Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé / Rapsodie espagnole / Pavane ~ Monteux [Original recording remastered]

Maurice Ravel (Composer), Pierre Monteux (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Pierre Monteux
• Composer: Maurice Ravel
• Audio CD (April 11, 2006)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B000E6EGZA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,648 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Pavanes
  • #44 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Historical Periods > Modern & 20th Century
  • #95 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Ballets

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monteux the Magnificent!, April 13, 2006

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé / Rapsodie espagnole / Pavane ~ Monteux (Audio CD)

The merger of Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Philips under the Universal corporate umbrella has led to the inevitable sharing of music and marketing plans. Now one of DG's most successful reissue programs, the mid-priced "Originals" line, has been expanded to include Decca titles, presumably in an attempt to streamline the company's overall look in the classical marketplace. While many of these initial releases don't appeal to me personally, one that I'm delighted to see available once again is Pierre Monteux's glorious 1959 stereo recording of Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe." This performance has been previously available on CD in the old "Classic Sound" series, but it has been out-of-print for several years, and until very recently fetching absurd prices as a rare collector's item. Monteux's magnificent account of the complete ballet with the London Symphony Orchestra has to be considered one of the very best, along with renditions by Ansermet, Cluytens, Inghelbrecht and Munch (see my reviews). Included to round out this disc are Monteux's 1961 recordings of "Pavane pour une infante defunte" and "Rapsodie Espagnole," which were also part of the original "Classic Sound" CD, and more recently were available as part of the "Ravel Orchestral Favourites" Monteux title in the now defunct Philips "50" series. In all, these are priceless Ravel performances, finally for sale at a reasonable price.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The sexiest Daphnis on record!, April 13, 2006

By 

SwissDave (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé / Rapsodie espagnole / Pavane ~ Monteux (Audio CD)

This is the kind of re-release that can bring tears to the eyes of a grown man. Years ago I gave away my then copy of the first CD release assuming it would be easy to replace. I was wrong. I am glad Monteux's Daphnis is available again now, in its finest sonic reincarnation yet. It is the kind of legendary performance (and an audiophile delight, too!) that should never have been out of the catalogue in the first place. 'Nuff said...

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daphnis and Chloe from the conductor who premiered it, June 18, 2006

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Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé / Rapsodie espagnole / Pavane ~ Monteux (Audio CD)

Was any conductor better than Pierre Monteux at being in the right place at the right time? As the pit conductor for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe, he premiered Petruskha in 1911, Daphnis and Chloe in 1912, and the Rite of Spring in 1913--amazing. Here, nearly half a century later, his reading of Daphnis seems as authentic as it could possibly be. We get balletic rhythms, pointed French phrasing, an absence of sentimentality, and an intuitive feeling for Ravel's meshing of classic-erotic.

If you like Daphnis to be ultra lush, sexy, sweeping, or fervent, this isn't the recording for you. Monteux's Ravel is glittering but a bit brisk. There's a certain toughness that I like; it's totally at odds with the glib sophistication of Dutoit or the x-ray vision of Boulez. I can imagine living with only this account, especially given Decca's vintage sound, probably the best in the business in 1959. The only flaw I can hear is some overload in the loudest tutties. The LSO had picked up the Gallic style from Monteux, and quite often I could have sworn I heard ringers from Paris who had sneaked across the Channel.

Monteux wasn't reliably energetic and alert in his eighties, and the main filler, Rapsodie espagnole, from two years later, sounds a bit slack and slow. But his devotees will be happy to have it, and the Daphnis alone is worth the price of the CD, a classic in every way.