Bolero Arletty

Pianist/composer Jacques Loussier demonstrated musical ability at an early age, starting to play at the age of ten and entering the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris at 16. Loussier's main professor there was Yves Nat, who in turn was encouraged by Faure, Saint-Saens, and Debussy as a student himself…

There are not enough words in the English language to describe how good this performace is. The quality of the recording is also quite good. If you are looking for the definitive version of Ravel's masterpiece, you have just found it.

Conductor Robert Trevino's new album release on Ondine – after a successful debut with a complete Beethoven symphony cycle – features six orchestral pieces by Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), one of the most famous Basque composers, played by the Basque National Orchestra. Born in a small town in France very close to the Spanish border, Ravel spent most of his life in Paris. However, he was extremely proud of his Basque background having absorbed himself to the culture already as a child, and many elements of Basque music can be found in his compositions. In this historic release, we can finally hear Ravel's orchestral music being interpreted by Basque musicians in the form of the Basque National Orchestra. These performances on some of the most fantastic orchestral scores of the 20th Century also shed light to the Basque influences in Ravel's music.

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!

Cinq chefs-d'œuvre de Ravel dans cinq interprétations sélectionnées par vos critiques préférés. Merci qui ? Une seule signature en bas de page, mais seize oreilles de Diapason à l'œuvre pour le nouvel Indispensable. Son programme n'est pas le fruit du hasard : il met en perspective les cinq partitions majeures de Ravel après guerre.