Claude Debussy; Maurice Ravel; Jules Massenet - Works for Piano & Orchestra (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet)

Information

Composer: Claude Debussy; Maurice Ravel; Jules Massenet

1. Debussy - Fantaisie, for piano & orchestra: I. Andante ma non troppo
2. Debussy - Fantaisie, for piano & orchestra: II. Lent (très expressif)
3. Debussy - Fantaisie, for piano & orchestra: III. Allegro molto
4. Ravel - Concerto in G for piano & orchestra: I. Allegramente
5. Ravel - Concerto in G for piano & orchestra: II. Adagio assai
6. Ravel - Concerto in G for piano & orchestra: III. Presto
7. Ravel - Concerto for the Left Hand, for piano & orchestra
8. Massenet - Deux Impromptus: I. Eau Dormante. Lent et calme
9. Massenet - Deux Impromptus: II. Eau Courante. Vite
10. Massenet - Toccata
11. Massenet - Deux Pièces pour piano: I. Papillons noirs. Allegro agitato molto
12. Massenet - Deux Pièces pour piano: II. Papillons blancs. Allegro (alerte)
13. Massenet - Valse folle

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor (1-7)

Date: 2010
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%205084

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Review

An all-too-rare outing for Debussy’s luxuriant Fantaisie makes this a must

Debussy’s Fantaisie is such a gorgeous work that its infrequent appearances on the concert platform (or on disc, for that matter) are a matter of surprise. Completed in 1890, it is not mature Debussy, but there are plenty of tantalising foretastes of things to come, and its voluptuous rhapsodising makes the two Ravel concertos sound positively corseted by comparison. The combination of all three works on a single CD creates a satisfying programme, especially when played with such finesse and limpid colouring as by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, with Yan Pascal Tortelier and the BBC SO matching him in taste and eloquence. Somehow – and this is really the only reservation – the simplicity of the central slow movement of Ravel’s G major Concerto on occasion sags into something approaching sleepiness, but elsewhere the interpretations catch the ear with their blend of subtle phrasing, polish and unanimous zest. The performance of the Debussy Fantaisie is especially good and deserves to garner wider audiences for a piece on which, for some reason, the composer seems to have placed an embargo, so that it was not given its premiere until 1919, the year after his death. Maybe, on reflection, he found it too redolent of a conventional piano concerto or, as he told Edgard Varèse, a “slightly ridiculous battle” between piano and orchestra, but this performance casts such self-criticism aside. A group of charming solo piano miniatures by Massenet complements and at times connects with the styles of Debussy and Ravel, and Bavouzet plays them beautifully.

-- Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: ****
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Review/244276,debussy-fantaisie-for-piano-and-orchestra-ravel-piano-concerto-in-g-concerto-for-the-left-hand-massenet-piano-works-jean-efflam-bavouzet-bbc-symphony-orc.aspx
http://www.classicfm.com/composers/ravel/album-reviews/disc-reaches-new-ravel-benchmark/#wmhMlvIF7qF2zQGT.97
http://www.allmusic.com/album/jean-efflam-bavouzet-plays-ravel-debussy-massenet-mw0002059019
https://www.amazon.com/Ravel-Concerto-Massenet-Debussy-Fantaisie/dp/B0044FEZD0

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Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, though he disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Debussy is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. His innovative harmonies and his use of non-traditional scales were influential to almost every major composer of the 20th century and also some modern music groups. Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of nontraditional tonalities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy

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Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas, and eight song cycles. His best known works include Boléro (1928), Gaspard de la nuit (1908), Daphnis et Chloé (1912). Ravel was also an exceptionally skilled orchestrator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ravel

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Jules Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty, made him the leading composer of opera in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.. He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music. Massenet taught composition at the Paris Conservatoire from 1878 until 1896. Among his students were Gustave Charpentier, Ernest Chausson, Reynaldo Hahn and Gabriel Pierné. Massenet's his operas are widely accepted as well-crafted and intelligent products of the Belle Époque.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Massenet

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Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (born 1962 in Lannion, France) is a French classical pianist. Grew up in Metz, he started his music studies there, encountering such luminaries as Iannis Xenakis, Olivier Messiaen, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. Moving to the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied under Pierre Sancan, among others. He also had private lessons with Georg Solti. although never performed in public. His recordings for Chandos have received several Gramophone Awards, and numerous other awards, including the BBC Music Magazine Award, the Choc de la Musique and the Diapason d'Or.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Efflam_Bavouzet

http://www.bavouzet.com/

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