How can one listen to the piano works of Ravel without thinking of Couperin and Rameau? In his exacting quest for precision, clarity, formal perfection, Ravel is indeed the heir to a certain 'classicism'. Yet let us not make the mistake of viewing his music as that of an unfeeling intellectual. Simplicity, irony and humour are never far away, and are in fact much more characteristic of the style of a composer whose primary concern is always to be a faithful servant of emotion. A notable feature of this recording is the presence of two previously unrecorded pieces, La Parade and the Minuet in C sharp.
