Ravel's piano music is, in this writer's opinion, by
turns, some of the most moving and entertaining written in the 20th
century, even if it rarely approaches the distinction of some of his
chamber music (Piano Trio, Introduction and Allegro, String
Quartet, Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata etc.). On the
face of it, this bargain price compilation offers a good, varied introduction
to this repertoire. However, its main problem is the formidable competition
it faces, even in the lower price bracket, from the likes of Pascal
Rogé (Decca). It also, unsatisfactorily in my opinion, offers
only excerpts of three major works chosen for inclusion.
These performances have been drawn from previously
issued discs and I have lived with some of them (e.g. Alborada del
Gracisoso, Jeux d'eau) for several years, as part of a generally
excellent compilation tape (The Best of Ravel), which has provided many
hours of in-car entertainment. Thiollier has also recorded the piano
concertos for Naxos but, although many of his interpretations of the
solo piano works are highly enjoyable, there are others (some included
here) that seem unnecessarily rushed and/or mannered, although there
is no set pattern to this.
This is not a bad disc, and probably worth the asking
price, but the musical logic of including only selections from the more
extended main works eludes me, especially when the pieces in question
are often some of the best played on the disc. Although taken in isolation,
the performances are better than adequate, they do not really withstand
comparison with the best in the field (nor do the recordings). Also
the track listing seems to co-opt the Menuet sur le nom de Haydn
into the Valses nobles et sentimentales. In all honesty, when
Naxos are now releasing material of the quality of, for instance, the
recent Moeran and Lilburn discs, this type of release does nothing for
the company's growing reputation. If back catalogue re-release/repackaging
is now a label priority, why not have a closer look at the Marco Polo
archives - the recent Naxos reisuues from it have been, to a disc, remarkable
bargains, but there is plenty more where that came from. How about,
and these are just a very few random, off the cuff examples, Maurice
Emmanuel, the Moeran cello sonata disc, South African orchestral music?
Neil Horner
François-Joël
Thiollier, piano