Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 – Orchestrations Orchestre National de Lyon & Leonard Slatkin

• 1 10 Pieces pittoresques: No. 9. Menuet pompeux (arr. M. Ravel for orchestra) 06:48
• 2 Pour le piano: II. Sarabande (arr. M. Ravel for orchestra) 05:12
• 3 Danse, Tarentelle styrienne (arr. M. Ravel for orchestra) 05:11
• 4 No. 1. Preambule 02:47
• 5 No. 16. Valse allemande 01:06
• 6 No. 17. Intermezzo: Paganini 01:55
• 7 No. 21. Marche des Davidsbundler contre les Philistins 04:10
• 8 Promenade 01:45
• 9 I. The Gnome 02:36
• 10 Promenade 00:55
• 11 II. The Old Castle 03:51
• 12 Promenade 00:32
• 13 III. Tuileries 01:01
• 14 IV. Bydlo 02:35
• 15 Promenade 00:39
• 16 V. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks 01:19
• 17 VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle 02:23
• 18 Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade (arr. L. Slatkin for orchestra) 01:39
• 19 VII. The Market Place at Limoges 01:30
• 20 VIII. Catacombae: Sepulcrum romanum 02:05
• 21 Cum mortuis in lingua mortua 01:53
• 22 IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga) - X. The Great Gate of Kiev 09:05
• Total Runtime 01:00:57

Info zu Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 – Orchestrations

Maurice Ravel’s incomparable skill in orchestration and command of orchestral colour is evident both in his own works and in his orchestrations of music by other composers. His versions of both Chabrier’s vibrant Menuet pompeux and the colourful commedia dell’arte figures of Schumann’s Carnaval were commissions for ballet, while new life was given to his late friend Debussy’s Sarabande et Danse at the request of publisher Jean Jobert. Ravel’s iconic orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition makes telling use of a large orchestra, vividly depicting scenes that range from the playful to the macabre.

This release joins an acclaimed and increasingly abundant collection of recordings of Ravel from Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestre National de Lyon. The most recent releases in this edition include that of Ravel’s second opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges and Ma Mère l’Oye (8.660336), in which “Slatkin and his orchestra are on top form: beautiful solo strings in the Prelude and a deft account of the Dance of the Spinning Wheel. This disc is a terrific bargain” (Gramophone).

The success of this internationally renowned conductor and the Orchestre National de Lyon in our edition of Ravel’s orchestral music also precedes this release of his orchestrations. Gramophone acclaimed Slatkin’s conducting as “shaping the music with a potent mix of the sensuous, sinuous, sinister and spirited” in volume 1 (8572887), and volume 2 (8572888) was admired for its “splendidly characterised La Valse” by BBC Music Magazine.

Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition has long been acknowledged as one of the finest ever made, and this is a work that has long remained enduringly and immensely popular. Despite numerous recordings of this work in Ravel’s orchestration there are very few CD programs on the theme of Ravel’s orchestrations in general, and these versions of movements from Schumann’s Carnaval and the Debussy Sarabande et Danse are substantial attractions.

Internationally renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin began his musical studies on the violin and studied conducting with his father, followed by training with Walter Susskind at Aspen and Jean Morel at The Juilliard School. He was named music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon in its 2011–2012 season. His over a hundred recordings have brought seven GRAMMY® Awards and more than sixty GRAMMY® Award nominations. He has received many other honours, including the 2003 National Medal of Arts, France’s Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton for service to American music.

Orchestre National de Lyon
Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Orchestre National de Lyon
Offspring of the Société des Grands Concerts de Lyon, founded in 1905, the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) became a permanent orchestra with 102 musicians in 1969, with Louis Frémaux as its first musical director (1969-1971). From then on the orchestra was run and supported financially by the City of Lyon, which in 1975 provided it with a concert hall, the Lyon Auditorium. Since the Opéra de Lyon Orchestra was founded in 1983, the ONL has devoted itself to symphonic repertoire. Taking over from Louis Frémaux in 1971, Serge Baudo was in charge of the orchestra until 1986 and made it a musical force to be reckoned with far beyond its home region. Under the leadership of Emmanuel Krivine (1987-2000) and David Robertson (2000-2004), the ONL continued to increase in artistic stature and to receive international critical acclaim. Jun Märkl took over from him in September 2005 as musical director of the ONL. Leonard Slatkin has been musical director since September 2011.

Leonard Slatkin
Internationally renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin is currently Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and of the Orchestre National de Lyon and Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He is also the author of a new book entitled Conducting Business. His previous positions have included a seventeen-year tenure with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, a twelve-year tenure with the National Symphony as well as titled positions with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the New Orleans Philharmonic. Always committed to young people, Leonard Slatkin founded the National Conducting Institute and the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and continues to work with student orchestras around the world. Born in Los Angeles, where his parents, conductor-violinist Felix Slatkin and cellist Eleanor Aller, were founding members of the Hollywood String Quartet, he began his musical studies on the violin and studied conducting with his father, followed by training with Walter Susskind at Aspen and Jean Morel at The Juilliard School. His more than 100 recordings have brought seven GRAMMY® Awards and 64 GRAMMY® Award nominations. He has received many other honours, including the 2003 National Medal of Arts, France’s Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton for service to American music.

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