Ravel: Orchestral Works; Piano Concertos; L'Enfant et les Sortilèges; Shéhérazade

Disc 1
1	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
2	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
3	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
4	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
5	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
6	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
7	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
8	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
9	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
10	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
11	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
12	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet
13	Pavane pour une infante d
14	La valse, poème choréogra
Disc 2
1	Piano Concerto in G major
2	Piano Concerto in G major
3	Piano Concerto in G major
4	Le tombeau de Couperin, f
5	Le tombeau de Couperin, f
6	Le tombeau de Couperin, f
7	Le tombeau de Couperin, f
8	Valses (8) nobles et sent
9	Valses (8) nobles et sent
10	Valses (8) nobles et sent
11	Valses (8) nobles et sent
12	Menuet antique, for piano
13	Piano Concerto in D major
Disc 3
1	Fanfare, for orchestra (f
2	Boléro, ballet for orches
3	Alborada del Gracioso, fo
4	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for
5	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for
6	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for
7	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for
8	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for
9	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for
10	Une barque sur l'océan, f
11	Rhapsodie espagnole, for
Disc 4
1	L'enfant et les sortilège
2	L'enfant et les sortilège
3	L'enfant et les sortilège
4	L'enfant et les sortilège
5	L'enfant et les sortilège
6	L'enfant et les sortilège
7	L'enfant et les sortilège
8	L'enfant et les sortilège
9	Shéhérazade, poems (3) fo
10	Shéhérazade, poems (3) fo
11	Shéhérazade, poems (3) fo
12	Shéhérazade--Fairy Overtu
Ravel: Orchestral Works; Piano Concertos; L'Enfant et les Sortilèges; Shéhérazade
1.	Daphnis et Chloé, ballet for orchestra 56:00
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Rene LaCourse, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus
2.	Pavane pour une infante défunte, for piano (or orchestra) 6:41
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra and John Zirbel
3.	La valse, poème choréographique for orchestra 12:09
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
4.	Piano Concerto in G major 22:17
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Pascal Rogé
5.	Le tombeau de Couperin, for orchestra 15:35
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
6.	Valses (8) nobles et sentimentales, for piano (or orchestra) 16:12
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
7.	Menuet antique, for piano (or orchestra) 6:38
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
8.	Piano Concerto in D major (for the left hand) 19:09
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Pascal Rogé
9.	Fanfare, for orchestra (for collaborative ballet L'eventail de Jeanne) 1:28
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
10.	Boléro, ballet for orchestra (or piano) 15:07
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
11.	Alborada del Gracioso, for orchestra 7:23
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
12.	Ma mère l'oye, ballet for orchestra 28:12
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
13.	Une barque sur l'océan, for orchestra 7:56
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
14.	Rhapsodie espagnole, for orchestra (or 2 pianos) 15:34
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
15.	L'enfant et les sortilèges, opera-ballet in 2 parts 43:24
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Performed by Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Claudine Carlson, Catherine Dubosc, Georges Gautier, Didier Henry, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Lionel Sarrazin, Odette Beaupré and Marie-Françoise Lefort
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
16.	Shéhérazade, poems (3) for soprano (or tenor) & orchestra (or piano) 17:07
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Performed by Catherine Dubosc and Montreal Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
17.	Shéhérazade--Fairy Overture, for orchestra (or 2 pianos) 12:38
	Composed by Maurice Ravel
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra

All Music Guide

For listeners who prefer their Ravel lushly textured, luminously colored, and luxuriantly impressionistic, this four-disc set of his orchestral music performed by Charles Dutoit and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal will be just the thing. Recorded between 1981 and 1995 in warmly opulent Decca sound and including all the canonical works plus the two piano concerts and the opera "L'Enfant et les sortiléges," Dutoit's approach to Ravel is decidedly sensual, even tactile. One can feel the excitement in the closing "Dance générale" of "Daphnis et Chloé," sense the energy in "La Valse," smell the sea in "Une barque sur l'océan," and touch the dancer's flushed skin in "Boléro." This is not to say that details are lost in Dutoit's performances -- with the superlative playing of the Montreal orchestra, one can assuredly hear everything in the scores. Nor is this to say that Dutoit neglects the music's clear shapes and lucid forms -- with a decisive beat and a clean technique, Dutoit's interpretations are models of clarity. But it is assuredly to assert that, for sheer aural beauty, these recordings cannot be beat. With the very virtuosic and very French playing of Pascal Rogé in the two piano concertos plus very characterful singing in "L'Enfant," this set will be mandatory listening for all those who love Ravel. James Leonard