Maurice Ravel composed a number of works which have become classics of the repertoire both for solo piano and for orchestra. On the present disc, all except one work were first conceived for piano, which raises the question how it is possible to transfer such pianistic music to the orchestra without making it sound like a mere “colorized” version. Ravel’s orchestral writing was the result of a long apprenticeship and careful study of orchestration treatises as well as scores. Among the works performed here by Sakari Oramo and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra are some of Ravel’s earliest compositions, including the much-loved Pavane pour une infante défunte. The album closes with a later work: La Valse, written in 1920 as one of only four works by Ravel originally conceived for orchestra.
Orchestral Music of Maurice Ravel: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
