Maazel’s colourful recordings of Debussy and Ravel for Decca have earned praise for their clear-sighted brand of Impressionism. To three of Debussy’s major orchestral works – La Mer, Nocturnes and Jeux – he adds the standalone section from Images (Iberia). The 2CD set represents the sum of Maazel’s Debussy and Ravel recordings for Decca.
CD 1
MAURICE RAVEL
Daphnis et Chloé
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Jeux
CD2
La Mer
Trois Nocturnes
Ibéria (from Images)
The Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
Robert Page, chorus director
Lorin Maazel
Recording Producers: Michael Woolcock (Ravel); James Mallinson (Debussy)
Recording Engineers: Gordon Parry, Colin Moorfoot (Ravel); Colin Moorfoot, Michael Mailes (La Mer); Colin Moorfoot, Stanley Goodall, Andrew Pinder (Jeux, Nocturnes, Images)
Recording Location: Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 15–17 July 1974 (Ravel), 4 October 1977 (La Mer), 5, 8 & 10 May 1978 (Jeux, Nocturnes, Images)
‘The new Daphnis glows resplendently: it is sumptuously recorded with splendidly bold detail and refinement of timbre while the Cleveland Orchestra play with virtuosity, impressive unanimity of ensemble and homogeneity of tone.’ (Daphnis et Chloé) Gramophone