Ravel's Rotunda

[Mandryka]

Chung joins Karajan Berlin on the topmost Daphnis tier. Chung is so unforced and natural, so supple, so weightless and delicate, so dancing, so kaleidoscopic and psychedelic, so ecstatic and sensual. I know this is stupid, but I won't let that get in the way: it's like the music is playing itself. I couldn't be more enthusiastic, as you can see.

[pjme]

Thank you for the details. I knew that @Mandryka meant Petitgirard, and I've listened to this composer/conductor a little.

I wasnt awake yet and did not read everything...Néanmoins, Daphnis et Chloé is and remains such a wonderful score. I heard it at least twice live in Brussels with Monnaie / Altinoglu and Brussels PhO /Denève.
I should relisten to Manuel Rosenthal and paris Opéra orchestra  and ORTF chorus .

Peter

[ritter]

I wasnt awake yet and did not read everything...Néanmoins, Daphnis et Chloé is and remains such a wonderful score. I heard it at least twice live in Brussels with Monnaie / Altinoglu and Brussels PhO /Denève.
I should relisten to Manuel Rosenthal and paris Opéra orchestra  and ORTF chorus .

Peter

Nice. Alain Altinoglu is a very interesting conductor.

As for Rosenthal, his is my "go-to" Ravel cycle (even if it probably is the polar oposite of my other favourite cycle, Boulez I, on the CBS / Sony).

Good day to you, Peter!

[pjme]

Buen dia Rafael, from the grey and icy low Countries. 

Peter

[AnotherSpin]

I wasnt awake yet and did not read everything...Néanmoins, Daphnis et Chloé is and remains such a wonderful score. I heard it at least twice live in Brussels with Monnaie / Altinoglu and Brussels PhO /Denève.
I should relisten to Manuel Rosenthal and paris Opéra orchestra  and ORTF chorus .

Peter

Thank you, Peter. My relationship with this Ravel piece has always been a bit complicated. Certain passages of exceptional beauty have captivated me for as long as I can remember, yet the work as a whole often felt overly dense and drawn out. Some sections, particularly in the vinyl era, seemed overstrained and even distorted. That said, it's rare for any interpretation to completely align with me. But today's recommendation from @Mandryka — Myung-Whun-Chung — really struck a chord with me. Have you had a chance to listen to it?

[Roasted Swan]

Chung joins Karajan Berlin on the topmost Daphnis tier. Chung is so unforced and natural, so supple, so weightless and delicate, so dancing, so kaleidoscopic and psychedelic, so ecstatic and sensual. I know this is stupid, but I won't let that get in the way: it's like the music is playing itself. I couldn't be more enthusiastic, as you can see.

to the bolded....... enough about me already.....

[Mandryka]

RRC R3 Building a Library Daphnis still available

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bnxyvk

The winner was Boulez Berlin, followed by Roth and Lionel Bringuier

[Mandryka]

Concert recording of Francois Le Roux singing Histoires Naturelles in 1995. Acceptable sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwSTXgBUfiI

[Mandryka]

Really impressive Histoires Naturelles from Gérard Theruel - superb diction and full of intention, he cares about the words. And the pianist - David Abromovitz - sometimes really comes up with the goods (in Le Grillon, for example, and Le Pintade) Maybe the weak point is the Naxos sound, not that it's bad - the voice is excellent but maybe the piano is a bit distant. But only maybe, I don't want to nitpick. This is essential male voiced Ravel listening.

[Mandryka]

Ravel's most impressive pieces? I probably would have said Gaspard and Daphnis. But now I think there's another thing which surpasses those two - Madécasses. It's Jacques Herbillon who has made me come to that conclusion.




The cycle is totally original as far as I can see - timeless.

[Mandryka]

Victor Sicard, Ravel songs, mostly with piano. Outstanding diction, really eloquent, warm and expressive. Voice like steel and chocolate. Well worth the effort to hear this I think. The pianist, Anna Cardona is better than fine.

[relm1]

It pays to go to the library.  There is a newly discovered orchestral work by Ravel getting premiered next year!

The first page of the "Sémiramis" manuscript, which had been sitting in the archives of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France since 2000.


https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/arts/music/ravel-lost-manuscript-dudamel-ny-philharmonic.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5U4.Kt9z.CpDZPWEDj9JQ&smid=url-share

[Madiel]

Oh wow! I was literally thinking about this only last week!

[brewski]

Ravel fans, on Thursday, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society will celebrate his 150th birthday with their final concert of the season. As usual, the concert will be livestreamed free.

Hye-Jin Kim, violin
Peter Stumpf, cello
Cynthia Raim, piano

Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello
Ravel: Menuet sur le nom de Haydn
Ravel: Prelude in A Minor
Ravel: Vocalise-Étude en forme de Habanera
Ravel: Sonatine
Ravel: Piano Trio in A Minor

[atardecer]

I recently saw an outstanding concert of the following:

Morton Gould - Symphonette No. 2 "American"
Gershwin (arr. Bennett) - Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G major
Ravel - Bolero

Elisabeth Pion, Piano
Alain Trudel, Conductor

This was possibly the best concert I've been to. All the pieces sounded great, and worked well together. I was frankly, close to tears listening to the Ravel concerto, and Bolero is a finer work than I realized, seeing it live gave me a new perspective. Alain Trudel is an excellent conductor. I've never heard the Edmonton symphony orchestra sounding better.