BaL 19.02.11 Ravel: Alborada del gracioso

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Reviewed by Rob Cowan

Orchestral versions
Paris Conservertoire Orchestra - Wolff
Concertgebouw - Haitink
Boston Symphony Orchestra - Ozawa
Orchestre de Paris - Martinon
Orchestre de Paris - Karajan
SRO - Ansermet
Montreal SO - Dutoit
Orchestre de la Societe - Cluytens
Munich Philharmonic - Celibidache
Minnesota Orchestra - Oue
Cincinnati SO - Lopez-Cobos
Baltimore SO - Commissiona
Orchestre de Paris - Eschenbach
BPO - Boulez
San Francisco SO - Monteux
Chicago SO - Barenboim
Basque National Orchestra - Mandeal
Basque National Orchestra - Varga
LSO - Abbado
Premier Parisian Orchestra - Straram
Orchestre National de France - Inbal
Ulster Orchestra - Tortelier
Stokowski


Piano versions
Aimard
Carbinara
Pizarro
Cole
Collard
Lortie
Tharaud
Lise de la Salle
Queffelec
Bavouzet
Perlemuter
Hewitt
Osborne
Shevchenko
Seeway
Abdel Rahman El Bacha
Gilels
Lipatti
Pludermacher
Butcaro
Nojima
Quintessenz
Katsaris
Imogen Cooper
Barto
Kenner
Levingston
Schuch
Richter
Muraro
Nagai
Laplante
Francine Kay
Thiollier
Crossley
Boyde
Simon
Tryon
Gieseking
Francois
Roge
Mrongovius (or Uniarte)
Peebles
Ousset
Hyekyung Lee
Hamilton
Schirme
Endres
Horton
Salzman
Haas
Wang


There's also a version for 10 guitars

[amateur51]

This should be interesting.

Paris Conservertoire Orchestra - Wolff
Concertgebouw - Haitink
Boston Symphony Orchestra - Ozawa
Orchestra de Paris - Martinon
BPO - Karajan

(lots more to follow - battery nearly flat)

Ooooh Dinu Lipatti for me!

[Barbirollians]

Dinu for me too .

[amateur51]

Dinu for me too .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuZOVSL5woo

[BBMmk2]

Artur Pizzaro for(me being biased here I think(!)m as ghe lives in Brighton!).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Does this break the record for the shortest ever piece on BAL - well under 8 minutes?

[verismissimo]

What a service Alpen is providing for us on forthcoming BALs. Thanks!

I have in my "library" Robert Casadesus, Alicia De Larrocha and Cecile Ousset. I've never compared them, but I will!

Looks as though only Ousset of these is on the market currently.

[verismissimo]

Forgot that I also have Jean-Philippe Collard on CD...

[vinteuil]

Marcelle Meyer
Jean-Yves Thibaudet

... much prefer the piano version to the orchestral...

[pilamenon]

Ansermet 1951 version.

[french frank]

Does this break the record for the shortest ever piece on BAL - well under 8 minutes?

Debussy, Syrinx??

[Pianorak]

... much prefer the piano version to the orchestral...

Hear! Hear! - Heaven only knows why it had to be orchestrated! Ruined it completely!

[Nick Armstrong]

It seems a misjudgment to me that an entire BAL is being devoted to a 7 minute piece. And indeed to just the orchestral transcription of one of a set of piano pieces. It would have been more in keeping with the ethos of the programme to look at "Miroirs" for piano as a whole. Do we need more than a 5 or 10 minute segment about the orchestral version??

That said, for my money, BAL works best when it is about a shorter work with consequently the chance to hear more extracts of more of the piece.

However a 7 minute transcription (which is also one of the most regularly played on the R3 list, it seems to me) is taking it too far I think. Bit disappointing.

[BBMmk2]

Has Charles Dutoiit's Montreal recording been deleted?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Has Charles Dutoiit's Montreal recording been deleted?

Not as far as I know. It's available from Presto on the 2nd page of this link:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/15881/2