Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22218 in Music
• Released on: 2002-06-11
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .43 pounds

Customer Reviews

A Marvelous Recording and a Great Bargain To Boot
Since I think Homer is being somewhat silly in his one-sentence put-down of Ravel, Abbado, The Berlin Philharmonic *and* The LSO as more or less capable only of what he calls "Salon Music", I shall rise to the bait. Ravel is a serious composer of some very great music (and few pieces of music are as serious as La Valse, which virtually documents the collapse of European civilization during the First World War). And I could continue, but will spare everyone.

BUT: I totally agree with Homer that these CDs deserve five stars. The music is superlatively played - and, for a pretty low price, includes all of Ravel's orchestral music.

Abbado's Ravel
While Abbado isn't my favorite Ravel conductor, he turned in some outstanding performances with the London Symphony Orchestra. I've never heard such a more clear-headed, clean cut version of "Daphnis et Chloe." I own around 22 versions of the complete ballet and this one is definitely in my "top 5." Abbado also does a great job with the some of the other orchestral works like "Le Tombeau de Couperin," "Menuet antique," and "Ma mère l'oye" to name a few that get great readings. Now why I'm subtracting a star is simple: these performances don't wipe my mind of Boulez, Martinon, Dutoit, or Tortlier and I felt that Abbado could have reached deeper. I own every set of Ravel's orchestral works. I also own almost every single one-shot recordings that have been released by various conductors and orchestras: Haitink, Barenboim, Maazel, Karajan, Previn, etc.

If you're familiar with Ravel's orchestral music and don't know where to start, then pick this set up. This is a great introduction. While these aren't the deepest readings I've heard, they are very honest and well performed.

For further Ravel by Abbado, he collaborated with piano virtuoso Marth Argerich and they turned in two remarkable performances of Ravel's "Piano Concerto in G major," which isn't apart of this set:

Prokofiev, Ravel: Piano Concertos, etc / Martha Argerich
Ravel: Piano Concertos

salon music at its best
What a perfect match! Ravel, a composer who can produce nothing serious but salon music, Abbado, a conductor who almost brought the once venerable Berliner Philharmoniker to a salon band, and the LSO, though still performing respectable works, a regular feature in salon music production.