Search - Maurice Ravel, Walter Gieseking :: Ravel: The Complete Works for Solo Piano

Newly transferred from the original master tapes, Walter Gieseking's 1954 EMI Ravel cycle gains in color and amplitude over previous "unofficial" CD editions of these long-unavailable recordings. Indeed, his vocal grimaces at loud moments register more clearly. More to the point, Gieseking's pellucid touch and direct brain-to-finger equilibrium control Ravel's cruelly exposed, deceptively difficult textures with effortless elegance in Le Tombeau de Couperin, Jeux d'Eaux, the Sonatine, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, and most of Miroirs (though Alborada del gracioso could use more sultry snap). True, Gaspard de la Nuit's outer movements lack the hazy sweep of Gieseking's famous pre-war 78s. But the short pieces embody lapidarian marvels, like the Pavane's perfect melody/accompaniment balances (only a pedaling genius like Gieseking can achieve this without pedal!) and the Haydn Menuet's elusive polyphony voiced to a tee. Even when he's in less than tip-top form, Gieseking still clicks into Ravel's sound world as if both composer and interpreter shared genetic code. --Jed Distler