Bolero!
$11.98 – $16.98
Minnesota Orchestra
Eiji Oue
GRAMMY NOMINEE
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List
Ravel’s BOLERO is the most-recognizable piece of orchestral music ever written. Its hypnotic melodies, rhythms and brilliant orchestral colors have insured its popularity with audiences everywhere. Now “Prof.” Johnson has made the HDCD recording of BOLERO that RR fans have been waiting for, as the finale of a generous program of orchestral showpieces. Included are favorites by Liszt, Brahms, Dvorak, Berlioz, Chabrier — and rarities by Kabalevsky, Deems Taylor, Dinicu, Jarnefelt and — yes — the famous conductor Otto Klemperer!
On This Recording
- Kabalevsky: Colas Breugnon, Op. 24 – Overture
- Deems Taylor: Through the Looking Glass, Op. 12: No. 4, Looking Glass Insects
- Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tale of Tsar Saltan: The Flight of the Bumblebee
- Liszt: Les Préludes, S. 97
- Brahms: 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 3, Allegretto (Version for Orchestra)
- Dinicu: Hora Staccato
- Dvorák: Slavonic Dance Op. 72, B. 147: No. 2, Dumka
- Järnefelt: Praeludium
- Berlioz: La damnation de Faust, Op. 24, H. 111: Ballet des Sylphs
- Otto Klemperer: Das Ziel: Lustiger Waltz
- Chabrier: Habanera
- Ravel: Boléro
Reviews:
“Warhorses, yes. Routine or boring, no – not under Oue’s baton. Boléro, in particular benefits from the highest possible audio fidelity, and this is it.” –Peter Aczel, THE AUDIO CRITIC
“Fasten your safety belt before playing this recording! Oue’s uncanny feel for style captures one of the greatest performances of ‘Les Preludes’ we’ve had on disc to date. A brilliant example of Romantic poetry in the grand manner.” —Heuwell Tircuit, GRAMOPHONE (Japan)
“One is reminded a little of Ozawa in Boston, for there is an element of refinement underlying the virtuosity. But Oue’s readings have plenty of character.” —Ivan March, GRAMOPHONE
“The recording is breathtakingly vivid.” — David Denton, THE YORKSHIRE POST (U.K.)
GOLDEN EAR AWARD (best of the year): “This program…plays to Oue’s greatest strength — his gifts as a colorist. In each of the 12 works, symphonic textures are beautifully rendered, revealing fully the aptness of their composer’s instrumental choices. Oue’s patient performance of the title track develops insidiously into one of the most effective versions of Ravel’s warhorse I know. The Minnesota Orchestra plays fabulously, with technical brilliance, beauty of tone, and terrific ensemble work. The sound is open, spacious, detailed, with loads of depth and a natural layering of orchestra sections. —Andrew Quint, THE ABSOLUTE SOUND
