Ravel: Boléro, Rapsodie espagnole, La Valse, Pavane pour une infante défunte, Ma mère l'oye [Original recording remastered]

Maurice Ravel (Composer), Charles Münch (Conductor), Boston Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Charles Münch
• Composer: Maurice Ravel
• Audio CD (July 5, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: RCA Victor Gold Seal
• ASIN: B000003EPQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,630 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #42 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Pavanes

Track Listings

1. Boléro, ballet for orchestra

2. Rhapsodie espagnole, for orchestra (or 2 pianos): No. 1, 'Prelude a la nuit'

3. Rhapsodie espagnole, for orchestra (or 2 pianos): No. 2, Malaguena

4. Rhapsodie espagnole, for orchestra (or 2 pianos): No. 3, Habanera

5. Rhapsodie espagnole, for orchestra (or 2 pianos): No. 4, Feria

6. Pavane pour une infante défunte, for piano (or orchestra)

7. La valse, poème choréographique for orchestra

8. Ma mère l'oye, for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra): Pavan of the Sleeping Beauty

9. Ma mère l'oye, for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra): Hop-o'-My-Thumb

10. Ma mère l'oye, for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra): Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas

11. Ma mère l'oye, for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra): Beauty and the Beast Converse

12. Ma mère l'oye, for piano, 4 hands (or orchestra): The Fairy Garden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A truly terrifying La Valse, July 16, 2000

By 

Keith Peters - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ravel: Boléro, Rapsodie espagnole, La Valse, Pavane pour une infante défunte, Ma mère l'oye (Audio CD)

This was one of my first classical discs which I bought in 1963. It trumpeted the RCA Dynagroove process, had Bolero on the first side and Pavane and La Valse on the other side. This CD now includes Rapsodie Espagnole and Mother Goose, both recorded in the late 1950s. All of the pieces would be fine first choices for a basic library. The Bolero is powerful with Munch adding extra drums for the finale, though Munch speeds up the tempo during the piece. The Pavane is a rather quick runthrough, but James Stagliano's horn solo is quite beautiful. The CD's biggest selling point is the La Valse. As Munch conducts it, this has to be one of the most terrifying pieces ever composed, up there with Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin and Stravinsky's Le Sacre de Printemps. The BSO is right there with him all the way. Both the Rapsodie and the Mother Goose are quite beautiful. As usual, Richard Mohr and Lewis Layton did a marvelous job of recording these pieces.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow--What a La Valse, February 4, 2002

By 

Hermes Camacho "MusicianHermes" (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ravel: Boléro, Rapsodie espagnole, La Valse, Pavane pour une infante défunte, Ma mère l'oye (Audio CD)

If you were to ask me the one reason the buy this CD, it would be for Munch's La Valse. It is absolutely spectacular. I remember the first time I heard this piece when I was younger, but never had it this much power.

The compilation itself is a must. Munch was considered to have been the foremost Ravel interpreter of his time (today, it's Charles Dutoit). The Bolero is quite brilliant, and Munch touches-up the score at the end enough for the effect he wanted, but discretely enough as not to distort Ravel's score. It's one of the most exciting Boleros I've heard.

The Pavane is not a piece I'm particularly fond of by itself, but I believe Munch conducts it superbly and the horn solo is quite full of longing.

The Rapsodie Espagnole is another winner in this compilation. The finale of the last movement is exquisite, Munch bringing out a very Stravinsky-esque quality from it (Stravinsky and Ravel both studied with Rimsky-Korsakov, the first master orchestrator).

The Mother Goose Suite is a piece I first encountered in my high school orchestra. I really didn't appreciate the work until this performance with Munch and the BSO. One can really see pictures in the mind's eye through his interpretation. The third movement is my personal favorite. He gives it just the right taste. Another recording to check out is the one Michael Tilson-Thomas made with the Philharmonia (I believe).

The La Valse is amazing and breathtaking througout. The opening has just the right ammount of tension to foreshadow the climactic ending, but just enough to give way to the playful melody that follows. One can really hear Strauss' sound in the waltz, with a Ravel twist. The finale is fantastic and may terrify the weak of heart. The BSO is right on the heel of Munch and he's got them by the reins, giving just the right ammount of tension. Munch's control and restraint that gave this piece that tension would have made Toscanini proud!

A must recording, it's not just one to get, but THE one to get.

4.0 out of 5 stars Soul-touching Ma Mère L'Oye, September 9, 2008

By 

Mario Gómez González (México) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ravel: Boléro, Rapsodie espagnole, La Valse, Pavane pour une infante défunte, Ma mère l'oye (Audio CD)

Since the first time I heard this version of Ma Mère L'Oye I realized that Charles Munch had achieve to portray these music with the enchantment of a fairy tale teller. The old 1958 RCA Living Stereo sound add the feeling of "Once Upon a Time..." This record is magic. It is not possible to compare with other performances. Munch has gone beyond music making.

The rest of the program, recorded in 1962 remains as the heritage of the foremost Ravel interpreter of his time. La Valse is played so full of emotion that I wonder how Munch didn't had a heart attack while conducting. Admirable, but, under the impulse of emotions one can't stop and think. Considering that Ravel attempt to evocate the old "Vienna", the tempo here is very rushed and a "breathtaking" interpretation such as this could not be the most adecuate for a work inspired on the viennese val room (I imagine dancers loosing the breath). Listen to Karajan with the Orchestre de Paris. Karajan is the one who attain a real viennese vals feeling, mixed with the caothic character of the work. A better planned interpretation (though I have to admit that you will miss some of the passion of Munch).

The performance of the Bolero is beautiful but not well controled. Munch speeds a little up the tempo and the crescendo is not enough noticeable. Here I recommend the astonishing interpretation of the rather ignored Seiji Ozawa, with this same Orchestra.