Maurice Ravel Volume Two - Artur Pizarro - The Scotsman

In Volume Two of his survey of the complete piano works of Maurice Ravel, Artur Pizarro displays a customary combination of emotional warmth and super-clarity of texture. These are well-known works - the delicate Sonatine, the passionate Valse Nobles et Sentimentales and the magical Le Tombeau de Couperin among them - but Pizarro brings to the table a bold ingenuity and freshness that triggers new and spontaneous thoughts. It takes a little getting used to the ambient boom of the recording venue - St George's Church, Bristol - but ultimately it shrouds the music in a halo of reflective spirituality. Besides the lollipops, the likes of the 90-second Prélude and the deliciously unpretentious Menuet sur le nom de Haydn add a sense of intellectual balance and exploration to this refreshing disc.