In my review of Jean-Philippe Collard’s Ravel Concertos with Lorin Maazel I praised this pianist’s beautiful performances of Jeux d’eau and the Pavane pour une infante défunte included as fillers. They whetted my curiosity to hear the rest of his EMI solo Ravel cycle from the late 1970s. It turns out to be a hit and miss affair. For example, Miroirs’ first three selections are often too loud and lacking in delicacy. A prosaic cloud hovers over Le Tombeau de Couperin and Gaspard de la nuit until their respective final movements, where repeated notes and accents come vividly alive. Valse nobles et sentimentales and the Sonatine are imaginatively laced with purposeful rubatos and effervescent fingerwork. Some listeners will tolerate the dryish, dynamically constricted sonics more than I do. However, for a super-budget Ravel cycle, I recommend the warmer engineering, interpretive consistency, and more colorful pianism distinguishing Abbey Simon’s reference Vox edition: a bargain at any price.
