Customer Reviews

Ravel: Complete Piano Works

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

 

 

I have owned this set since its LP release, and have worn it out. It is my favorite of all the complete Ravel piano sets I've heard (and I've listened to at least half a dozen). I was delighted to see that it had finally been re-released on CD, and appalled to see two very negative reviews lying in wait for the unsuspecting Ravel enthusiast. I heartily disagree with these two negative assessments. To me, Entremont captures both the details and the heart of this music, including in particular both "Gaspard" and "Tombeau." The layers are beautifully distinguished, yet effectively synthesized to produce a transporting musical experience. Entremont's "Pavane" is sublime. I unhesitatingly recommend it to all.

I would like to hear the recordings described previously (from the fellows that canned this recording). But really, I'm here to buy the best interpretation of Ravel I've ever heard. Yes, it is wild and loud. But it is also very nuanced and can be as light as a feather. In the same piece, Mr. Entremont may go from a street festival sound to a nostalgic memory of a street festival. I don't know why but I think Mr. Ravel would have been pleased. I've heard these pieces played variously, all lacking the flavor of Entremont. I can't wait till it gets here.

It is a sense of civic duty that compels me to warn my fellow music lovers away from this thoroughly unpleasant recording. Entremont's playing is almost uniformly dull, and he seems utterly incapable of engaging the subtleties of Ravel's music. On a few occasions, Entremont manages to assert some originality, but his efforts seem misguided and obtrusive. In theory, I could sell my copy to a used CD store and recuperate a few miserable dollars, but conscience prevents me from doing so. If you like French piano music, and you have a couple more bucks to spend, read my review of Koechlin's "Trois Oeuvres Maitresses", then buy it forthwith. You'll thank me later.

James Fanuzzi

It is a sense of civic duty that compels me to warn my fellow music lovers away from this thoroughly unpleasant recording. Entremont's playing is almost uniformly dull, and he seems utterly incapable of engaging the subtleties of Ravel's music. On a few occasions, Entremont manages to assert some originality, but his efforts seem misguided and obtrusive. In theory, I could sell my copy to a used CD store and recuperate a few miserable dollars, but conscience prevents me from doing so. If you like French piano music, and you have a couple more bucks to spend, read my review of Koechlin's "Trois Oeuvres Maitresses", then buy it forthwith. You'll thank me later.

James Fanuzzi

I've just finished listening to the second disc of this set. I held off for several days after listening to the first disc because I was so disappointed in the hammering, loud, blurry playing. I didn't want my heart to be broken by a similar performance of Gaspard de Nuit and Le Tombeau de Couperin, the Ravel masterworks I really treasure. Alas, the same pounding, brick-on-the-damper pedal style that is suitable for George Winston ruined these subtly nuanced movements as well. Entremont sacrifices precision for speed, and consequently fails to deliver either. I wish I had consulted Mr. Fanuzzi's review before making my purchase.

I recommend Robert Casadesus's recording of the complete Ravel piano works. One can wonder whether Mr. Ravel would have been pleased with the Entremont recordings if he likes, but no such speculation is necessary with Casadesus: he met Ravel as a young pianist and Ravel praised his performances.