BOULEZ CONDUCTS RAVEL – LA VALSE , MENUET ANTIQUE , MOTHER GOO

简介:
Composer: Maurice Ravel
Orchestra: New York Philharmonic
Conductor: Pierre Boulez
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1 SACD-R
Format: ISO
Bit Depth: 64(2.8 MHz/1 Bit)
Number of channels: 5.0, 2.0
Label: Sony Classical
Size: 3.57 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Server: datafile
Pierre Boulez conducts the New York Philharmonic in the music of Maurice Ravel in a series of recordings made in
the 1970s. This is the stereo/surround issue of these recordings, a stereo-only SACD containing this recording of
La Valse as well as Bolero, Rapsodie Espagnole and more was also released, and is much more available..
Despite having already released Boulez”s La Valse in SACD two-channel stereo, Sony now has opted to put it back
in the company of its original LP partners and remaster the whole album in multichannel format. They needn”t have
bothered. Your reaction to this effort will depend to some extent on your view of what constitutes “natural”
sound, for while the surround experience, well, surrounds you, natural it certainly is not. La Valse comes off
best, if only because the very large orchestra allows less-frequent opportunities for obtrusive spot-miking of
individual (primarily wind) instruments than in the other two works. Even so, hearing the triangle in the back
left channel and the trumpets and cymbals back right provides a disorienting experience, though there”s no
denying the increase in sheer sonic brilliance.
Ma Mère l”Oye fairs worst of all. Just listen to the way the breathy flute in “Laideronette” dominates the
texture, popping irritatingly in and out of the mix, or to the strange way the xylophone seems bifurcated between
the back and front right channels simultaneously. Similarly, in the Menuet antique the first quiet episode lacks
textural coherence, with the bassoons sticking out like sore thumbs and string textures shifting seemingly at
random from rear to front. It”s a mess. Add to this the sound of pages turning, chairs scraping, and other
ambient noises that the multichannel format only exaggerates, and comparison with basic stereo (in this case at
least) clearly favors Sony”s original two-channel presentation. Indeed, for only a few dollars more than the
price of this disc you can get Boulez”s entire three-CD set of Ravel”s orchestral music in all of its original
glory, and that”s still the way to go.
Review from Classic CD Review
The Ravel performances were recorded Feb. 23 & 25, 1974 fortunately in the warm acoustics of New York”s Manhattan
Center. Thomas Z. Shepard was both original producer as well as producer for this SACD issue. The sound is rich,
resonant and up front with the back channels adding hall sound effectively. One might have hoped for more impact
in low percussion; at the climax of La Valse the bass drum is quite blurred. However, overall the effect is fine,
with the delicate textures of the other works admirably conveyed. This disk contains exactly what the original
stereo LP (Columbia 32838) offered-Boulez recorded other Ravel with the NYP (Barque sur l”océan, LeTombeau de
Couperin, Valses nobles et sentimentales); the first two of these easily would have fit onto this SACD: 47:40
playing time isn”t much!
曲目:
Boulez Conducts Ravel: La Valse, Menuet Antique, Mother Goose (New York Philharmonic / Pierre Boulez) (2003)
01. La Valse 13:04
Ma Mère L”oye. Mother Goose Suite (Complete Ballet) (02-08)
02. Prélude 03:36
03. Danse du rouet et Scène 03:35
04. Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant 02:32
05. Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête 04:55
06. Petit Poucet 04:36
07. Laideronnette, impératrice des pagodes 04:45
08. Le jardin féerique 03:24
09. Menuet antique 07:14