Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (Lortie, Grosvenor)

Two dazzling performances of a suite whose absurd technical demands are easily matched by the precision of its construction and the dazzling range of textures it encompasses. Both performances here have been met with critical acclaim, but are otherwise very different. Lortie’s playing is sumptuous and limpid; there is a microscopic attention to detail, and you can hear even the tiniest musical gestures with startling clarity. Grosvenor’s performance, on the other hand, seems to take seriously Ravel’s instruction that when it came to Gaspard, one should not interpret – just play: his performance features precipitous accelerandi [38:10], striking colours [see the sudden change in texture at 25:44], wafer-thin pianissimos [26:31], and sudden reels of notes like jagged stabs of light in the murk. The level of virtuosity and control needed to pull off the sort of hyper-precise effects Grosvenor elicits from the piano is quite hard to imagine. Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit has three movements, each