BaL 28.06.14 - Ravel's La Valse

[Beef Oven!]

Can it really be that, after 50 years of collecting and listening, and a deep and abiding love for Ravel's music, I have no recording of La Valse?

It can't be. Check again. Start with Berio's Sinfonia, that kinda half counts.

[verismissimo]

No. It must be hiding there, unknown, somewhere.

What's more, I have two supposedly complete sets of his works for solo piano - Casadesus and Collard - neither of which includes it.

[Pianorak]

What's more, I have two supposedly complete sets of his works for solo piano - Casadesus and Collard - neither of which includes it.

Vlado Perlemuter, Philippe Entremont and Werner Haas likewise found La Valse a bit too difficult to include in their "complete sets"!

[akiralx]

BPO/Boulez for me.

Agreed, PB is superb here and in the other BPO Ravel/Debussy recordings (now on a DG twofer).

[Barbirollians]

Dutoit and Monteux are my versions with it seems numerous Argerich duos on the piano .

[cloughie]

Dutoit and Monteux are my versions with it seems numerous Argerich duos on the piano .

I'd have many favourites - some have also been mentioned but I really like the LAPO/Mehta 60s Decca recording.

[visualnickmos]

I find myself very taken with Ormandy/Philadelphia on Sony.

The 'dark' colours show through...

[HighlandDougie]

The 'dark' colours show through...

But perhaps not as much as they do with Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna ..... not that I expect it to feature on Saturday morning.

[Bryn]

But perhaps not as much as they do with Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna ..... not that I expect it to feature on Saturday morning.

I will be most put out if it isn't included in the consideration, even if it is not picked as the recommended recording.

[Don Petter]

I find myself very taken with Ormandy/Philadelphia on Sony.

The 'dark' colours show through...

That was one of my first LPs, assuming you mean the mono version which was on Philips SBR6201, a 10" with Bolero on the reverse.

I see that this and what is presumably a later version are both available as downloads:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ravel-Bol%C3%A9ro-valse-Mono-Version/dp/B00GWWA93S

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ravel-Eugene-Ormandy-Philadelphia-Orchestra/dp/B004TW21P2

(Alps only lists one download version, perhaps these are in fact the same recording, though neither of them is on Sony?)

[visualnickmos]

That was one of my first LPs, assuming you mean the mono version which was on Philips SBR6201, a 10" with Bolero on the reverse.

I apologise; I meant CBS, but I get the 2 confused, as I believe that Sony at some point took over CBS's recordings.......? I'm probably wrong....

This is the CD I have, and to which I was referring:

http://www.amazon.com/Ravel-Alborada-Gracioso-Rapsodie-espagnole/dp/B00000DSE5/ref=sr_1_105?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1403808754&sr=1-105&keywords=ravel+ormandy

[Bryn]

Hmm. A very incomplete version is that American Columbia (also known as CBS in the U.K.), licenced its recordings to Philips in the U.K. during the '50s and some of the '60s. Later CBS launched in the U.K. in its own right. Later still, Sony bought American Columbia/CBS and though at first it kept the CBS Masterworks name", it later dumped it in favour of "Sony".

[Rolmill]

Vlado Perlemuter, Philippe Entremont and Werner Haas likewise found La Valse a bit too difficult to include in their "complete sets"!

Ditto Paul Crossley.

I have Argerich/Freire and Coombs/Scott in the piano duo version, but no solo piano performance and (rather to my surprise) none of the orchestral versions. I won't be able to listen live, but may take advantage of the iPlayer to work out whether these are gaps I want to plug.

[Bryn]

Who, besides Abbey Simon, Steven Osborne and Louie Lortie, has recorded the solo piano version? I note that Angela Hewitt is among those who have not.

[Don Petter]

Who, besides Abbey Simon and Louie Lortie, has recorded the solo piano version?

Leonard Pennario.

And another four hand version is by Cor de Groot and Gerard Blerk (APR 5611)