BaL 18.10.25 - Ravel: Piano concerto in G major

[Petrushka]

And I've just realised that I've got another Argerich recording of the work, in the Warner Complete Ravel box (not so unwieldy):
Martha Argerich, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Alexander Vedernikov

That box also contains the early (1932) recording 'supervised' by the composer:
Marguerite Long, Orchestra, Pedro de Freitas-Branco

I've got another which is in the RCO125 box (disc 40). Cor de Groot with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Eduard van Beinum in a live recording from November 28 1940 during the German occupation. I've never played it as yet. I thought I had one with Marguerite Long but if I did I can't find it!

[pastoralguy]

I've got them both as they are in the huge Abbado box which sits on my listening room floor, weighs a ton and has discs which are impossibly difficult to extract with any comfort!

Believe it or not, there’s an Oxfam shop in North Berwick that has one for sale. It’s been sitting on the floor for about a year now with no takers. It’s priced at £450. I expressed interest but the shop manager was not in the slightest bit amenable to negotiating the price. So, I suspect it’ll sit there for another year.

I was very surprised at its sheer size when I saw it. It’s enormous…!

[MickyD]

I'd expect
Cédric Tiberghien, Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9318525--ravel-concertos-pour-piano-melodies

to feature too, unless Roth is now deemed a persona non grata.

I've yet to acquire this...how do you rate it?

[Pulcinella]

I've yet to acquire this...how do you rate it?

I kept it in my streaming favourites, which must mean something.
Not listened to for a while so need to remedy that.
I seem to remember not particularly liking the singer's voice.

[HighlandDougie]

I think that I have a copy somewhere but I remember that Jean-Philippe Collard/Lorin Maazel was well regarded in its day ('Gramophone' Award in 1980 - was it really that long ago?) but I haven't listened to it in a long time. Does it still stand up against the competition?

[Pulcinella]

I think that I have a copy somewhere but I remember that Jean-Philippe Collard/Lorin Maazel was well regarded in its day ('Gramophone' Award in 1980 - was it really that long ago?) but I haven't listened to it in a long time. Does it still stand up against the competition?

I would say so!
But like you not listened to in a while.

[oliver sudden]

I think that I have a copy somewhere but I remember that Jean-Philippe Collard/Lorin Maazel was well regarded in its day ('Gramophone' Award in 1980 - was it really that long ago?) but I haven't listened to it in a long time. Does it still stand up against the competition?

I suppose for some it might be a bit plain but I’ve always loved it for exactly that reason. “I don’t want to be ‘interpreted’, I want to be played”, as the man said.

The Long/Freitas Branco is another winner for me. After that, everyone else’s slow movements seem to be trying too hard.

I didn’t really enjoy the Les Siècles CD, but not because of what they did with this piece… I didn’t think the case for removing a bar from the last page of the left hand concerto was strong enough for something so drastic, and it seemed such a missed opportunity to do the Mallarmé songs just with piano when the chamber scoring would surely have been the perfect showcase for what’s so special about their instruments!

[Pulcinella]

I suppose for some it might be a bit plain but I’ve always loved it for exactly that reason. “I don’t want to be ‘interpreted’, I want to be played”, as the man said.

The Long/Freitas Branco is another winner for me. After that, everyone else’s slow movements seem to be trying too hard.

I didn’t really enjoy the Les Siècles CD, but not because of what they did with this piece… I didn’t think the case for removing a bar from the last page of the left hand concerto was strong enough for something so drastic, and it seemed such a missed opportunity to do the Mallarmé songs just with piano when the chamber scoring would surely have been the perfect showcase for what’s so special about their instruments!

Thanks for the reminder: those were the 'annoyances', I now recall.

[Darloboy]

Previous BaL recommendations:

Bryce Morrison (May 82): Argerich/BPO/Abbado
David Huckvale (Mar 2000): Zimerman/Boulez + Drury/Zander as Mid-Price Choice
Jonathan Swain (Feb 15): Argerich/Kaspszyk

I hope this isn't going to degenerate into another series where most of the works covered were last done in the last 10 years.

[Pulcinella]

I would say so!
But like you not listened to in a while.

Not so impressed on listening this afternoon, but the 2009 Penguin Guide certainly liked it (3 stars, a key symbol, and a note that it was in the BB (bargain basement?) category. But I was reminded of the flair Maazel has for Ravel (the DG recordings of tge operas, for exampke).

The Penguin Guide also recommends Fowke, with the LPO under Baudo, also on the shelves, so lined up for later.

But Michelangeli and Zimerman get the rosettes.

[CallMePaul]

I hope this isn't going to degenerate into another series where most of the works covered were last done in the last 10 years.

I agree completely. I seem to remember the left-hand concerto being done not too long ago, and many listeners with this will also have the G major on the same disc. I have the Zimmerman/ Boulez recordings of both and see no reason to add, although anything with Les Siècles interests me - their Daphnis et Chloé is oustanding in my view.

[Maclintick]

The Long/Freitas Branco is another winner for me. After that, everyone else’s slow movements seem to be trying too hard.

I think the cor anglais player could try harder at the end of that particular movement….

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0e2RIPSzCaY

[Roslynmuse]

Like Smittims, I have a great fondness for Mionique Haas's recording - I listened to it a month or two back after not hearing it for quite a while and I loved its understated character - no 'interpretation' here.

[richardfinegold]

I only have Argerich/Abbado and Entremont/Philadelphia/Ormandy unless there are others lurking in boxed sets. The only reason I have the Ormandy is because it's included in the Sony Boulez box coupled with the Boulez recording of the Left Hand Concerto.

Same. I have several in box sets but the Argerich/Abbado is the one that I choose

[silvestrione]

Gosh, I bought the recommended recording last time, and have only played once, when it arrived. And that was ten (10) years ago!

In that time I have certainly played the Michelangeli a few times. I love it.