Lorin Maazel - Ravel: Orchestral Works: Bolero, Daphnis et Chloe Suites 1 & 2, La Valse, Rapsodie Espagnole (2008)

Lorin Maazel is probably the weirdest conductor currently active. Orchestras supposedly love him on account of his superb baton technique, and it's obvious in his recordings that his control over an orchestra is absolute. It's what he does with that control that's often so strange, turning in interpretations that range from thrilling to simply willful and bizarre. His Ravel is typically micro-managed--you can hear every twist and turn of the baton, but it also works well, in this music at least. The Vienna Philharmonic follows him every step of the way, and the performances of both Boléro and La Valse, in particular, are astounding. Different, then, but in the best sense. --David Hurwitz