Bolero Arletty

Continuing their exploration of Ravel’s output, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles offer us two works linked by his love of Spain. Alongside the famous Bolero, which regains its original flavour here on period instruments, is Ravel’s first opera, which flirted with libertinism: though its outstanding cast consists entirely of native French-speakers, this caustic ‘Hour’ remains quintessentially Spanish!

When you really get down to it, no one can croon a Latin love ballad quite like the enchanting Jose Feliciano. This collection of boleros new and old is no exception to this fact. With his customary nylon-string guitar in hand, Jose lets each timeless account of love unfold like so many petals of a rose in bloom. The years have clearly polished rather than withered his familiar voice, giving him the ability to lull and transport lovers of the world, be they Spanish-speaking or not, to the silky places he knows.

The European Jazz Trio, comprising Marc van Roon on Piano, Frans van der Hoeven on bass and Roy Dackus on drums has been recording and performing since 1995, when it released a CD of Beatles' songs in fresh arrangements. On each album, the trio has taken songs in every style, shape and color, and has given them a jazz interpretation. For the trio 'Jazz' means to have the freedom to combine and mix styles, melodies, sounds and rhythms to create something fresh and surprising. The European Jazz Trio pushes the envelope of jazz music by adding to it its own sound and rhythm, a result of the music that has influenced the trio's members.

Riccardo Chailly pays tribute to Maurice Ravel with a program of waltzes and wild reveries of ecstasy and elegance. He ushers us into Ravels musical worlds filled with ever-changing colors, scents, and flavors: the pulsating three-quarter time of waltzes that reflect just how much the Great War transformed European culture, the ancient love story of Daphnis and Chloé, and the relentless rhythms of Boléro. Magnifique! Recorded live at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern, August 2018.

Boléro, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1928, has always captured the world’s attention. Repetitive, mesmeric, colourful and thrilling, it has also proved a seminal work, influencing composers over the past century. Now it lends its name to a film inspired by the life of Ravel: directed by Anne Fontaine and starring Raphaël Personnaz.