Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57 Spirito, Orchestre National de Lyon & Leonard Slatkin

• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57:
• 1 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 1, Introduction 03:07
• 2 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 1, Danse religieuse 05:32
• 3 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 1, Danse des jeunes filles - Danse des jeunes gens 02:44
• 4 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 2, Daphnis s'approche 00:41
• 5 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 3, Danse grotesque de Dorcon 01:48
• 6 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 4, Danse légère et gracieuse de Daphnis 03:54
• 7 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 5, Danse de Lycéion - Enlèvement de Chloé 04:25
• 8 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 6, Nocturne 01:52
• 9 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: I. Une prairie а la lisiére d'un bois sacré: No. 6, Danse lente et mystérieuse des nymphes 03:11
• 10 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: II. Camp des pirates: No. 7, Introduction 02:52
• 11 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: II. Camp des pirates: No. 8, Danse guerrière 04:48
• 12 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: II. Camp des pirates: No. 9, Danse suppliante de Chloé 06:05
• 13 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: III. Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit: No. 10, Lever du jour 05:23
• 14 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: III. Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit: No. 11, Pantomime 06:50
• 15 Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57: III. Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit: No. 12, Danse générale 04:51
• Total Runtime 58:03

Info for Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57

Composed for Sergey Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Ravel’s ‘symphonie chorégraphique’ Daphnis et Chloé is based on a classical Greco-Roman love story set on the island of Lesbos. He described the work as ‘a vast musical fresco’, and with its extraordinarily passionate music, lush harmonies and orchestration, is considered both his masterpiece and the epitome of Impressionism in music. Orchestrated from the third of his Miroirs for piano, Ravel’s Une barque sur l’océan is an evocative portrayal of the ever-changing moods of the sea.

"Naxos has done well by Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, with a handful of recordings of his symphonie chorégraphique in the company’s recent history. Indeed, Leonard Slatkin’s is the second in the past decade to feature the Orchestre National de Lyon, the first set down by his predecessor as music director, Jun Märkl, in 2009. This disc marks the fourth volume in Slatkin’s Ravel series but I’m not convinced it’s preferable to Märkl’s earlier effort.

Slatkin’s chief problem is a lack of urgency. Even if the premiere was overshadowed by another Sergey Diaghilev commission which opened two days earlier in Paris (the Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune, in which Vaslav Nijinsky had caused a scandal as the faun), Daphnis is an intensely dramatic work. Slatkin is more content to revel in the languorous stretches of Ravel’s meticulous score than to unbutton his shirt in the more hedonistic sections. In the ‘Danse guerrière’ Slatkin is too polite – Märkl really tears into this war dance – and the ‘Danse générale’ finale doesn’t climax quite as orgasmically.

However, in the ‘Lever du jour’ woodwinds burble and chirrup evocatively and the flute-playing in the ‘Pantomime’ (possibly the same principal flautist as for Märkl – there is no listing of players in the booklet) is of limpid beauty and poise. The new recording scores in its local choice of chorus, Spirito sounding a good deal more ethereal than an earthbound MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus. No recent recording quite challenges Decca’s gorgeous account with the LSO under Pierre Monteux (who conducted the ballet’s premiere), which remains one of the most magical in the catalogue." (Mark Pullinger, Gramophone)

Spirito
Orchestre National de Lyon
Leonard Slatkin, condutor

Leonard Slatkin
Internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin is Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), Directeur Musical Honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL), Conductor Laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria (OFGC). He maintains a rigorous schedule of guest conducting throughout the world and is active as a composer, author, and educator.

Slatkin has received six Grammy awards and 35 nominations. His latest recordings are Jeff Beal’s The Paper Lined Shack on Supertrain Records and Slatkin Conducts Slatkin, a compilation of pieces written by generations of his musical family, including three of his own compositions, on Naxos Records. Other recent Naxos releases include works by Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and Berlioz (with the ONL) and music by Copland, Rachmaninov, Borzova, McTee, and John Williams (with the DSO). In addition, he has recorded the complete Brahms, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky symphonies with the DSO (available online as digital downloads).

The 2022-23 season includes engagements with the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, OFGC, ONL, NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Yale Symphony Orchestra, DSO, Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, SLSO, Sacramento Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, and Rhode Island Philharmonic.

A recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, Slatkin also holds the rank of Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor. He has received the Prix Charbonnier from the Federation of Alliances Françaises, Austria’s Decoration of Honor in Silver, the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award, and the 2013 ASCAP Deems Taylor Special Recognition Award for his debut book, Conducting Business. A second volume, Leading Tones: Reflections on Music, Musicians, and the Music Industry, was published by Amadeus Press in 2017. His latest book, Classical Crossroads: The Path Forward for Music in the 21st Century (2021), is available through Rowman & Littlefield. He is working on two more books and several new compositions.

Slatkin has held posts as Music Director of the New Orleans, St. Louis, and National symphony orchestras, and he was Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has served as Principal Guest Conductor of London’s Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and the Minnesota Orchestra.

He has conducted virtually all the leading orchestras in the world, including: New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, all five London orchestras, Berlin Philharmonic, Munich’s Bayerischer Rundfunk, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Slatkin’s opera conducting has taken him to the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Vienna State Opera, Stuttgart Opera, and Opéra Bastille in Paris.

Born in Los Angeles to a distinguished musical family, he began his musical training on the violin and first studied conducting with his father, followed by Walter Susskind at Aspen and Jean Morel at Juilliard. He makes his home in St. Louis with his wife, composer Cindy McTee.

This album contains no booklet.