Customer Reviews

Ravel: Daphnis & Chloé; Boléro

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I can't think of anyone better suited than Simon Rattle to conduct Ravel's Daphnis & Chloé. Sure, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra does not have the stellar reputation of its counterparts in Vienna, Paris or Berlin, but frankly, each of these symphony orchestras have their fortes, and not so fortes as well...

What matters is how well suited the orchestra's (and the conductor's) fortes are to the compositions, and in this case, Simon Rattle's masterful musicianship and conducting skills are a perfect match.
The only "better" version of Daphnis & Chloé I've ever heard was live, in Paris, with Sir Simon as the guest conductor.

As regards the Bolero, there may be better versions (depending on taste) but this one, unlike Karajan's (the timing of the snare is consistently off, way behind the Berliner's) or Abbado's (classic perfection) catches the ear with its lighter touch, and dare I say 'swing' (listen to it!).

Ultimately, as well it should, it all boils down to Rattle, who stands out among other conductors of his stature, as the one who gets Ravel's colors, and is best suited to translate them with the orchestra, and for a modern audience.

When the young Simon Rattle made this complete Daphnis et Chloe in 1992, I think it must have been the first ever done by a native-born Englishman, a full eighty years after the ballet's premiere in Paris in 1912. Beecham was an eccentric creature for loving all kinds of French music at a time when, to be blunt, most British listeners probably agreed with the crew muttering, "Hate the Frenchies" in Britten's opera billy Budd. Rattle found himself opening up his countryman's ears on quite a few fronts: Stravinsky beyond the three big ballets, Szymanowski, Messiaen, et al. He thrust the musical scene into the international lights far more than any predecessor.

Which makes for a good back story if this had turned out to be a great performance of Daphnis. But Rattle is undramatic and cautious too much of the time, and his young Birmingham musicians, appealing as they are, can't compete with the great orchestras who have recorded the score, including the London Sym. under Monteux, who conducted at the premiere (Decca). Without the stage action to watch, Ravel's music has empty stretches where it treads water. Even in good performances you look at your watch waiting for the next big moment. By approaching the work more intensely than Rattle does, a few conductors hold your attention from beginning to end -- Munch, Abbado, Boulez -- while Monteux succeeds through warm musicality. Rattle is on the warm side certainly compared with boulez, but there's not enough special going on. A miss, I'm afraid.