Haitink's Excellent Interpretations of Ravel's Music
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 03/27/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I strongly disagree with David Hurwitz's strongly negative view of Haitink's current skills as an orchestral conductor. Having recently heard Haitink conduct the Vienna Philarmonic at Carnegie Hall, I think Haitink is still a first-rate interpreter of both German Romantic and Modern classical music. I'm sure the same holds true for his interpretations of Ravel's scores. Still, I will say that Haitink's tempi on this two CD set are slightly more brisk than those I heard in his relatively recent Bolero recording with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. However, the differences are quite minor, ranging no more than a few seconds to almost a minute at most. Haitink leads the Concertgebouw Orchestra in these distinguished recordings of Ravel's major orchestral scores that probably remain among the best available. Most noteworthy are his interpretations of Bolero, Alborada del Gracioso and La Valse on the first CD; La Mere d'Oye and Daphnis et Chloe on the second. These are lush, vibrant performances enhanced by the Concertgebouw's acoustics, and they sound great with the latest image bit digital remastering. Anyone in search of a definitive collection of Ravel's orchestral scores will not be disappointed with this splendid set."