Ravel
Complete Works for Solo Piano
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Chandos CHAN 20287(2) 143 mins (2CD)
Clip: Ravel – Valses nobles et sentimentales, M 61. IV. Assez anime
Latest out of the traps for Ravel’s 150th anniversary is Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Do we need another set of the complete piano works, I hear you ask? It’s true that any Ravel fan can easily find a great recording of them already, including by Bavouzet himself, back in 2003 for MDG. But there are sure to be plenty of fans queuing up to listen to the French pianist’s latest thoughts on the composer, crisply recorded and excellently produced by Chandos.
Bavouzet brings his usual élan, so familiar from his complete recordings of Debussy, Haydn et al, to a programme that takes us from Ravel’s earliest surviving piano work (the spiky Sérénade grotesque, not the most obvious album opener) right through to a vigorous performance of La valse. In between, Bavouzet draws our attention over and over to the brilliance of Ravel’s writing and the way he returned to certain ideas over the years, casting them in new light.
Water glistens in a sparkling, fluid Jeux d’eau, for instance; later, in Une barque sur l’océan, Bavouzet captures the surge and swell of the sea with convincing power. Bells are another theme. We hear them in the layers of sound in La vallée des cloches created by Bavouzet’s judicious pedalling and tonal variety, which ranges from steely brightness to deep warmth. In Le Gibet, the bell becomes an insistent reminder of death – and Bavouzet immerses us fully in its heavy mood.
And, beyond the virtuosity we can take for granted, that’s Bavouzet’s trump card: his playing is so full of vivid character, whether conjuring impressionistic pictures or drawing out abstract musical qualities. Here, Le tombeau de Couperin comes up fresh, while the Valses nobles et sentimentales dance with an easy grace. Rebecca Franks
