Ravel/De Falla: Piano Concertos (Hyperion)

★★★★ (out of five)

Never forget that Maurice Ravel was more Basque than French. His rhythms and harmonies belong to the borderlands. He is happiest with the smell of Rioja in his nostrils.

There must be other pianists who have paired Ravel’s two piano concertos on record with De Falla’s Nights in the Garden of Spain, but I can’t call any recent releases to mind. Or maybe Steven Osborne’s account is just so thrilling that it has erased them from memory. There is never a moment in this performance when you doubt the absolute rightness of his choices.

In the Ravel G major, Osborne is edgy and reserved, rather like the composer’s known personality. In De Falla, he is seductive and languorous. And in the Ravel left-hand concerto, his intensity of purpose pushes the orchestra to backdrop and magnetises our attention on the huge effort required to achieve a concerto with the weaker of two hands. Skittish, lyrical, mocking, brutal, ultimately triumphant, the left-hand concerto is a total masterpiece.

There is much competition in epic performances of the Ravel G major — Rubinstein, Michelangeli, de Larrocha — but I am not sure I have ever heard a more riveting reading of the left-hand concerto. Ludovic Morlot and the BBC Scottish Symphony provide generous, sometimes reticent, support.

Ravel/De Falla: Piano Concertos (Hyperion) is available at Amazon.ca and iTunes.

Hear more from Norman Lebrecht on Slipped Disc.

#LUDWIGVAN

• Author
• Recent Posts

Norman Lebrecht

Norman Lebrecht is one of the most widely-read commentators on music, culture and cultural politics. He is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 3 and a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Standpoint, Sinfini and other publications. His blog, Slipped Disc, is among the most widely read cultural sites online, breaking exclusive stories and campaigning against human abuse and acts of injustice in the cultural industries.

Latest posts by Norman Lebrecht (see all)

• LEBRECHT LISTENS | Jordan Bak’s Cantabile For Viola Reveals The Neglected Instrument’s Beauty - April 12, 2024
• LEBRECHT LISTENS |David Robert Coleman & The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Reveal The Charms Of Walter Kaufmann - April 5, 2024
• LEBRECHT LISTENS | Recordings Of Ysaÿe, Brahms & Busoni Show Not All Violin Concertos Were Created Equal - March 28, 2024