L'enfant et les sortilèges Ma mère l'Oye

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« The two operas by Maurice Ravel occupy a very important place in my musician’s heart. They were among the very first recordings of which I owned the record, and I fell under the spell of the harmonious beauty of each of these works. L'Enfant et les sortilèges, in particular, was for me the perfect model of the way in which a work conceived for the stage could be rendered perfectly clear when one only listened to it. Thus, it was not necessary to know the plot of the opera to understand where Ravel was heading. I am currently recording the complete orchestral works of this composer, and I am struck by his ability to be both simple and complex.
The pairing of the opera with the ballet Ma Mère l'Oye seemed self-evident, given that these two works are connected with childhood. When I was a young pianist, I often had the pleasure of playing the five pieces that make up the suite. Ravel's genius lies in the fact that he succeeded in preserving the distinctive character of these pieces while integrating them into the whole ballet. These ten minutes of additional music are pure enchantment. » Leonard Slatkin