Monique Haas performs Ravel's piano concertos

Deutsche Grammophon SPLM 138 988

Ravel: Piano Concertos in G Major and D Major

Monique Haas, piano

Orchestre National Paris

Paul Paray, conductor

Date first published: 1965

Pressing: German, demonstration copy

This is another one of the records I recently picked up from Volker Mueller at 33rpm.de during my visit to his shop in Berlin. I love the Ravel piano concertos and have been looking for a clean copy of this particular disc for some time.

Monique Haas (1909-1987) was a French pianist who is regarded as one of the finest French pianists of the first half of the 20th century. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was awarded the Premier Prix in Piano in 1927, then subsequently studied privately with Rudolf Serkin, Robert Casadesus, and George Enescu. Haas performed and recorded music by a wide range of composers, including Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Bartok, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Stravinsky, and Messiaen. She was a champion of French music, regularly programming music by the Baroque composers François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, and is also well known for her interpretations of the piano works of Debussy and Ravel, which she recorded for both the Deutsche Grammophon and Erato labels. Interestingly, her repertoire included little from the Romantic era (except for Schumann), which apparently was not uncommon practice among French pianists of the post-World War One era.

Haas recorded the Ravel Concerto in G twice, once in 1948 (in mono, paired with the Stravinsky Capriccio) and again in 1965 (in stereo, paired with the Ravel's Concerto for Left Hand), both on the Deutsche Grammophon label. I have not heard the mono version, but this DG stereo recording is a joy to listen to, both for its performances and its sound quality. There is nothing mannered or overly sentimental about Haas' performance. Just listen to her entrance in the first movement of the Concerto in G; it's strictly in time without a trace of rubato. In the beautiful Adagio movement, she plays expressively but keeps things flowing at a steady pace throughout. Her virtuosity is showcased in the third movement, in which she adeptly articulates the jazzy, syncopated rhythms and executes the fast runs with clarity and precision. The Concerto for Left Hand is performed with no less brilliance. Throughout both concertos, the Orchestre National Paris under Paray's direction provides Haas with strong and colorful support. 

I found the recorded sound to be natural and overall well-balanced between the soloist and orchestra. The orchestra benefits from wide-ranging dynamics, good clarity, and nice imaging and separation of the orchestral sections. The piano basks in a warm glow and is mostly reproduced with good clarity, although, in quieter passages, it can sometimes sound just a bit recessed.

For comparison, I also listened to the recordings from Samson François with André Cluytens/Paris Conservatoire Orchestra (World Record Club ST 871, reissue of Columbia SAX 2394) and Martha Argerich with Claudio Abbado/London Symphony Orchestra (for the Concerto in G; Deutsche Grammophon SLPM 139349). 

The François record also boasts excellent performances and sonics. The piano is very well recorded with impressive clarity and a nice weight to the lower registers; to me, the piano sounds the most realistic among the three recordings. As for the Argerich record, I have a later, non-tulips pressing that was cut at a low volume, so I had to turn it up a few notches to get a comparable listening level. While the piano tone isn't quite as crisp as on the François recording, Argerich's playing is superb. Orchestral dynamics and imaging are quite good and better than I am accustomed to with later DG pressings, though not quite up to the level of the other two discs. Perhaps the original blue tulips pressing offers an improvement.

Having recently picked up a number of the out-of-print copies of The Stereo Record Guide, I have been thumbing through the reviews interested in reading what British critics had to say at the time about these recordings. The Stereo Record Guide, Vol. 6 (Long Playing Record Library Ltd, 1968) gave the Haas disc two out of three stars and a pretty favorable review:

"Those looking for a good coupling of the two Ravel concertos will find the Haas/Paray disc has quite a lot to offer. It is clearly preferable to the previous version by Francois. D.G.G's recording is extremely vivid and brilliant and it suits the almost brash, extrovert approach shared by conductor and soloist. The Left Hand Concerto is perhaps too positive: the misty opening lacks atmosphere and the pianist's opening section misses the feeling of musing improvisation natural to the simple exploration of the main theme. However the work's jazzy elements are well exploited and the Scherzando section is pleasingly uninhibited. The recording brings out the stridency of the tuttis but this is well in keeping with the approach of the artists.

The G Major Concerto has similar fresh breezes blowing through its textures and the reading is enjoyable in its spirited buoyancy. If there is no lingering over the lyrical tunes (the second subject of the first movement for instance) the shaping is sensitive, the Adagio suggesting an etching rather than a full-colour canvas. Recording again splendid." 

If you have any insights you'd like to share about this recording or any others of the Ravel piano concertos, please feel welcome to share in the comments below. Until next time, happy listening!