Title: Lackluster Ravel
Review: Karajan was a decent Ravel conductor. I find his Ravel in later years on the Deutsche Grammophon to be much better than this recording. There are several problems with this recording besides the obvious: the audio quality. "Le Tombeau de Couperin" sounds like a jumbled up mess. "La Valse" sounds like it was recorded from outer space.Audio quality aside, the performances and interpretations are incredibly lackluster. The last movement of "Le Tombeau de Couperin" is taken way too slow, which I think causes it to loose it's appeal. This piece is actually supposed to be performed at a moderately fast tempo.I like Karajan, but I think with all the Ravel recordings available, that the potential buyer should look elsewhere. Try Dutoit, Tortelier, Boulez, and Martinon for superlative performances.
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