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Track(s) taken from LSO0693

Pavane pour une infante défunte

composer
1899; first performed by Ricardo Viñes on 5 April 1902; orchestrated by Ravel in 1910

London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev (conductor)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
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CD-Quality:
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Recording details: September 2009
Barbican, London, United Kingdom
Produced by James Mallinson
Engineered by Jonathan Stokes & Neil Hutchinson
Release date: January 2011
Total duration: 7 minutes 0 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Angela Hewitt (piano)
Steven Osborne (piano)
Manchester Camerata, John Rutter (conductor), David Tollington (horn)
London Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Warren-Green (conductor)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Geoffrey Simon (conductor)

Reviews

‘[Daphnis] is in the orchestra's blood. Valery Gergiev's combination of attention to detail and grasp of long-term architecture … make this a very enticing prospect. The strings sweep and swoon magnificently, the numerous woodwind solos are rarely less than sublime, while the brass manage both statuesque mobility in the panoramic vistas, and bracing punch in the general dances, ably supported by crackling percussion' (BBC Music Magazine)

'The most striking thing about these fine performances is their seductive combination of tonal warmth and sparkling virtuoso finesse ... Gergiev conjures up an intoxicatingly languorous soundworld' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Gergiev generates a frisson in everything he conducts … this Daphnis with the London Symphony Orchestra has everything one could want—atmosphere, languor, superb wind playing. Gergiev generates more high-voltage drama than rival versions' (Financial Times)

'Gergiev certainly adds to his laurels with a fantastic conducting job here—bringing out the color and dynamics while highlighting every small detail. With his control of the orchestra he makes every bar a real event' (Audiophile Audition, USA)
Ricardo Viñes premiered the Pavane pour une infante défunte on 5 April 1902, by which time Ravel was coming to general notice as a promising talent. The Pavane is probably the earliest of his pieces that ‘everybody knows’. But its success was always a little galling for Ravel, as he came to recognize its shortcomings and (again) its dependence on Chabrier. He was also irritated by pianists who played it too slowly, prompting him on one occasion to remark that it was the princess that was defunct, not the pavane. On the other hand, ‘one mustn’t turn it into a drama’. The answer perhaps lies in his suggestion that ‘at the same time as making the accompaniment secondary to the tune, you must insist on the latter’s slightly mechanical aspect’. Not for the last time, a Ravel piece turns out to be aesthetically more complex than it seems.

from notes by Roger Nichols © 2011

Ricardo Viñes a créé la Pavane pour une infante défunte le 5 avril 1902, époque à laquelle Ravel commençait à être reconnu de tous comme un talent prometteur. La Pavane est probablement la première de ses œuvres que «tout le monde connaît». Mais son succès a toujours été un peu vexant pour Ravel, car il était conscient de ses défauts et (une fois encore) de sa dépendance vis-à-vis de Chabrier. Il s’irritait aussi des pianistes qui la jouaient trop lentement, ce qui l’a incité un jour à déclarer: «J’ai écrit une Pavane pour une Infante défunte … [et] pas une Pavane défunte pour une Infante.» D’autre part, «il ne fallait pas en faire un drame». La réponse réside peut-être dans sa suggestion: «Tout en lui asservissant [au chant] l’accompagnement insistez sur son côté un peu mécanique.» Une fois encore et ce n’est pas la dernière, un morceau de Ravel s’avère être plus complexe sur le plan esthétique qu’il n’y paraît.

extrait des notes rédigées par Roger Nichols © 2011
Français: Marie-Stella Pâris

Ricardo Viñes gab die Premiere der Pavane pour une infante défunte am 5. April 1902, als der Komponist bereits allgemein als vielversprechendes Talent galt. Die Pavane ist wahrscheinlich das früheste seiner Werke, die „jeder kennt“. Doch war ihr Erfolg für Ravel stets etwas irritierend, da ihm dadurch die Mängel des Werks und (wiederum) seine Abhängigkeit von Chabrier nur allzu bewusst wurden. Es ärgerte ihn auch, wenn es zu langsam gespielt wurde—bei einer solchen Gelegenheit bemerkte er, dass die Infantin verstorben sei, nicht die Pavane. Andererseits dürfe man das Werk auch „nicht zu einem Drama machen“. Der Schlüssel liegt vielleicht in seiner Empfehlung, dass „die Begleitung der Melodie untergeordnet, doch gleichzeitig der leicht mechanische Aspekt der Letzteren herausgearbeitet werden sollte“. Nicht zum letzten Mal entpuppt sich ein ravelsches Werk als ästhetisch komplexer, als es zunächst erscheint.

aus dem Begleittext von Roger Nichols © 2011
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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