Track Listing

1. Piano Concerto in G major: I. Allegramente
2. Piano Concerto in G major: II. Adagio assai
3. Piano Concerto in G major: III. Presto
4. Piano Concerto in D major (for the left hand)
5. Fanfare, for orchestra (for collaborative ballet L'eventail de Jeanne): Fanfare
6. Menuet antique, for piano (or orchestra)
7. Le tombeau de Couperin, for orchestra: No. 1, Prelude
8. Le tombeau de Couperin, for orchestra: No. 2, Forlane
9. Le tombeau de Couperin, for orchestra: No. 3, Menuet
10. Le tombeau de Couperin, for orchestra: No. 4, Rigaudon

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #129006 in Music
• Released on: 1989-05-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Extraordinary Performances and recording clarity
Abbado as always is tops, so are Argerich, who in this recording is better than previously and Beroff who does justice to Ravel's perhaps best opus. Couperin would be satisfied with this fastidiously well timed performance of Ravel's hommage.

good but a mismatching
Martha Agerich still commands attention with her top-heavy performances of the Ravel G major Piano Concerto. A sensitive performer, Agerich gets 2 thumbs up for her interpretations, albeit with some reservations. Her touch is more suited to the Romantic repertory (I'm thinking of her recording of Chopin Preludes), but doesn't shine as brightly with Ravel. She is an amazing performer, but I think this recording suffers in comparison to better paired performer/conductors. Abbado is a very capabable conductor, but one merely needs to hear the Zimerman and Boulez recording to realize the potential of Ravel's 2 piano concerti. Beroff, another pianist with chops, does admirable work, but again, check out Zimerman doing both of them with Boulez. That recording is like hearing magic: the sparks and fireworks of Ravel's orchestration under Boulez's lucid ears. The other 'plus' of THIS recording is that Abbado has also programmed three of Ravel's orchestrated piano pieces. Showcasing his talent as orchestrator of the century, Ravel orchestrated these pieces originally written for solo piano and one would listen to them none the wiser!

A surprisingly different Ravel
Two 'Piano Concertos' by Maurice Ravel, performed by pianists Martha Argerich and Michel Beroff with Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony Orchestra were a really pleasant change from my recently listening to his lesser ballet works. The concerti are definitely modern, without being dissonant. The influence of jazz literally drips from the orchestra's instruments. I didn't stop to check the dates, but I'm certain these were written about the same time as George Gershwin's great 'Rapsody in Blue' and his piano concerto, so I really have to wonder whether there was some real influence being traded over the Atlantic with these works. So, If you like Gershwin's orchestral works, these are winners. The second concerto has the added interest of having been commissioned by the great left handed pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, the brother of the even greater 20th century Philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein.

So, there is much to be interested in here, even if you are bored with some of Raval's other works.