Ravel: La Valse

Contrasting pieces by two masters of orchestral composition, these live performances, from 2009, capture the energy and movement of three much-loved balletic works; Ravel's intricate vignettes of childrens' stories in 'Mother Goose' and symphonic poem 'La valse', and Stravinsky's epoch-defining 'Rite of Spring'.

One of the oldest professional orchestras in Russia, the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra can trace its lineage back to 1882 and its formation by Tsar Alexander III. In a 25-year collaboration, Yuri Temirkanov has been the orchestra's principal conductor since 1988.

After a highly successful debut with the London Symphony Orchestra in December 1927, John Barbirolli became the youngest ever conductor to direct a Royal Philharmonic Society concert – he was 29. He chose Debussy’s La Mer, which had not been played in London for ten years. The orchestra needed more time on the unfamiliar score, so Barbirolli paid for an extra rehearsal out of his own pocket; the cost was almost as much as his fee for the whole concert.

Barbirolli continued to serve French music with care and devotion for the rest of his life. At his last concert with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, in May 1970, he conducted Ravel’s Mother Goose suite. The Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz became a central work in Barbirolli’s repertoire. He conducted it at two important events in the Hallé’s history – the first concert given in the new Free Trade Hall, Manchester in 1951 and then two years later he conducted the work at the Hallé’s first ever Prom concert.

Barbirolli’s classic recording of Symphonie fantastique is now restored to the catalogue along side three pieces from Le Damnation de Faust. A bonus track includes a rehearsal sequence (Menuet des follets) from this recording session.

The best of Ravel, Ravel's greatest hits - they're all here on 2 CDs packed to the brim, containing all of Ravel's most memorable tunes.

Inevitably, the focus is on the immortal Bolero, beloved of the film industry. Ravel famously considered it to be his masterpiece, but claimed it had no music in it - an opinion with which many would take leave to disagree.

La Valse extends the theme of dance, the Rhapsodie espagnole the theme of Spanishry and exoticism, while the compilation ends with a flavour of jazz as exemplified in the Blues movement from the Violin Sonata and the Concerto for piano, left hand (which in the 1930s the famous pianist Alfred Cortot dared to play using both hands, incurring the composer's wrath).

Another orchestral tour de force from Sascha Goetzel and this outstanding orchestra: after their acclaimed debut recording for ONYX of Respighi, Florent Schmitt and Hindemith, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and their charismatic Viennese music director have devised a fascinating programme of ballet music composed during the turbulent inter-war years of the 20th century.

The music reflects the edgy, dangerous and turbulent political and social landscape of the period. This is music of great rhythmic vitality: Ravel’s refracted memories of a vanished Habsburg Vienna destroyed by the 1914–18 War, to the primitive barbarism of Prokofiev’s 'Scythian Suite' and the lurid violence of Bartok’s 'Miraculous Mandarin' with its themes of lust, criminality, prostitution and murder.

Schulhoff’s ballet 'Ogelala' like Prokofiev’s score concerns pagan rituals and warring tribes, and a young couple who are meant to kill each other, but end up falling in love.

Holst’s comic opera, 'The Perfect Fool', written in 1918–22, begins with a ballet which is danced by Spirits of Earth, Water and Fire. The score is brilliant – and though less concerned with human drama than the other works on this disc, the drive, energy and sheer brilliance of Holst’s score is very much of its time.

Deutsche Grammophon presents internationally acclaimed conductor Myung-Whun Chung and his Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra with a new album. The orchestra is “a world-class ensemble” (Berliner Morgenpost) setting a new standard for orchestral music in Korea and regularly breaking records by playing for largely sold-out audiences.

The album includes Debussy’s La mer followed by two live recordings of Maurice Ravel’s Ma mère l'oye and La Valse.

On the heels of her impressive Deutsche Grammophon debut recital album, pianist Yuja Wang’s return recording for the label – Transformation – categorically demonstrates that she is a young master of the Steinway.

Her new album excites with a demanding recital that includes some of the most electrifying pieces of piano literature – Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka, Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Scarlatti’s Sonatas in E and B minor, and Ravel’s La Valse.

Yuja Wang’s ability to take her music by storm is tempered by a sophisticated musicality that never distorts the line.

Transformation highlights Yuja Wang’s penchant for piecing together high concept programs the public adores. As The New York Times observes, “She seems to have everything: speed, flexibility, pianistic thunder, and interpretive nuance.”

The Ballet Edition is a series of 2 CD sets drawn from the catalogues of EMI Classics, presenting the best-loved and most popular ballets, performed by the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.

The exciting young conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who succeeded Valery Gergiev as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra last season, makes his EMI Classics debut with the Orchestra in an all-Ravel programme. The repertoire features the composer’s greatest orchestral works: Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, Valses nobles et sentimentales, La Valse and Ma mère l’Oye.

For Nézet-Séguin, Maurice Ravel is the greatest orchestrator French music has ever had: “It’s all about colours” Yannick says, “and the contrast between intimacy and grandness, La Valse being one of his greatest and most powerful symphonic poems and the Valses nobles et sentimentales being much more intimate (…).Daphnis and Chloe is one of his most uplifting and triumphant works while Ma mère L’Oye is so intimate.” This disc explores the enormous variety of Ravel’s orchestral music through three of his particular themes: his fascination with childhood; his interest in the culture and character of Ancient Greece; and a near obsession with waltzes of all kinds. Indeed the collection is suffused with dance, ballet and rhythmic energy.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (b Montreal, 1975) studied piano, chamber music, composition and conducting at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec and choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. He took master classes with leading conductors, among them Carlo Maria Giulini. After receiving the Virginia-Parker Award in 2000, he was invited to conduct all the major Canadian orchestras. He continues to work regularly with the Toronto Symphony and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Symphony from 2003-2008.