Eloquence Ravel: Piano Trio; Introduction et Allegro; String Quartet CD

Three of Ravel’s chamber works, none currently available in the catalogue, all coupled at budget price. The Beaux Arts’ magnificent, full-throttle reading of the Piano Trio is their most recent (1983) recording of this work. The Carmirelli Quartet recorded for Decca in the 1950s and theirs is a demure reading of the String Quartet. Eduard van Beinum fans will rejoice in the issue, for the first time on CD, of the ‘Introduction et Allegro’, featuring the Concertgebouw’s long-time harpist, Phia Berghout. Recorded in 1952, it was originally released on a Decca EP, coupled with Debussy’s ‘Danse sacrée et danse profane’ (now reissued on Philips Eloquence 476 8500).