Customer Reviews

Complete Piano Music of Maurice Ravel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How do I admire this recording, let me count the ways... (please pardon the awful Elizabeth Barret Browning misquote) To begin with, on the pianist, Robert Casadesus, other than Ravel himself, he is the premier interpreter of his work. Not only that, he was also a close friend and one of the few present at Ravel's meager funeral.

On the recordings themselves, they are of a superlative quality. What many interpreters today try to do is make a melodrama of everything. They forget that the composer himself drew inspiration from the machines of the time (his father was an engineer) and thus lose some of the forcefulness and directness of the works. Unfortunately, many today try to drown them in fluff and emotion.

Another added benefit of these recordings is the convenience of having them all in one set, digitally remastered of course. As a Ravel fan , I heartily recommend these to all who admire the composer, the pianist, or most importantly, beautiful music.

This is the best recording of Ravel for piano! It is full of the sensitive nuance that french impressionistic music requires. I had this recording on LP, and am ecstatic to find it is now available on CD. I had bought another full CD recording by another highly regarded pianist which is not of the same caliber of playing as the Casadesus. I cannot do without the Casadesus recording!

While arguments about what is the definitive recording of these works can be made, it goes without saying that this recording is of tremendous musical value. Even if I don't particularly like a tempo that Casadesus chooses (particularly the last movement of the Sonatine), the performance still remains marvelously musical and true to the composer. Much of the playing is quite thrilling actually (take Scarbo, for example). Jeux d'eau is gorgeous as is the Tombeau de Couperin. I believe the highlight of the set is the bonus addition of the Left Hand Concerto with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Simply put...it is SPECTACULAR! Casadesus' command of the piano, as well as Ormandy's command of the orchestra, is masterful and moving. I highly recommend this set to anyone with a broad appreciation for musical interpretation.

Its a funny thing: you can be listening to solo piano recording, a freight train can bowl directly through your living room, and it will not distract you from the music half so much as a noise emanating from the recording chamber which makes it onto the final cut. Now, it is no stretch - in fact it would be a stretch to say otherwise - to assert that Casadesus Ravel is THE premiere interpretation of the mono era, and perhaps the finest complete piano recording of those pieces from any time. His Tombeau de Couperin is so far out in front of the other serious candidates that there really is no valid comparison to be made, and with his wife and fellow-pianist Gaby, a perfect Ma Mere LOye (Mother Goose) is realized. The fact is, there is almost nothing to say about the musicianship on these discs which would not be overwhelmingly complementary, hence the sustained reputation of the albums.

HOWEVER, I have always found it of slight annoyance that every so often, in the middle of a stirring or mesmerizing passage, Indiana Jones will step into the recording chamber and crack his bullwhip. That, at least, is how the sound of the pages of the score being turned sounds when they happen to catch flush on the polished wood of the piano. I suspect that wife Gaby was Roberts usual score attendant, but really the blame (if any) must be placed on the recording engineer who neglected to point out and quash the noises the first time they occurred, rather than to let the entire sessions be taped with such distractions. Strange, too, that Casadesus himself did not see fit to stop playing altogether when such a noise escaped, as surely a Gieseking, Michelangeli, Schnabel or Arrau would have. That said, let me now say this: if my sniveling little remarks about occasional extraneous noises serve to deter you from buying this sublime, authoritative recording, then you are an even bigger dope than I was for bringing the subject up in the first place!

As previously mentioned by another reviewer, Sony has provided facsimiles of the three 1952 LPs from which the original piano music was taken (and a fourth for the Left Handed Concerto), as well as adorning the two CDs themselves with the original blue Long Playing label, which Columbia used for the first half of the 1950s. The remastering is 20-bit and therefore brings you a bit closer to the original vinyl sound than would the standard 16-bit junk which constitutes a regular CD re-issue. If you love Ravel, but fail to own and appreciate this set, well - you only THINK you love Ravel!

My favorite interpretation of Tombeau de Couperin esp the prelude which dances over the notes like a wildly bubbling stream. I prefer this to the orchestrations which are all you generally hear of Ravel. Superb! It is probably out of print but I have bought this recording several times because I can't bear to be without it.

The 2CD set has a misleading title, 'Complete piano music of Ravel' as G major piano concerto, other less known small works and the piano version of La Valse are not included, but the sound quality is astonishingly good for recordings made in 1951. When I first listened to all the solo piano works, I thought they were very good stereo recordings. Concerto for left hand and the small violin piece with piano accmpaniment were recorded in 1946-47, but they are also pretty good, compared to other recordings made around the same era.

As for the performances, I must say, I've never been so captivated by any pianist playing Ravel's music as Robert Casadesus plays here, since I listened to Richter's near miracle performances of Miroirs, Jeux d'eau, Pavane and other pieces. They are very different artists, but the one thing they have in common is the uncompromising quest for the essence of the music and the abundant technical prowess to communicate it to listeners. Casadesus' interpretation may be much closer to the composer's intension and markings, as he was a close friend of Ravel. These wonderfully inspired and refined performances offers a facinating inshight into how Ravel wanted his piano music sound.

Sony has done an admirable job of packaging these historical recordings originally released by Columbia Masterworks. The mono sound is impressively remastered for CD, and the inclusion of original LP cover and label artwork is an authentic treat.

The peformances are well nuanced as the other reviewers point out, and clearly, Casadesus has every right to be deemed "authoritative" on matters of interpretation.

Some caveats: The sound quality, no matter how nicely transferred, is still archaic by current standards. Also the playing is not 100% spot-on clean. These recordings were made in an era before surgically-precise audio retouching could be applied to a take that contained errors. I don't "fault" Mr. Casadesus for these, but listeners used to more "perfect" recordings may be disappointed without first resetting their expectations.

Unfortunately, I differ from the other reviewers. I do not feel that Casadesus captures Ravel perfectly. This is a subjective thing, but to me, Ravel has not only a masculine, but a very feminine component that requires intense sensitivity and colorings. I find Casadesus occasionally wooden for my taste, and his finger quality can be a level harder than I prefer. It is occassionally more note specific rather than tonal or image inducing. I found it surprising that these could be considered so positively or potentially definitive. Ravel, when played at its best is magical--can bring an audience to tears with its mix of simple yet complex beauty and exposure of the intellect of the performer. And while this recording is good, it never reaches a level of intimacy that brings my emotions to the fore. Nonetheless, it's a decent recording and it's very nice that the piano works are packaged conveniently. And of course, Ravel piano music--is just simply divine. Tombeau De Couperin and the Pavanne are two of my favorite compositions. I will regretfully admit I cannot recommend an alternative recording yet, but I don't recommend this particular CD as a definitive work.

I am a lover for both classic and also jazz music. My friend introduced this to me. You can explore how wonderful someone can make for classic music.I could listen to his music all day long!
You will love him too.

It was a pretty good recording in the 60's, but since that time some have surpassed Casadesus. Roge and Tharaud to name 2 pianists. Read A music Fan/San Francisco/Jan 12,2004 for the best way to describe Casadesus style. Note perfect, but lacking the nuances needed to bring out the colors that Ravel so needs.
Also Rouvier is stunning in performance, far surpassing Casadesus..
But I'm afriad Cassadesus' popularity is living on old timers who just don't wish to change their high opinion of this past legend.

TAKE NOTICE NONE OF THE HIGH PRAISE REVIEWS EVEN MENTION THAT THEY'VE HEARD ROGE, ROUVIER, THARUD.
Go figure.
Yet they claim this is the finest. Long live hype :-)

TRhe ones who mark my comment as un-helpful are the die hard Casadesus fans. I've met a few.