I am looking to add a CD or Vinyl record to my library of CDs and LPs, or maybe both.
My local (two-hour drive) Audiophile shop has a couple of Belero CDs on hand, and I would like, if I may, to have some help selecting one to purchase. Based more on the Conductor than the medium. Though please take both into account.
They are in no specific order:
Erich Kunzel - Ravel: Bolero
Features: • Limited Run of Only 2,000 First Edition Pressings Available! • Produced using PureFlection (Pure Reflection) Process • Ultra HD Mastering • Beautifully packaged • Playable on ALL CD Players! • Re-mastered by Michael Bishop at Five/Four Productions, Ohio, USA • Produced by Winston Ma
Andre Previn - Ravel: Bolero
Features:
• Mastered from the Original Analogue EMI Master Tapes!
• Superior Audiophile XRCD24
• XRCD24 is a standard “Red Book” CD and can be enjoyed on any CD player
Or forum members may wish to recommend something else that I may pick up on Discogs.
In situations like this, it’s helpful to know the respective orchestras involved and even the catalogue numbers - with popular pieces like Bolero, the same conductor can have made multiple recordings of them.
That said:
KUNZEL
Pro: this is probably his (?2008) recording for Telarc, so likely to be a particularly good quality sound.
Con: Kunzel’s a perfectly good conductor but not really in the same league as Previn.
PREVIN
Pro: Better conductor, so better performance… maybe?
Con: seems likely to be his (?1980) LSO recording so may be not as good quality a recording.
Both recordings look like they’re available on Spotify so I’d suggest you listen to both and choose the performance you prefer. Neither of them is going to be poor quality.
As for all the fancy talk using funny words like Pureflection and XRCD, I would ignore it. Go for the performance you enjoy most.
Thank you for your reply. I find it difficult to listen on mediums such as Apple iTunes via the iMac and use resources such as RollingStone album listings as a guide. An example would be Talyor Swift; I have not gotten into her music, though I have purchased her number one album, according to Rollingstone and am awaiting to listen to it on my birthday this Sunday, which is Folklore 2020. I might be late to the party, though I do not have a streamer, and my dear wife will not let me purchase one. I am thinking of an ND5XS2.
Back to Bolero:
Produced by Winston Ma Musicians: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Erich Kunzel, conductor Selections: Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) 1. Boléro Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) Music from Kismet- adapted by Robert Wright and George Forrest 2. Part 1: Excerpts from Symphony no. 2 in the Steppes of Central Asia String Quartet no. 2, Symphony no. 1 3. Part 2: Excerpts from String Quartet no. 2 overture to Prince Igor, Petite Suite Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor Georges Bizet (1838-1875) Suites no. 1 and no. 2 from Carmen 4. Prelude to act I 5. Aragonaise (entr’acte to act IV) 6. Intermezzo (entr’acte to act III) 7. Seguidilla (act I) 8. The Dragoons of Alcala (entr’acte to act II) 9. The Toreadors (prelude to act I) 10. March of the Smugglers (act III) 11. Habanera (act I) 12. Song of the Toreador (act II) 13. The Changing of the Guard (children’s chorus from act I) 14. Danse Boheme (act II) Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) Iberia 15. Fete-dieu a Seville
Features:
• Mastered from the Original Analogue EMI Master Tapes!
• Superior Audiophile XRCD24
• XRCD24 is a standard “Red Book” CD and can be enjoyed on any CD player
Musicians:
London Symphony Orchestra
Andre Previn, conductor
Peter Lloyd, flute
David Cripps, horn
I hope these added elements may help in a selection.
I apologise as I am on a disability support pension, which is not very much and my wife and i watch the pennies.
I was lucky enough to purchase my NAIM XS system before bad times fell.
Mark gives good advice on basing the selection on the performance and artists.
I found a broad review of recordings of Bolero from it’s 80+ years of its recorded history in Gramophone magazine.
Not sure if forum rules allow posting a link, but a search for Gramophone Ravel’s Boléro | A Complete Guide To The Best Recordings.
This lists recordings from many orchestras and conductors.
Neither performance gets glowing marks from the reviewer. But there might be other options mentioned in the Gramophone article that might be worth investigating.
As always reviews are the opinions of a single or few reviewers. So personal preference will always come into play.
I was going to suggest you check out the Hurwitz videos, especially this one:
Hurwitz has his share of critics, but the bottom line is he’s heard more Boleros than almost anyone else you can possibly imagine.
He does like the Cincinnati recording.
Although I have only heard a handful, my choice for a Bolero conductor would be Boulez. In another video, Hurwitz singles out the Boulez/Berlin Philharmonic recording. I have Boulez with the NY Philharmonic (on SACD if that matters).
Yes, I’ve just listened to Boulez with Berlin Phil via Qobuz. I was able to banish memories of Jayne Torvill & Chris Dean ice dancing in 1984. I can’t find out which version they used but very different to Boulez who I’d recommend.
Boulez recorded Bolero several times. My choice today was recorded in Berlin 1993.
Nothing to add to what I posted previously, except that both the recordings the OP is tossing up between are available on YouTube, so the performances can be sampled before purchase. I would, again, stress the importance of listening to both and choosing the performance you prefer.
Personally, I find Previn’s tempo too slow for me, so I would choose Kunzel over Previn. But that’s my choice!
Not sure why you’d buy if you’re not into her music… Anyway, regarding your question, there used to be an annual publication called the Penguin guide to classical music, which I used to find a useful resource for helping choose which version of a classical composition to buy, or which two or three to compare. It was an excellent resource. Some record shops used to have available for customers to consult, and I did buy a couple, some few years apart. I don’t think it is published anymore, but perhaps one of the most recent copies might be available in a library or somewhere online.
Great stuff Mitch!
Hope you enjoy it.
I may even be tempted to have a listen
Best wishes for the New Year
Pete
PS - before I started streaming a year ago, I used to frequently buy CDs from World of Books
They have a vast selection of CD’s - most of them are used, but often they arrive still wrapped in cellophane - and usually about £3 each inc P&P!!
I am no kind of expert but I agree with AlanF above. I have that recording on CD as a consequence of being so ill-fitted to knowing what is “best”, that I researched the views available on Google, and then bough a couple of them to try. I think they averaged less than £5-00 each at the time. I’m listening to them via a 2006 NAIM CD player, and all I would say about the recording is watch out for the dynamics. If you start with the piece being barely edible, you might find that you are bending any windows in your listening room by the finale.
As an aside to this, my primary sources of music are CD and vinyl, but I made two low-cost investments in a streaming DAC, and then a power supply that was almost the same price as the DAC, but which transformed the source, so if a NAIM streamer is what you desire, go for it, but if you don’t think that will be a primary source, and “money’s too tight to mention”, there are low cost alternatives that will not do what the NAIM stuff will do, but may be all that you really need.
One huge advantage my low cost streaming set-up provides is the ability to get a reasonably good “taste” of music I would otherwise not have a facility to explore. There are other threads here that suggest all sorts of music, and if any of those recommendations intrigue, there is unlikely to be a cheaper, or more convenient means of access to those recommendations.
Whatever, Happy New Year, and I hope you simply enjoy the music.
Gramophone also recommends either the 2022 John Wilson/Sinfonia of London version, or the 2023 François-Xavier Roth/Les Siècles version. I have the latter, it’s very good.
One thing that I think is important - many conductors have a tendency to rush through Bolero, as if they are in a hurry. If the length is below 14:30 you are getting a too high tempo version, I would say. That could be a parameter when looking for a recording.
On Qobuz I have an album among my favorites with Boulez and Berliner Philharmoniker (Ravel: Orchestral Works) that I find ok.
