The Sinfonia of London and conductor John Wilson have already polished their credentials in the French repertoire with the superb Escales recording of 2020, featuring a handful of composers. Here the crack orchestra-conductor combo focuses on just one, dedicating their latest disc to Ravel. And what a joy it is. Here is Ravel that sounds luxurious and luminous, sensuous and sleek. Brilliantly recorded by the Chandos team, this dazzling orchestral program is painted in full technicolour – and is set apart from comparable Ravel albums thanks to its premieres of the original ballet scores for Boléro and Ma Mère l’Oye.

Sinfonia of London

 The spirit of dance holds Wilson’s smart program together. Ravel long wanted to write a good waltz; he loved the Viennese dance’s rhythms and joie de vivre. “Unfortunately it’s very difficult,” he remarked, yet he wrote some of his finest music in the pursuit of trying. La Valse opens the disc, not a straight waltz, of course, but a choreographic poem that draws us into the glorious whirl of Vienna before bringing it all crashing down.