The conductor Stéphane Denève has given us many first-class recordings of 20th-century French music. As Chief Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra he recorded surveys of orchestral music by Debussy (Chandos) and Roussel (Naxos). With the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra he recorded works by Honegger and Poulenc, as well as this Ravel collection, originally released between 2013 and 2017. 

Denève was the final Chief Conductor of this orchestra, from 2011-2016, after which they merged with the South West German Radio Orchestra for budgetary reasons. That political decision caused something of an outcry at the time, and it does seem a shame when you hear what a fine, polished ensemble the Stuttgart Orchestra had become under Denève. Their timbre is mellow and warm, akin to that of the Boston Symphony, but their ensemble playing and attack are tight.

Denève’s La Valse is a case in point. His ear for detail and orchestral balance, coupled with a subtle use of rubato, make the whole piece – not just the opening – spooky. When the waltz eventually slips out of control and destroys itself, the...