Credits:

Leonard Slatkin

Description:

Volume 1 (8.572887) features a lineup led by the world-famous Bolro, and this collection of orchestral works by Ravel (18751937), performed by Slatkin & Lyon, instantly captivated fans. Volume 2 brings together arrangements of piano pieces, including two waltzes. While none of these works are straightforward, Slatkina true masterdelivers a beautiful, meticulously controlled sound. The Elegant and Sentimental Waltz was reportedly composed using a Schubert waltz as a motif; it is said that during its piano premiere, the composers name was withheld as part of an experiment to see if the audience could guess who wrote it. While some listeners of the piano version apparently thought it was by another composer, the orchestral version unfolds a sonic world that is unmistakably the work of Ravel, the magician of soundso surely no one would be mistaken this time. Although Gaspard de la Nuit was not a