Ravel's lesser-known operatic jewel is perfectly cast, lovingly conducted and all in the best possible taste.

Asher Fisch's German band tells a saucy tale with a Frenchman's opera set in Spain.

The Swiss flautist brought a powerful energy to match that of the ACO.

Was Ravel’s music affected by external events and, eventually, mental illness? Absolutely not, says Gerald Larner.

“Tickets are much cheaper than for most major sporting fixtures” he points out ahead of Queensland Con’s L’enfant double bill. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Ahead of her appearances with the SSO, the mezzo talks big girl roles, speaking German, and the pleasures of the recital. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The French conductor, whose Daphnis is our Recording of the Month, explains how symphonic music serves the dance. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Ravel called his glittering score to Daphnis et Chloé a ‘Symphonie choreographique’: essentially a ‘symphony with dance’, the perfect description for a work of such majesty, where the music really is centre-stage. The score is usually segmented into three suites for concert performance, making a hearing of the full version all too rare a treat. Thankfully François-Xavier Roth with period instrument orchestra Les Siècles and Ensemble Aedes deliver the full ballet on this recent release with Harmonia Mundi, with the most stunning results. The exact date of inception of Daphnis et Chloé is somewhat disputed, but the original commission came from Diaghilev, for the prestigious Ballets Russes. The composition was fraught with challenges, mainly due to creative differences between Ravel and the choreographer, Michel Fokine. After numerous revisions and a delayed premiere, the ballet finally opened in June 1912, almost a year before Parisian audiences would be scandalised by the riot over Stravinsky’s vicious Rite. Underscoring the ancient Greek tale of a pastoral romance between a shepherd and shepherdess, Ravel’s music is languorous and enchanting, shimmering with lush orchestral colour, and worlds away from Stravinsky’s pulsating nightmare. The beginning and third part are mostly relaxed, dreamy episodes,… Continue reading Get…

Novel arrangements see a trio of chamber wizzes shouldering an entire orchestra.

A lifetime's experience served up in two hours of musical heaven.

The line between high falutin’ art and down and dirty folk has always been porous, says the SSO Chief. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The 92-year-old pianist talks Fauré, Ravel, Nazi Germany and feeling the hand of God. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in