Maurice Ravel Bso Charles Munch - Ravel Daphnis et Chloe (23 tracks) +Album Reviews

An absolutely stunning recording

S. Baird | Baton Rouge, LA United States | 10/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of two near-definitive recordings of Daphnis Et Chloe, the other being Ernest Ansermet's on Decca/London. The Munch recording offers a little more elan and a far better sound than Ansermet; ideally the music collector will want both.

Munch's recording is part of the legendary RCA Living Stereo series of recordings that date from the fifties, and this one has always been regarded as one demonstrating state-of-the-art sound. Indeed, many of the original recordings are highly prized by collectors today. This reissue in the new SACD medium offers excellent sound from its recent transfer of the original master tapes, and is available in three-channel sound (as well as conventional stereo) for those who own multi-channel SACD-compatible equipment."

One of the legendary Ravel recordings.

Marc Haegeman | Gent, Belgium | 08/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the all-time greatest Ravel discs now comes in even superior sound quality. Fifty years after date, Charles Munch's 1955 reading remains nothing less than ideal by its totally spontaneous drive, its unerring sense of colour and atmosphere, while the virtuosic playing of the Boston Symphony is quite simply outstanding. The beautifully balanced sound (always a great asset of these early RCA stereo recordings) is most impressively rendered by the DSD technology.

A true gem of the classical catalogue, a clear first-choice for Daphnis and Chloe - not to be missed by any serious collector."

Munch is the best interpretor for Ravel!

J. K. Snyder | Cleveland, OH USA | 09/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ravel is my favorite composer, and Charles Munch has to be my favorite conducter. This interpretation of Daphnis is outstanding, follows the score perfectly as Ravel would have wanted. I was amazed how clean this c.d. sounded, this was my first Living Stereo SACD in my collection along with Reiner's Bartok Concerto for orchestra and Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, along with Munch's Betthovan Symphonies and Saint-Saens's Organ Symphony. I love how the chorus blends in with the orchestra, but it didn't sound as though it was behind the stage according to the score. The wind machine at the end of Act 1 is amazing. I've listened to samples on other recordings of Daphnis and none can compare to Munch's. Munch's interpretation is full of emotion (especially in the lover's theme), which is required for performing Ravel's masterpiece. I'm happy that I'm finding great old recordings at great prices becuase I'm not impressed with today's orchestras."

A Legendary Recording You Can Enjoy In Wonderful Sound!

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 03/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For many American concert-goers during the 30's, 40's and 50's the Boston Symphony was the Queen of orchestras. Honed to an almost unassailable perfection under the direction of Serge Koussevitsky, the Boston conveyed equal parts unsurpassed beauty of tone, extreme elegance, and uncompromising section work.

When Charles Munch took over he essentially was given the keys to heaven, and with the advent of stereo recording he made a number of recordings capturing the Boston still at near the pinnacle of its perfection.

Without doubt this recording of Ravel's majestic ballet for the Corps Diaghilev captures both the full richness of Ravel's score and the unequalled and unique glamor of the Boston Symphony at its best. One might say the SACD offers a gilding of the lilly, so excellent is the regular issue, but it really goes even further in evoking the faintest whisperings of fragmentary themes with spellbinding - I know its a cliche but it's so right - haunting immediacy.

Too, along with great delicacy Daphnis demands moments of supreme power and driving energy, and Munch always had a capacity for tremendous punch and drive, qualities perhaps best heard in his riveting work in Roussel with a French orchestra Roussel: Symphonies 3 & 4; Bacchus et Ariane, Suite No. 2 or (Roussel: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4[[ASIN:B000009Q18

Note: The Roussel Third Symphony was commissioned by Koussevitsky for The Boston Symphony in 1931 for their 50th anniversary - along with a few other works you might have heard of: Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms; Hanson's Romantic Symphony; Prokofief's Fourth Symphony; and Gershwin's 2nd Rhapsody.

Munch had recorded this work, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique once before with Boston. Both recordings are so good there are those who prefer them to the later stereo versions. However, the genius of these early RCA analog recordings in stereo has to be given precedence.

There have been almost too many other versions of this work to compare this with - the number of suites of the Daybreak Suite number in the dozens and dozens. However the work gains immeasureably by hearing in toto, and this remains the choicest way to hear the entire ballet.

Some have referred readers to the Boulez version. Boulez has given us many fine and remarkable recordings of Ravel. That said, Daphnis requires the urgency of the Mediterranean sun awakening the young shepherd, and Boulez seems utterly at sea before such frank pictoralism. The rapturous efflorescence of Greek Arcadia swells out and struggles to burst the formal structure of Ravels' inherent classicism. The resultant music gives us Ravel's richest outpouring on the grandest never-to-be-repeated scale. Munch and Boston convey all of this with an incandescent performance.

One of the true classics of recorded history."

Classic Recording of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe Remains Unsurp

Kerry Kaneko | Temple City, CA USA | 02/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This classic recording should not be missed by any fan of Maurice Ravel's masterpiece, Daphnis et Chloe. A superb performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under conductor Charles Munch. Munch brings out more feeling, more romance, and more beauty out of Daphnis et Chloe - my favorite Ravel work - than any other conductor I have ever heard."

Search - Maurice Ravel, Bso, Charles Munch :: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe [Hybrid SACD]

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