Maurice Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales present a vivid mixture of atmospheric impressionism, intense expression and modernist wit. His fascination with the waltz is further explored in La Valse, a mysterious evocation of a vanished imperial epoch.

Heard here in an orchestration by Marius Constant, Gaspard de la nuit is Ravel’s response to the other-worldly poems of Aloysius Bertrand, and the dance suite Le tombeau de Couperin is a tribute to friends who fell in the war of 1914-18 as well as a great 18th century musical forbear.

The orchestrated Gaspard de la nuit is rarely recorded and, despite their deserved popularity, both the Valses nobles et sentimentales and Le tombeau de Couperin are far more widespread in their solo piano versions.

Volume 1 of this series of Ravel’s orchestral music has proved an immediate hit and has been warmly received by the press. Gramophone admired Leonard Slatkin’s ‘affinity with [Ravel’s] particular world of sound’, and of the Orchestre National de Lyon, stated that ‘it augurs well as a companion to the orchestra’s Debussy set under Jun Märkl.’

The Blu-ray version provides a spectacular alternative to CD: ‘the orchestral colours… are beautifully realized by Slatkin and his forces, and well-preserved in either hires format’ (Audiophile Audition 5-star review).

‘It is a delightful and assorted collection… presented in splendid performances by the Orchestre National de Lyon led by their music director, the venerable American conductor Leonard Slatkin.’ - Classical.net on Volume 1