This varied and vivid selection of works shows Ravel as the master of the ‘choreographic symphony’, words he himself used to describe his masterpiece Daphnis et Chloé, which contains some of his boldest and most resplendent music. His imagination retained a direct link to the poetry of children, as shown in Ma Mère l’Oye, whilst in Valses nobles et sentimentales he set out to write a sequence of waltzes following the example of Schubert. These classic VOX recordings from 1974 by Stanisław Skrowaczewski and the Minnesota Orchestra are critically acclaimed.

These are classic recordings date from the 1974 and are part of Naxos’s VOX reissue programme.

Polish conductor Stanisław Skrowaczewski was born in 1923 and died in 2017. The centenary of his birth fell in 2023 but 2024 is still viable to promote his long life and major achievements.

Skrowaczewski and the Minnesota Orchestra recorded Mozart piano concertos with Walter Klein on VOX-NX-3012CD: ‘Working in a relatively unfamiliar environment seems not to have phased Klein one jot since he delivers wonderfully sensitive performances of both works supported by some particularly sprightly solo woodwind playing’ (BBC Music Magazine).

The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

‘These are aptly-judged performances captured in a warm-haloed acoustic…’ – MusicWeb International

‘….bewitching performance’ – Classical Music on Ma mère l’oye

‘Skrowaczewski’s Daphnis et Chloé suites are wonderfully evocative of the magical world Ravel creates in his score, so much so that you wish VOX had made a complete recording instead of these extracts. What we do have is marvellous playing by the Minnesota Orchestra, beguiling singing by the St. Olaf Choir (with especially audible inner detail in the men’s parts), and probing conducting by Skrowaczewski, who paints the music’s colours in broad, vibrant strokes.’ – ClassicsToday.com

‘Newly remastered for VOX’s new Audiophile Series, this 1978 Elite Recordings production supervised by Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz retains its vivid impact and vibrant detail.’ – ClassicsToday.com