Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, conductor Ludovic Morlot - CD Review, 22^nd of May 2024

Next year will mark the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth and artists from around the world have begun to create special projects to pay tribute to the great composer, pianist and conductor associated with the Impressionist movement. Among the large-scale recording projects dedicated to Maurice Ravel's anniversary is the recording of his complete orchestral works, a collection of six CDs, with conductor Ludovic Morlot and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra.

The first disc in the series was released on the 5^th of April 2024, and the other CDs will be released by December 2026 on the same label, L'Auditori in Barcelona. This first album, recorded in July 2023 at the Sala Pablo Casals in Barcelona, includes the Suites Le Tombeau de Couperin, Ma mère l'Oye and Pavane pour une infante défunte, performed as part of the Ravel Edition, based on revised versions of the composer's scores.

The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, which also has the title of National Orchestra of Catalonia, was founded 80 years ago. Four Romanian violinists - Vlad Stănculeasa, Anca Ratiu, Emil Bolozan and Andrea Duca - currently make up the ensemble. All the more reason to listen to the recordings of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, which are of a very high quality. The ensemble's performance impresses with its finesse, with a wide palette of tones and sound colours. Ludovic Morlot, a four-time Grammy Award-winning specialist in the performance of French repertoire, is at the rostrum. Since 2022, he has been music director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra.