How many facets of a composer remain to be discovered, 150 years after his birth? In this commemorative year, the Orchestre National de France is packing big with the works of Maurice Ravel. Chief conductor Cristian Măcelaru offers with this live album not only a sampling of Ravel's orchestral music, but also a surprisingly personal interpretation. His Ravel is less velvety than often heard: darker,
… sharper and more serious. The horror-like ending of the Viennese waltz in La Valse is inescapable. Or take the chilling choral passages in Daphnis et Chloé. Remarkably, Ravel's own orchestral arrangement of Le Tombeau de Couperin is augmented here by two new arrangements (Fugue and Toccata) by David Molard Soriani. The orchestra's playing is superb. The strings, under Măcelaru, sometimes take on an almost Mahlerian glow, the woodwinds color warm and layered. The live recording is clear, spacious and without applause. In short, a rich album that reveals unexpected depths of a composer we thought we knew. Ravel's piano concertos are sadly missing, but this selection convinces, both as tribute and reinterpretation. (JWvR)more
