Lyon National Orchestra & Leonard Slatkin - Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (2012/2015) [Hi-Res]

Ravel orchestrated his piano pieces Alborada del gracioso and Pavane pour une infante défunte to great effect; the former gains in suggestive colour, and the latter evokes nostalgic pathos. Another orchestrated work is the Menuet antique, which is redolent of old French dance forms. Rapsodie espagnole, Ravel’s first major orchestral work, shimmers with expectancy and bursts into Spanish dance rhythms, themes he pursued in Pièce en forme de habanera. His earliest orchestral work, the ‘fairy overture’ Shéhérazade, is all that remains of a planned opera based on The Thousand and One Nights. The famous Boléro, an ‘orchestrated crescendo’ of undimmed power, has proved one of the most popular works in all classical music.

„This programme is altogether more successful than the same orchestra’s disciplined but sometimes matter-of-fact performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

„…here in Ravel there is a more appreciable affinity with the particular world of sound. The atmosphere is established not merely with confidence but with freshness as well. The Shéhérazade overture finds a delicate balance between Ravel’s exoticism, lyricism and gaiety, Slatkin shaping the music with a potent mix of the sensuous, sinuous, sinister and spirited. If this disc heralds a comprehensive Ravel series, it augurs well as a companion to the orchestra’s Debussy set under Jun Märkl.“ (Gramophone)

„Leonard Slatkin draws a vivid sound from the Lyon players, with a wide range of dynamics and colours…No one could do more for the early Scheherezade overture, where Ravel’s interest in orchestral timbres is paramount…Bolero too comes off well.“ (BBC Music Magazine)

„Ravel’s orchestration of the piano piece Alborado del gracioso is particularly sumptuous, and the Lyon orchestra certainly delivers on that score…Leader Jennifer Gilbert’s frequently seductive playing is the best feature.“ (International Record Review)

Orchestre National de Lyon
Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Recorded at the Auditorium de Lyon, France, on 2nd and 3rd September, 2011
Produced and engineered by Tim Handley

Digitally remastered