Search - Delibes, Ravel, Ansermet :: Delibes: Coppelia / Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe

Amazing Ansermet

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 12/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to think I'm up to speed on all the recent Ernest Ansermet reissues on Australian Decca Eloquence, but until a friend bought me a copy of this title (thanks Ed!), I had no idea the conductor's magnificent recording of Delibes' "Coppelia" was back in print. Selections from the ballet appeared on Ernest Ansermet: Decca Recordings 1953-1967 [Box Set] (see my review), so I knew it was going to be good, but hearing all 85+ minutes of it was breathtaking. Like most Ansermet performances with his beloved Suisse Romande Orchestra, this 1957 reading (the first ever complete recording!) is precise and well-articulated, engineered to perfection and captured in glorious golden-age stereo. To round out this two-disc set, two other ballet suites have been added -- Delibes' "Sylvia" recorded in 1959, and Suite No. 2 from Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe" made in 1960. I was particularly excited to discover the Ravel Suite was not extrapolated from either of Ansermet's two recordings of the complete ballet, making it a great comparison piece instead of a needless duplicate. They say great gifts come in small packages, and that is definitely true here."