Customer Reviews

Ravel: Boléro

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

 

 

This is one fantastic CD!!!!

Ten versions of Maurice Ravel's masterpiece "Bolero". You may ask yourself, "Isn't it repeatitive as much as it is?". That may be true, but this CD won't make you think about how repeatitive it is, it's that great. But do they all sound the same???

Not exactly, Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra play it about dancing speed. The total time is 13:48, compared to its original approx. of 15 minutes. So this version of the full orchestra is slightly faster than one thinks.

Isao Tomita on the synthesizer sounds well...different. People may think it will be great because of the glamour of it being a synthesizer, but it's not as great you would think. If you're a fan of Bolero's monster conclusion, this is an extreme dissapointment because the performer does weird things with the synthesizer that make the work (in my opinion) sound like Ravel himself would hate hearing it. But you may like it, thats just my opinion.

Jacques Fray & Mario Braggiotti on two pianos, despite the poor recording quaility since it is from 1934 is pretty good. This is probably one of the better interpretations on the disc. The performers add a little harmony into some of the melody's chords, which I think people will like.

Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.....ouch! This is probably the worst recording quality on the whole disc! (It was recorded in 1930) To me, the conclusion doesn't sound "extreme" enough. It's almost like the members of the orchestra are rushing the piece so they can get out of performing and run out on hot dates. But since Bolero is only 2 years old at the time it was recorded, you may like it.

Nat Shilkret & His Orchestra playing Bolero-Fox Trot in 4/4 time is once again a poor recording, but its an interesting interpretation of its melody. I found this one as one of the better tracks.

Morton Gould on piano, does this guy know what the definition of tone is??? I've played piano for 8 years and this guy is a composer and even I know what tone is. It's the last poor recording from the 30's on the CD. It starts out well, but he adds a few glissandos, which sound great, but then takes his left hand and just bangs on a bunch of low notes while his right hand is pounding the melody. It ends with a bunch of pounding. (kind of like the sound of an immature kid banging on a grand piano).

Authur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra almost sounds like the 1st track, but it has a few cuts and is only 7 1/2 minutes. But you may like this one especially because its recorded well and it's much shorter. This recording is one of my favorites and its one of the best on the disc. If you like the Boston Pops, you're in luck.

The Canadian Brass arrangement by Sonny Kompanek is in a different key than the original C Major. It has great recording quaility and the brass players are amazing. Very good work on this version!

Evelyn Glennie's percussion version is quite good and if you play a percussion instrument this track will steals the whole CD. Its that good. It starts out with a single snare drum and will eventually work its way up to more instruments. Many percussion instruments used. Gong, cymbals, snare, bells, xylophone, etc.

My personal favorite (ha ha, save the best for last) is Eduardo Mata and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. It's 14:49, the whole sha-bang. It's at the prefered right speed and each soloist does an outstanding job. The last time where all the instruments are playing its drum beats, the melody doesn't blow out your ears by the trumpets, the tone is relaxing but it's still loud. And yes, trumpets are still playing its melody. The conclusion is probably the best on this track. It contains a pounding timpani(literally pounding), a giant cymbal crash, and the aweing sound of a gong. Probably the best track on the whole disc.

So if you're a fan of this masterpiece I would suggest buying it, despite some of the recording quailities. Eventually, you'll find out a favorite version. The price should be higher because of how great it is, so get it while its set at a price just right.

As I write, several reviewers have commented on the "bad" sound quality of the 4 selections which were transferred from 78 RPM records. I feel that this is somewhat like criticizing at a silent movie because it has no sound. [...]

The modern era of recording music started in the very late 1940s. Some might even argue it started around 1950 or 1951. Magnetic tape didn't start to be used for recording music until a few years after World War II. Prior to this time, all sound recordings were made straight to a shellac master disk, essentially a 78 RPM master record, that was used to produce masters, which stamped the records. Recording to tape improved the sound quality by an order of magnitude, but that wasn't an option in the 1930s, which is when these 4 "bad sounding" selections came from. It could be worse. In the early 1920s it became possible to use electric microphones, which was a huge leap forward over the old analog method of recording, where a singer or band played or sang into a big horn that was used to create a shellac master disc. If you think 1930s recordings sound bad, well, you probably won't like to hear Caruso's recordings for example. He died before the "electric age of recording" began. I have listened to enough music prior to the 1950s to know that what we have on this CD is actually pretty good as far as reproducing sound from old 78s goes. Frankly, I think the engineers at RCA should be commended for doing such a good job.

So what of the music? I would argue that the worst sounding recording is not the Koussevitzky version, but the Morton Gould piano version. I've never heard anything quite like it. Towards the end Gould pounds the keys so hard he almost turns the piano into a drum. The 1932 recording technology can't adequately reproduce his sound and it strains to try, but it is an amazingly wild recording that I enjoyed.

The Munch conducted version with the BSO is very well played, but to me it's a little too workman-like. Tomita's synthesizer version is maybe a little too electronic, although not bad. The piano duo of Fray and Braggiotti do a good job of playing the song on 2 pianos. The fox trot version by Shilkret starts out sounding like every cheesy 1930s film song you've ever heard, but somehow by the end the group pulls it together and it actually starts to work. Glennie's version didn't really work for me. It's too middle of the road. Mata's version is very well played, although I prefer a faster tempo.

What of the rest? I loved Koussevitzky's version. It starts off soooo sloooowwww, but the tempo increases and by the end it has very successfully built to the climax. The Canadian Brass version was truly excellent. I can't believe that it is only brass and a snare drum because it sounds like so much more. Arthur Fiedler's version is only 7 and a half minutes, but I give him credit. He packs everything into his version. It's worth noting that Fiedler was trained by Koussevitzky. Fiedler's recording is from 1953 and is a picture perfect example of the kind of excellent sound RCA engineers were famous for in the "High Fidelity era". It may be mono, but what a glorious sounding recording it is.

As a historical overview of Bolero you get:
3 orchestral recordings (1930s, 1950s, 1980s)
1 shortened "pops" version
1 synthesizer version
1 percussion version
1 brass version
1 fox trot version
2 piano versions
In all, plenty of Bolero to compare and enjoy.

The world is divided into those of us who love Bolero and those who don't. I love it and enjoy the various versions. At first I didn't like the foxtrot, but it grows on you.

This digitally re-mastered CD is an incredible value, and worth every penney you pay for it. 'Bolero' is a collection of about 8 different versions of the title song 'Bolero'. There is a slow version, a faster version, one with only guitar, one with piano and on. I have my favorites on this CD, and you will find yours as well. This is a sensual, relaxing CD for lovers, married couples, or those wanting something different to listen to as they enjoy the company of a member of the opposite sex. Enjoy!

Potential buyers, be aware that this 2000 CD has been subsequently reissued (in 2004), shorn of one of its "standard" versions (the one by Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1930) but with the substantial addition of a version for clarinet and "swing" jazz combo by Benny Goodman from 1939, licensed from Sony. It makes the reissue, in my opinion, more appealing, with its opening and closing tracks devoted to two very contrasting takes on the standard version (Munch in 1956 and Mata in 1980) and its 8 other tracks devoted to the transcriptions, including the new and very entertaining Goodman. Hence my three (rather than four) stars for this one. See my review of Ravel's Greatest Hit: The Ultimate Bolero.

This is definitely in the category of "rare compilations." There are 3 "standard" renditions of Bolero, plus 7 alternate arrangements, many from nearly seventy years ago. Among the alternates are a percussion version, two versions for piano, a 4/4 Foxtrot version(!), a Tomita synthesizer version, and a short orchestral one. Be prepared to hear several recordings copied from 78 rpm records. In the interest of preserving sound quality, they did NOT take profound noise-reduction steps on those. One glaring omission: Ravel's self-conducted version from January 1930 was a classic that is mysteriously missing here. Note that you will not find sterling orchestral renditions here (alas all the trombonists fail to nail the glissandi) but you WILL find recordings of special historical significance. It reminds us that the world was crazy about this song when it was new. If you're a fan of Ravel, 20th century orchestral music, or just a music historian, you should not pass this up; I don't know that some of these recordings are available anywhere else.

Bravo! Bravo! As a Bolero fanatic I love this new CD and am sure that any lover of Ravel and his Bolero will agree. The styles, intent and choreography of the the music is evident in every track. Each music conductor and symphony brings different delights to our audio table.

Fieldler is Mr. POP and it shows in his rendition of the title piece. All of the conductors show their own insite into Ravel and the Bolero. I have often wanted to hear side by side comparisons of my favorite pieces and this is a grand step one. My hat is off to BMG. As always on track and a set ahead.

Anyone considering this CD is certainly a fan of Ravel and Bolero. This CD certainly has it's ups and downs. In looking at the CD, four of the ten tracks were originally recorded for 78rpm LPs. Then, there is a footnote, "these masters have been optimally transferred to tape. Radical methods to eliminate all surface noise have not been used in order to preserve the full-frequency content of the original records."

Allow me to translate this into normal English, the origianals for these tracks (tracks 3-6) are basically in such bad shape that they could not be salvaged. With this in mind, I basically purchased a CD with 6 tracks. My stereo system is very reveiling of noise on CDs, and these tracks are garabage. The synthesizer version is not that impressive. however, the end of the CD radically changed my mind upward. The Canadian Brass do a marvious interpretation of Bolero. Also, Evelyn Glennie has a unique percussion arangement. These two tracks are the best part of the CD. The full orchestra variations are relatively similar and tradition. This CD is not one to buy if you plan on sitting down and seriously comparing performances of Bolero. However, several of the tracks make the disk almost worth owning, if you truly love this song.