Daphnis et Chloé / Boléro / Pavane

2011 saw the release of Ravel Daphnis et Chloé, Pavane pour une infante défunte & Boléro on SACD Hybrid. Now, available for the first time internationally, LSO Live present a special bonus edition with the addition of a DVD, containing video concert footage of Valery Gergiev conducting Boléro. Ravel was commissioned by Serge Diaghilev in 1909 to write the music for Daphnis et Chloé. Although he subsequently prepared orchestral suites of the score, the complete work is a magnificent orchestral showpiece in its own right. Ravel described it as a symphonie choréographique although it is essentially an extended tone poem. Luscious orchestral colours run throughout the work, portraying the passion of the two protagonists for each other. By contrast, Pavane pour une infante défunte, composed whilst Ravel was still a student of Gabriel Fauré, harks back to the simplicity of the eighteenth-century music of Rameau. Boléro, available in this package on DVD as well as on SACD Hybrid, is one of his final works, and is a fiery showpiece, highlighting the Spanish influences and passion that pervade so many of his works. [Please note, PAL DVD may not be playable in all territories]