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Artist: Tonhalle Orchester Zurich
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Ravel Complete Orchestral Works

On April 15, Deutsche Grammophon releases a four album set of Ravel's complete orchestral works and solo concertos, performed by the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich under the baton of Lionel Bringuier in their first collaboration on record. The new set represents something of a rarity in its completeness and in having largely been recorded live. The soloists are pianist Yuja Wang and violinist Ray Chen. The choice of composer was a carefully-considered artistic decision, according to the conductor: "For my first recordings with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich I've opted for Ravel. We all know his Daphnis et Chloé, Boléro and La Valse. A complete cycle allows us to get to know some lesser-known works as well." This is Deutsche Grammophon's first collaboration with the renowned Zurich ensemble.

"I love Ravel's music." Lionel Bringuier has good reason to say this. After all, it was with Ravel's La Valse that he won the 2005 Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors and also carried off the audience prize. He had barely turned nineteen at the time. An international career beckoned. Since the start of the 2014/15 season he has been principal conductor and Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. "I grew up with Ravel. He is also closely associated with several decisive stages in my career: I was fifteen years old when I first conducted Boléro with the Orchestre Régional de Cannes, and at the Besançon Competition it was La Valse that was on the program. I chose Daphnis et Chloé for my farewell concert after six years as resident conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The first time I heard the ‘Lever du jour' in Daphnis," he recalls, "it was a moment of absolute bliss for me. I had goosebumps – it was a feeling of ecstasy like nothing I'd ever known before." Bringuier has now chosen Ravel's orchestral works as a statement of intent for his first season with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. "It was fascinating to hear the sensitivity that this orchestra brings to Ravel. Among the qualities on which it can draw is great flexibility, which is why I was attracted to the idea of exploring the immensely rich palette of Ravel's music with its players."