Ravel: Piano Concertos

Featuring

Nelson Goerner
Kazuki Yamada
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo
Maurice Ravel

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Performer Biography

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, founded in 1856, has had several names, including Orchestre du Nouveau Cercle des Étrangers and Orchestre national de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

Compositional Technique

Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales features bold harmonies and was seen by pianist Marguerite Long as a 'stylistic panorama of the waltz'.

Performer Biography

Nelson Goerner, the pianist on this album, won first prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Buenos Aires in 1986 and the Geneva Competition in 1990.

Performer Biography

Kazuki Yamada, the conductor, is the artistic and musical director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, music director of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded from March 29 to April 1, 2025, at the Auditorium Rainier III, Yakov Kreizberg hall, in Monaco.

Composition History

The Concerto for the Left Hand was commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein, a concert pianist who lost his right forearm in the Battle of Lemberg in 1914.

Critical Reception

At the premiere of Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales in 1911, the composer's name was kept secret, leading to a mixed reception with both laughter and whistling from the audience.