CD 1:
Ravel:
Menuet antique (1895)
Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899)
Jeux d’eau (1901)
Sonatine (1905) Miroirs (1904-05)
Noctuelles
Oiseaux tristes
Une barque sur l’océan
Alborada del gracioso
La vallée des cloches

CD 2:
Gaspard de la nuit (1908)
Ondine
Le gibet
Scarbo
Menuet sur le Nom d’Haydn (1909)
Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911)
A la manie`re de Borodine (1912-13)
la manie`re d’ Emmanuel Chabrier (1912-13)
Pre´lude (1913)
Le tombeau de Couperin (1918)
Prélude
Fugue
Forlane
Rigaudon
Menuet
Menuet

In answer to one of the questions I am most frequently asked (‘Who is your favourite composer?’), I have ‘decided’ to always mention the name of Maurice Ravel. However, when asked ‘Which aspect attracts you most to Ravel’s music?’, there is so much that comes to my mind that I am easily at a loss. One of the most popular images associated with Ravel is probably that of an ‘orchestral magician’. His orchestral writing is, in fact, highly original, creative and brilliant, throughout his oeuvre. On the other hand, he was also a pioneer of the Impressionist technique for piano, as illustrated by his Jeux d’eau, composed in 1901. (Although Debussy is often considered the pioneer in this respect, Ravel was actually ahead of him with regard to piano compositions: in 1901, Debussy was still writing Pour le piano when Ravel completed his Jeux d’eau. In fact, Ravel himself explicitly wrote to a French music journal that he was ahead of Debussy in establishing this new technique for the piano.) A connoisseur of Spanish music, Ravel’s fascination for Spanish folkloric music is reflected in several of his works. A unique sensitivity to early music and a keen ability to understand its intricacies resulted in homages to several Baroque composers. Their aesthetics are beautifully reflected in works such as Le Tombeau de Couperin, Pavane pour une infante défunte and a number of minuets. Other works that showcase his immense diversity include Gaspard de la nuit, which positions itself brilliantly as one of the most virtuoso works in piano repertoire even today. Other examples include Valses nobles et sentimentales, which showcases Ravel’s Parisian upbringing, and the piano concertos from his later years, into which he incorporated many jazz elements.