Posts tagged as "maurice-ravel"

Ravel: Piano Concertos; Tzigane

May 25, 2016

This release brings together Ansermet’s complete Ravel concerto/concertante recordings with the first international release on CD of Swiss pianist Jacqueline Blancard’s aristocratic readings of the two Piano Concertos and Ruggiero Ricci’s dare-devilry in the Tzigane.

Ravel: L’Enfant et les sortilegès; Shéhérazade; Deux melodies hebraiques; Trois poèmes de Stephane Mallarme; La Valse; Bolero

May 25, 2016

Fascinated by children, Ravel composed two one-act operas, ‘L’enfant et les sortileges’ and ‘L’Heure espagnole’. These priceless Ansermet recordings now return to the catalogue, coupled with the rare and much-requested disc of Ravel vocal works with Danco and Ansermet. As a coupling we have the Paris Conservatoire recordings of Bolero (the stereo version making its […]

Ravel: Piano Trio; Violin Sonata; Debussy: Violin Sonata; Cello Sonata

May 25, 2016

The two Debussy sonatas date from late in the composer’s life and are wistful pieces though not without humour. The Ravel Violin Sonata is sleek, elegant and has a delightful jazzy movement while the Trio is a masterpiece, a tour de force of writing for these three instruments and a hugely enjoyable work. This early […]

Aromatherapy – Vol. 7: Reflections in the Water

May 25, 2016

Aromatherapy, the quiet moments of classical music. And the seventh volume, Reflections in the Water, is the ultimate tranquility! Water is a force of nature that inspired composers to some of their most languid compositions, from the Baroque (Handel’s Water Music written for a royal party held on a barge) to Impressionistic (the aqueous ripples and shimmer […]

French Chamber Music

May 24, 2016

An iconic record, this collection of two well-known (Debussy, Ravel) and two rarities (Roussel, Ropartz) of the chamber music repertoire was issued in both its LP and CD incarnations to great acclaim. It was recorded in the unusually spacious acoustic of Walthamstow Assembly Hall and its late producer, Ray Minshull, provides an amusing recollection of […]

French Songs

May 12, 2016

An intriguing, evocative and exotic recital in which Janet Baker joins The Melos Ensemble for a journey through some of the twentieth century’s most alluring French compositions for voice and chamber ensemble.

Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets

April 29, 2016

Time and again these performances of two haunting French chamber works have been voted as the best in the catalogue. These elegant, suave performances now reappear on Eloquence.

The Best of Ravel

April 29, 2016

There are few Ravel orchestral compilations – at any price – that could hold a candle to this one. And most of the Mehta material appears on CD for the first time. A wilder ‘La Valse’, a more erotic ‘Daphnis et Chloé’ with its orgiastic finale you’d be hard-pressed to find! And what a magical finale […]

Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel: Piano Music for Four Hands

April 29, 2016

From the magical fairy-tale world of Red Riding Hood in Ravel’s ‘Mother Goose’, through the langurous haze of an afternoon in Debussy’s ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’, to the scintillating Spanish rhythms of ‘Rapsodie Espagnole’ and the black-and-white of both ‘En blanc et noir’ as well as the Stravinsky Sonata, this legendary piano duo partnership delivers […]

Kiri Te Kanawa in Recital

April 29, 2016

One of Kiri Te Kanawa’s rare recorded excursions into song repertoire, this consummate recital is once more restored to the Decca catalogue. Including such popular favourites as Rachmaninov’s ‘Vocalise’ and Granados’ ‘La maja y el ruiseñor’, Obradors’ wonderful ‘Cinco canciones clasicas espanolas’ and a quartet of beautiful songs by Liszt.