Bolero!
Minnesota Orchestra
Eiji Oue
GRAMMY NOMINEE
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List
Ravel’s BOLERO is the most-recognizable piece of orchestral music ever written. Its hypnotic melodies, rhythms and brilliant orchestral colors have insured its popularity with performances everywhere. Now “Prof.” Johnson has made the HDCD recording of BOLERO that RR fans have been waiting for, as the finale of a generous program of orchestral showpieces. Included are favorites by Liszt, Brahms, Dvorak, Berlioz, Chabrier — and rarities by Kabalevsky, Deems Taylor, Dinicu, Jarnefelt and — yes — the famous conductor Otto Klemperer!
Notes
In BOLERO! ORCHESTRAL FIREWORKS, Eiji Oue, with a sure and sometimes playful hand, leads the Minnesota Orchestra through a delightful program of dazzling symphonic works from the 19th and 20th centuries. Amid a roster of rousing dances that have become classical standards (such as Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 3 in F and Ravel's Boléro), Oue has interspersed charming, lesser-known pieces to great effect. Placing Emmanuel Chabrier's appealing Habañera immediately before the Ravel situates the latter piece in a way that reveals Ravel's debt to the composer he so greatly admired. Similarly, the placement of Deems Taylor's "Looking Glass Insects" (from his orchestral suite, 'Through the Looking Glass') reminds the listener of the larger narrative context for the insect music that is Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumblebee," thereby enabling the listener to hear a frequently performed piece with fresh ears. Oue's achievement in this recording lies in not only his programming savvy but in his consistently impassioned and satisfying interpretations of this music. This is a recording that is bound to please.
Works on This Recording
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1928; France
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 15 Minutes 14 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1938/1969; USSR
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 4 Minutes 35 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1917; USA
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 2 Minutes 54 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1903; Russia
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 1 Minutes 34 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1868; Austria
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 2 Minutes 35 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1906; Romania
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 2 Minutes 7 Secs.
Notes: Orchestrated: Schmid
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Finland
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 3 Minutes 0 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1845-1846; France
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 2 Minutes 58 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1959
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 7 Minutes 57 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1886-1887; Bohemia
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 5 Minutes 39 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1848/1854; Weimar, Germany
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 16 Minutes 59 Secs.
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Orchestra/Ensemble: Minnesota Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Length: 4 Minutes 4 Secs.
Reviews:
“Warhorses, yes. Routine or boring, no – not under Oue’s baton. Boléro, in particular benefits from the highest possible audio fidelity, and this is it.” –Peter Aczel, THE AUDIO CRITIC
“Fasten your safety belt before playing this recording! Oue’s uncanny feel for style captures one of the greatest performances of ‘Les Preludes’ we’ve had on disc to date. A brilliant example of Romantic poetry in the grand manner.” —Heuwell Tircuit, GRAMOPHONE (Japan)
“One is reminded a little of Ozawa in Boston, for there is an element of refinement underlying the virtuosity. But Oue’s readings have plenty of character.” —Ivan March, GRAMOPHONE
“The recording is breathtakingly vivid.” — David Denton, THE YORKSHIRE POST (U.K.)
GOLDEN EAR AWARD (best of the year): “This program…plays to Oue’s greatest strength — his gifts as a colorist. In each of the 12 works, symphonic textures are beautifully rendered, revealing fully the aptness of their composer’s instrumental choices. Oue’s patient performance of the title track develops insidiously into one of the most effective versions of Ravel’s warhorse I know. The Minnesota Orchestra plays fabulously, with technical brilliance, beauty of tone, and terrific ensemble work. The sound is open, spacious, detailed, with loads of depth and a natural layering of orchestra sections. —Andrew Quint, THE ABSOLUTE SOUND