# La Valse recordings



## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

What recordings of Ravel's _La Valse_ do you recommend?


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

adriesba said:


> What recordings of Ravel's _La Valse_ do you recommend?


Great piece!! A challenge for orchestra and conductor.
Monteux and Abbado made good recordings with LSO...
Munch and Bernstein are ok, but they go wild at the conclusion and precision suffers. ..the orchestra should go wild, but the conductor has to stay very disciplined....
Martinon and Reiner made fine recordings with Chicago, Reiner's is live tape, Martinon on excellent sounding RCA recording from 60s...

But top billing, for me, is Reiner/PittsburghSO from 4/47 - on a Pristine release [Reiner Rarities Vol. 3] - engineered by Mark Obert-Thorn from CBS LP. Great performance, in stunning sound!! Great excitement, clarity, finesse and wild power...the sound has great presence, range and sonic wallop!! Hard to believe it's 1947, but it's true...Gold Medal winner.
Martinon, Monteux for the silver and bronze.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

adriesba said:


> What recordings of Ravel's _La Valse_ do you recommend?


 Ravel: La Valse
Les Siècles
François-Xavier Roth
About two year ago when it came out. Stunning.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Rogerx said:


> Ravel: La Valse
> Les Siècles
> François-Xavier Roth
> About two year ago when it came out. Stunning.


Loved their Stravinsky. Need to check it out.

In any event I saw/heard _La Valse_ performed by NYC Ballet live on Sunday. Watching Sara Mearns spin out of control to the music conducted by Andrew Litton was shattering.

NYCB released a commercial video of this, with a different cast and conductor. The video includes several other works.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

My favourite Ravel conductor is probably Andre Cluytens, and his Valse is excellent. 

But so are Jean Martinon, Charles Dutoit, and Pierre Boulez, although I prefer the older Sony recording to the later DGG ones, as they have a little more warmth imho.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I did remembered another one last night rot piano: Ravel: La Valse, M. 72a

Louis Lortie, Hélène Mercier


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Thanks for all the suggestions! There are lots of good ones. Overall, I like the Charles Munch recording the best. The performances of the other works on the album are great too, and the sound is amazing for the age of the recording.


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## Ondine1972 (8 mo ago)

IMO, no recording can top Dutoit's OSM ravishing, propulsive recording. It's lush, glamorous, and Dutoit doesn't shy away from plumbing the dark, vertiginous depths of this masterwork. The OSM's playing becomes increasingly hysterical as the work progresses but never loses incisiveness. Beautiful sonics too. You listen to the recording and understand the power of George Balanchine's iconic ballet of the same name.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Ondine1972 said:


> IMO, no recording can top Dutoit's OSM ravishing, propulsive recording. It's lush, glamorous, and Dutoit doesn't shy away from plumbing the dark, vertiginous depths of this masterwork. The OSM's playing becomes increasingly hysterical as the work progresses but never loses incisiveness. Beautiful sonics too. You listen to the recording and understand the power of George Balanchine's iconic ballet of the same name.


 As much as I appreciate John Clifford's work posting archival recordings of the NYCB, if you want to watch the ballet, I would recommend purchasing this disc from 2016:


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

IMO precision always works with Ravel, but as an alternative here is one from a HIP specialist that pulls and pushes the music to the extreme which I think also works very well.

Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg / Emmanuel Krivine / 2011 (Zig-zag)


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I've always loved Munch here. If it's visceral excitement you're after then it's always a wow but it ain't subtle and if you're after hearing the colours presented in stunning sound then I'd recommend the Roth recording heartily.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Merl said:


> I've always loved Munch here. If it's visceral excitement you're after then it's always a wow but it ain't subtle and if you're after hearing the colours presented in stunning sound then I'd recommend the Roth recording heartily.


Munch and Bernstein are both quite good....and they certainly whip up a storm....II like it to go wild at the conclusion, but I think that Monteux and Martinon keep better rhythmic precision while still getting the wild abandon...
As I previously posted, tho - the Reiner/Pittsburgh ['47] version is amazing [Pristine label, Mark Obert-Thorn] - great, in-your-face sound, wonderful sonic sweep and wild climaxes, and, of course, very precise.


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