Robin Ticciati, Magdalena Kožená and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin - Ravel & Duparc: Aimer et mourir – Danses et mélodies (2018) [Hi-Res]

Enter discount code PROMS21. Released to mark the start of Robin Ticciati’s second season as Music Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin this is his much-anticipated second recording with his new orchestra.

The partnership’s critically acclaimed debut of Debussy and Fauré led MusicWeb International to comment: '[this] certainly whets the appetite for future releases from Robin Ticciati with the DSO Berlin.' This second all-French programme sees Magdalena Kožená return to perform a selection of songs by Henri Duparc alongside orchestral music by his fellow countryman Maurice Ravel.

The popular Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s epoch-making ballet Daphnis et Chloé showcases Ticciati’s flair for highlighting intricacies of detail and colour; listen as the beautifully descriptive sunrise ('Lever du jour') bursts into vivid, multi-hued life. In Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales Ticciati creates a well-paced, yet graceful, Impressionist swirl with clearly defined textures and shimmering orchestral colours.

Duparc’s mélodies, which Ravel himself described as 'works of genius', sound particularly opulent in their orchestral scoring; the warm tones of Kožená’s ravishing voice provide a perfect match.