Myung-Whun Chung - Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (2005)

In this 2006 recording of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Myung-Whun Chung leading the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France turns in a lithe, lean, limber, and lovely performance -- but not ultimately a persuasive performance. Described by the composer as a "Symphonie chorégraphique," Daphnis et Chloé is not just another brilliantly colorful, appealingly tuneful, and irresistibly rhythmic work in Ravel's canon; it is also by far his most dramatically cohesive and formally unified large-scale work. These were the crucial qualities the great performances of the past -- Cluytens, Monteux, and Martinon -- had in equal measure. Chung and the Radio France Orchestra, however, are all about color, melody, and rhythm -- which is fine as far as it goes, but it doesn't go nearly far enough. Beyond superficial beauty, Daphnis et Chloé needs relentless clarity and terminal cogency to take it to the next level, the crucial qualities that Chung does not bring to the music. His harmony is from chord to chord, his drama is from moment to moment, and his form is from climax to climax. The result is a superbly played but only outwardly exciting performance of the work that leaves it deeper unities untouched. Deutsche Grammophon's recording is clean, close, and immediate.