Ravel Monteux

[Nick Armstrong]

Every time I hear a Monteux performance of Ravel on the radio, I think to myself I really need to invest heavily - it always sounds so right, so fresh and transparent and powerful, and recent (they sound better recordings than many a much more recent one).

There was one on R3 the other morning (Rapsodie Espagnole, iirc), which I heard without the announcement - I was thinking: I love this, fresh as new paint, which new release is this? Jurowski? Ticciati?

Nope - dear old Pierre with the LSO, around the time of my birth.

Have some of the keen ears on here got suggestions as to the best sets to get, the best pressings, warnings like "avoid 'The Originals' reissue", info on high-quality Japanese options etc etc...?

And any views, of course, on the performances.

[richardfinegold]

I have the Daphnis, which I think is the complete ballet, on a Decca CD. I don't know about any sonic upgrades but I have the same recording as a 180 gram lp from Speakers Corner. I prefer the CD, which is apostasy for vinylistas...
I would urge you to investigate the Paul Paray/Detroit SO recordings on the Mercury Label, of about the same vintage as the Monteux.

[umslopogaas]

I've got the original LP of Daphnis et Chloe, on Decca stereo, SXL 2164. Published 1959, but still sounds fine to my ears. Go for the CD reissue as mentioned by rfg above, supposing you dont want the bother and expense of tracking down an original (probably cost you around a hundred quid from a dealer if you can find one with a copy) or the Speakers Corner LP reissue (probably about twenty five quid).

[gradus]

Monteux and Ravel or for that matter any music he chose to conduct would be a fine choice. I too have the Decca Daphnis and it still sounds good. The LSO (and his audiences) loved him - not too strong a word - for a very good reason and the LSO could be notoriously difficult at the time what with Marriner,Tuckwell etc in the ranks it can't have been easy but Monteux had 'it'. Beecham, Barbirolli and Klemperer were comparably great but none managed Ravel like Monteux, indeed Beecham was alleged to be inacapable of conducting the metric complexities of the score and the mind boggles at a Klemperer Daphnis.

[Keraulophone]

As it also seems to be for others, his Daphnis is the one I always return to after hearing the latest over-hyped whizz-kid effort. The 1959 sound engineering is quite an achievement. The rest of his recorded Ravel is equally fine.



...and after last night's memorable Bach on BBC4, I can't wait for this to fall onto the doormat...

[umslopogaas]

The mind does indeed boggle (at least, mine hesitates a bit) at the idea of Klemperer conducting Daphnis. Rather like employing a gardener to weed the lawn, and find that he arrived in a Sherman tank.

[cloughie]

I've got the original LP of Daphnis et Chloe, on Decca stereo, SXL 2164. Published 1959, but still sounds fine to my ears. Go for the CD reissue as mentioned by rfg above, supposing you dont want the bother and expense of tracking down an original (probably cost you around a hundred quid from a dealer if you can find one with a copy) or the Speakers Corner LP reissue (probably about twenty five quid).

My intro to the complete Daphnis was this recording on SDD170. I now have the Classic Sound incarnation of it on CD which has the Rapsodie Esp and the Pav Enf Def added. What's not to like!

[umslopogaas]

Thanks cloughie, I'd forgotten about those SDD reissues. I think they were one of Decca's (very successful) efforts to get a bit more mileage out of their original SXL 2000 series LPs before other labels overwhelmed their amazing efforts in the late 1950s/early 1960s. These days even the SDD reissues would command interest, and the original SXL items are getting scarily expensive.

[Barbirollians]

If you can locate a copy of the Philips CD of Monteux's LSO Mother Goose and Rhapsodies Espagnole snap it up

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My intro to the complete Daphnis was this recording on SDD170.

I still have that LP.

[Stanfordian]

I have the Daphnis, which I think is the complete ballet, on a Decca CD. I don't know about any sonic upgrades but I have the same recording as a 180 gram lp from Speakers Corner. I prefer the CD, which is apostasy for vinylistas...
I would urge you to investigate the Paul Paray/Detroit SO recordings on the Mercury Label, of about the same vintage as the Monteux.

Hiya RFG,

Monteux and the LSO on Decca with Ravel especially in Daphnis is stunning one of the greatest recordings ever released.

[Pulcinella]

I too 'grew up' with the Ace of Diamonds SDD LP of Monteux's D+C (as I did with his Sibelius 2, still a great favourite). The CD version I have seems to be a short-lived incarnation (but coupled with Rapsodie Espagnole and Pavane, as others) called Historic: 425956-2. Copyright date 1990.
As the ice-cream salesman says of his wares: often licked but never beaten (though I like some other versions too!).

[Barbirollians]

The classic Monteux recordings of Mother Goose and the short favourites are to reappear on Eloquence this month

[Gordon]

Thanks cloughie, I'd forgotten about those SDD reissues. I think they were one of Decca's (very successful) efforts to get a bit more mileage out of their original SXL 2000 series LPs before other labels overwhelmed their amazing efforts in the late 1950s/early 1960s. These days even the SDD reissues would command interest, and the original SXL items are getting scarily expensive.

Monteux gave the premiere of Daphnis so should know a bit about it! Usually the SDD re-releases used the original matrices from the SXL release so are practically the same thing. If there was some additional new material some recutting was done not always on both sides though - one side original the other new. Look at the central engraving for the matrix numbers, format ZAL xxxx.aB, the x's for the master tape, a for matrix generation and B the engineer. If the tape number changes it can mean a remastering as well as a recut and so not the same as the original SXL.

The Monteux Ravel Daphnis of April 1959 from Kingsway was SXL 2164 issued May 1960 and re-issued as SDD 170 in 1968.

[umslopogaas]

Thanks Gordon, I'd always wondered what those engravings meant!