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Ravel Piano Works?

8K views 28 replies 18 participants last post by  DeepR 
#1 · (Edited)
While I have several recordings of most of Ravel's music... including a number of his piano concertos (Samson François & Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli being absolutely essential) I must admit to having no recordings of Ravel's complete solo piano works beyond those by Walter Gieseking. I am now looking for a more contemporary recording. I quite admire Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's recordings of Debussy's piano fare... and I quite like what I am hearing as I currently listen on Spotify to Alexandre Tharaud.

Anyone have any recordings beyond these they especially admire/recommend?

:confused:
 
#2 ·
I enjoy Jean-Yves Thibaudet's recordings of Ravel's Miroirs and Gaspard. His style of playing is precise and elegant. I feel that his restrained approach works well for Ravel's music.

If you're interested in hearing a more romantic interpretation of Ravel, then you might prefer Martha Argerich. She brings a great deal of passion and fire to her performances of Ravel, especially in the G Major piano concerto.
 
#13 ·
I haven't listened to much of Mok's Ravel, chordalrock's comment is interesting but on youtube I couldn't hear much difference in terms of the actual piano sound and not really a big deal but noticed she was using the sheet music while playing Miroirs.

I will have to try to find a better recording.

As far as Perlemuter - older sounding recordings, but excellent playing.

 
#6 · (Edited)
I agree with these being essential recordings of the concertos, as well as the ones mentioned in the OP. For the solo piano music my favorite complete set is the one by Pascal Roge.

I really like Pierre-Laurent Aimard's Ravel but he has not recorded all of the solo piano pieces to my knowledge. His Miroirs is on the Decca Ravel Complete Edition.
 
#7 ·
I have the Louis Lortie set on Chandos. Great sound and solid playing. I also have the Ravel Edition on Decca which features Jean-Yves Thibaudet. I like his Satie playing too. There's a 6 CD set that sell for around 15 dollars.
 
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#8 · (Edited)
I recently transferred from Rogé to Lortie, partly because I prefer his playing and also because it's more complete. His Miroirs is sublime, though the way he plays the prelude from Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin really bothers me. Feels far too robotic in some places. The rest is fantastic, however.

For Gaspard I always pop over to Grosvenor's CD despite it not containing his complete works.

I really wish Bavouzet's recording of his complete works was on Spotify. I've only ever heard good things about it but sadly it isn't on there so I have to settle for Lortie.
 
#28 · (Edited)


This is a truly awesome set, because not only does it offers solo piano works performed by one of my favorite Ravel interpreters, Vlado Perlemuter, but it offers comparative versions of the works by other great pianists, like Gilels and Richter. So you get to hear Gulda's Gaspard de la Nuit or Clara Haskil's Sonatine next to Perlemuter's.
 
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