Search - Ravel, Haitink, Bso :: Bolero / Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales

Definitive Performance of Ravel's Orchestral Music

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 04/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a pity Bernard Haitink and the Boston Symphony Orchestra have not recorded more music together. I own several other recordings of theirs and all have been performances of the highest caliber. The Boston Symphony Orchestra plays with greater warmth and technical skill under Haitink's baton than it does under Ozawa's. And Haitink's subtle, no nonsense conducting has yielded results as good as any he's attained with his beloved Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra or the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin, Vienna and London. Indeed, some music critics have written that his recent recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra are among the finest in his career.One of these great recordings is unquestionably this CD, one of two he recorded of Ravel's orchestral music with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Haitink conducts with restrained passion as well as insight, producing a lush, brilliant sound from the Boston Symphony. Only at the end of "Bolero" does he let the orchestra loose in one final sonic explosion, but otherwise he keeps his and the orchestra's exuberance in check. Of course the tempi in all of these works feel right, not excessively fast, nor excessively slow. For example, his "Bolero" is nearly a minute faster than most conductors, but it sounds just right.Philips' engineers have made one of their finest recordings in recent memory. It's as though I am sitting in the front row of Boston's Symphony Hall, listening to Haitink and his orchestra. I am stunned with how well I can hear individual wind and horn players perform solo passages. Without question, this fine recording has to be regarded as definitive for these Ravel orchestral works."