Ravel conducting Bolero 1932 PART 1

A specific request for Ravel conducting his own Bolero. With the Orchestre Des Concerts Lamoureux recorded for Polydor in 1932 (Polydor records were issued in America by Brunswick). Ravel was not considered a particularly good conductor, even of his own works. I think the Mengelberg version is better and the 3-sided Koussevitsky version was more popular - and with better sound. However, this is certainly historically important.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ravel
• Bolero
• Victor
• Orthophonic

[odemoura]

Only a dull brain could regard this great music as dull. I guess we are asking too much of a person that most likely prefers the dullness of most music nowadays.

[merrihew]

@odemoura Ravel himself acknowledged the limitations of this piece, but you can't judge all music using the same criteria.

[visualmusicshow]

Isn't there an anecdote that Ravel, furious, burst into Toscanini's dressing room after a performance and told him the tempo was too fast, dancing around him to demonstrate?

[merrihew]

I believe I read that someplace as well. Also Koussevitzky did it on 3 - 12" sides whereas Ravel takes 4.

[merrihew]

He died in 1937. Yes, the performance is rather sluggish. Bolero is a piece that lends itself to a wide variety of interpretations.

[merrihew]

The rest of it is on its way.

[cccc1407]

this starts off a half tone sharp in C# major! so the speed is not at all accurate!

[GTEd]

Jean Martinon was a master of Ravel orchestral works. His 1988 recording with l'Orchestre de Paris is a stupendous example of this great conductor's gifts. There is a palpable shimmer to the performance and sound, as if by the noonday sun in Africa. Stunning. I heard Martinon live in Chicago conducting Bolero with the Chicago Symphony. I felt the pressure to go mad as the piece reached its conclusion. I'm impressionable, I admit, but not that impressionable. It was hard to hang on to my seat.

[cccc1407]

it's a bit sharp, so that means the actual performance was a bit slower than this.

[APyleOfVinyl]

Thank you for posting this great historical recording! I usually prefer versions of works that are conducted by their own composers but this sadly is an exception. The tempo seems clumsy compared to recordings by Eugine Ormandy or even this obscure recording I own by the London Symphonette (on Rondo records). However, I still enjoy it since Bolero is a favorite piece of mine.

[SPuJ0]

@odemoura As I said in reply to @M23jnba I like most music that blends melody, harmony, rhythm, soul and skilful musicianship. In my opinion the first two are a little sparse in this piece which, incidentally, puts Bolero, for me, into the same category as most modern music which I also find exceedingly dull.

[SPuJ0]

@M23jnba Not too familiar with the work of Lady Gaga I'm afraid! I'm into most music that blends melody, harmony, rhythm, soul and skilful musicianship - be it baroque, classical, rock, pop, whatever (From the little I've heard that probably excludes most of Lady G). I find the Bolero somewhat lacking in the first two - but that's just my opinion I know.