Dutoit, or the precision of Boulez, they are by no means second tier. Besides, there is always something to be said for sound that is sensuous and subtle.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

• Maurice Ravel's music needs no introduction. A sampling of orchestral works, including Valse and the famous Boléro. • Carlo Rizzi leads the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra • One of the first set of 5 Blu-ray audio discs from TACET. • The Blu-ray audio disc was mastered in 24 bit / 96 kHz resolution, both in stereo and in TACET Real 5.1 Standard Surround Sound. • The Blu-ray disc joins the TACET assortment as the fifth sound carrier alongside CD, LP, DVD audio and SACD.

Carlo Maria Giulini's large-scaled, warm-hearted Haydn is typical for its era--the live concert was recorded in 1979, before period-performance style had become prominent. The conductor's usual emphatic style--rich sonorities, exact rhythms, and insistence of full note values--makes for particularly robust-sounding Haydn, thankfully free of the heaviness that marred many of Giulini's latter-year recordings. The faster movements go at a moderately quick pace, while the Andante flows smoothly, even by today's standards. The "surprise" chord generates the intended shock effect, thanks to Giulini's scrupulous observance of dynamics, well captured by the spacious recording. The Bavarian Radio Symphony musicians play as if they're really enjoying themselves--which is not all that difficult in this delightful symphony.

Giulini's ear for orchestral color illuminates the delicate textures of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite--an interesting choice for a concert pairing. However, the low-level recording places the listener in a center balcony seat, requiring a significant volume boost for the woodwinds to register properly. No such problem affects the double basses, which resonate throughout the hall. Nor the strings, which sing sweetly in the graduated build-up to the magical conclusion, a passage that Giulini takes with exceptional deliberateness (reminding of his contemporaneous Mahler Ninth recording). In sum, while not the first choice for either work, the disc nonetheless should prove a treat for Giulini fans.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by Maurice Ravel.

Stéphane Denève, triple winner of the Diapason d’Or of the Year, produced many outstanding recordings as chief conductor of the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart from 2011 until 2016 when the orchestra merged with its sister orchestra from Baden-Baden and Freiburg to form the SWR Symphony Orchestra. They are now reissued as a five album boxed set including the ballet Daphnis et Chloé, Ravel's longest work, written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and the operas L'Heure espagnole and L'Enfant et les sortileges. Although the two operas cannot be strictly considered orchestral works, they are essential to understanding the œuvre of a composer who had a great predilection for fantasy worlds and the exotic. As a student Ravel composed the Ouverture de Shéhérazade and, several years leter, three poems for voice and orchestra on the same topic – both works form part of this set. Throughout his entire career, from Une barque sur l'ocean to Ma mère L'Oye Ravel created magical soundscapes in a highly original manner and with great stylistic freedom. A big inspiration for him was American operetta but also jazz and fairy tales. The formal structure of his works has the clarity of crystal and the elegance of mathematics. The SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart and the cast of young singers selected by Denève give thrilling interpretations.

REVIEWS:

Denève was the final Chief Conductor of this orchestra, from 2011-2016, after which they merged with the South West German Radio Orchestra for budgetary reasons. Their timbre is mellow and warm, akin to that of the Boston Symphony, but their ensemble playing and attack are tight.

The set is a highly worthwhile investment if you want a single collection of Ravel’s orchestral music. The sound is warm, clear, and spacious. Highly recommended.

-- Limelight (Australia)

Denève is very consistent in his meticulously prepared if slightly detached style. The playing and engineering is consistently very good indeed. The price of this box set is attractive. The song cycle and the two operas engaged me the most.

-- MusicWeb International