Maurice Ravel • Boléro
Reference Recordings RM-1001
33-RPM 180 g LP
In August this year, Reference Recordings announced their long-awaited return to vinyl publication. Our review samples of the first two newly-available titles didn’t arrive in time for this review, so to mark the occasion we decided to review the first ever title in Reference Recordings’ Reference Mastercut series, Ravel’s Boléro.
In addition to the 17-minute long crescendo that is Boléro, this record contains another long and two shorter compositions by Ravel, all played by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski.
As befitting something called a Reference Mastercut, the sound quality on this all-analogue recording is superb. The uncompressed dynamic range is readily apparent as the title piece gradually grows in volume from ppp to fff. Be careful not to start this one too loudly!