Debussy: Nocturnes; Ravel: Daphnis Et Chloe Suite No. 2, Pavane; Scriabin

It seems that at some point DG made some of its best recordings with the Boston Symphony and a wide variety of guest conductors: Abbado, Tilson Thomas, Steinberg, Bernstein, and Jochum. The performances collected here are wonderful. The BSO has always been acclaimed in French repertoire, and at this point in his career Abbado had not yet turned into the fussy micromanager that he is now (at least most of the time). And Scriabin also is French, to the extent that he’s anything at all.

This version of the Nocturnes is certainly the best by this orchestra, and one of the best by anyone. Consider the opening of Fêtes: perfect tempo, ideal transparency of texture, and bright trumpets that provide power without stridency (sound clip). These qualities grace the two Ravel items equally, and work equally well. The Daphnis Second Suite, alternately poetic and exciting, with its chorus parts intact, also ranks with the best on disc.

As for the Poem of Ecstasy, a work you either love or hate, it proceeds in a seamless arch of opulent excess, from mysterious opening to the concluding blast of sound. DG’s remastered sonics are very good–not state of the art for today, perhaps a touch dry, but a slightly lean sonority suits the music well, even the Scriabin (especially if you have a low tolerance for schmaltz). A great collection. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com