La Tribune 30.06.24 - Ravel: Boléro

[MickyD]

The four reviewers are all appearing for the very first time on radio, a good cross section of the public, three not professionally connected to music.

The contenders:

A: LSO/Monteux 1964 Philips

B: Boston Symphony Orchestra/Munch 1956 RCA Living Stereo

C: Anima Eterna/Immerseel 2005 Zig Zag Territoires

D: Berlin Philharmonic/Boulez 1993 DG

E: Orchestre National de Lyon/Slatkin 2011 Naxos

F: Concertegebouw Amsterdam/Chailly 1996 Decca

[MickyD]

Version E/Slatkin has just been eliminated - considered too cold, clinical, neutral and flat. The piece starts too loud for the panel, two found it boring!

[MickyD]

Version B/Munch eliminated - considered too fast and martial - reminded one critic of "Mars" from "The Planets"!

Version C/Immerseel eliminated - one critic loved it, hypnotic, nostalgic and jazzy. Others thought it not festive enough. All loved the excellent recording in which you could hear the instruments very well.

[MickyD]

Version A/Monteux eliminated - Considered quite jazzy, one critic thought it was an American recording, a mix of Gershwin, France and Spain! The overall feeling that the sound was rather acidic, which could be the fault of the age of the recording rather than the performance.

Version F/Chailly eliminated - considered by one to be rather too mechanic and missing the suspense of Version D/Boulez. Good recorded sound, though one critic thought it sounded as if the mics were too close to the percussion section. But overall the panel rated it quite highly.

Thus Version D/Boulez is the winner - apparently it won the prize back in 2016, too. The panel thought you could see the characters of the dancers entering - sensual and seductive, full of joy, rich and grandiose. It reminded one critic of 'La Valse' in its energy. Apart from the hesitation of one critic unable to reach a conclusion, an almost unanimous decision.

Job done! I must say I enjoyed this more than I imagined I would! And I was impressed by the panel of amateur critics who found plenty to say. Well worth a listen.

[Pulcinella]

Many thanks for your summary, Micky.
The 'winner' is the only one of the six on my shelves.
I'll give it a spin during the coming week.

[MickyD]

You're very welcome ! I must say I thought the Boulez sounded wonderful.
I have Immerseel, Roth and Dutoit...the latter of course enjoying the famous sumptuous Decca sound.

[LMcD]

You're very welcome ! I must say I thought the Boulez sounded wonderful.
I have Immerseel, Roth and Dutoit...the latter of course enjoying the famous sumptuous Decca sound.

Was this edition of the programme scheduled to more or less coincide with the decision of a French court as to whether Bolero was or wasn't a collaborative effort? (The court decided that it was the work of Ravel alone).

[MickyD]

I'm afraid I don't know, but have a hunch you may be right. There was also the recent release of a French film centred around the story of Bolero's creation.

[Quarky]

Many thanks MickyD for keeping us informed on this programme. I see Jérémie has now published a short report of the proceedings.

For my part, I prefer discussion by the Critiques to that of the Auditeurs - too much chit chat. Some chat about factories, Ford motor company, Jazz and Gershwin. However that didn't seem relevant to the "organique" Boulez recording.

[oliver sudden]

I was very impressed indeed by the panel—a lot of the time they could have passed for TdC regulars. I loved the selected version from the start (although I’m not a fan of the percussion right at the end). Too many of the others were too busy at the very beginning. Looking for midday at 2pm, as those Frenchies sometimes say.

There’s a very strange phenomenon at the end of version F: it sounds like there are voices joining in. Did that bother anyone else?

[Expianoman]

I too thought it a surprisingly very good programme, given the piece.

I did feel that version F kept on trying to add phrasing throughout the piece which kept on getting in the way of the incessant rhythmic structure. I did, for a change, agree with the final choice.

[oliver sudden]

I too thought it a surprisingly very good programme, given the piece.

It’s a bit of an anti-Tribune piece as far as I’m concerned! It’s all really about the cumulative effect and honestly who remembers by the end of Bolero how they were feeling after the first three solos?

[MickyD]

Many thanks MickyD for keeping us informed on this programme. I see Jérémie has now published a short report of the proceedings.

For my part, I prefer discussion by the Critiques to that of the Auditeurs - too much chit chat. Some chat about factories, Ford motor company, Jazz and Gershwin. However that didn't seem relevant to the "organique" Boulez recording.

Yes, I too was baffled by all those constant references to factories! At one point one of the lady critics got so lost in telling us how she heard and saw references to the USA, Spain and France that Jérémie too was lost and quickly moved on!

Anyway, at least it's got us talking!

[oliver sudden]

I was very impressed indeed by the panel—a lot of the time they could have passed for TdC regulars. I loved the selected version from the start (although I’m not a fan of the percussion right at the end). Too many of the others were too busy at the very beginning. Looking for midday at 2pm, as those Frenchies sometimes say.

There’s a very strange phenomenon at the end of version F: it sounds like there are voices joining in. Did that bother anyone else?

Wait, this one also seems to have shouting at the end. Is this a thing?

https://youtu.be/pFFigPdKPg4?feature=shared

(Indeed I vaguely remembered that this one seemed to have voices at the end, heard what sounded like voices at the end of version F, and thought version F must be this one… )

[Quarky]

Yes, I too was baffled by all those constant references to factories! At one point one of the lady critics got so lost in telling us how she heard and saw references to the USA, Spain and France that Jérémie too was lost and quickly moved on!

Anyway, at least it's got us talking!

Many thanks MickeyD.

At least, it's very entertaining!