"His performance of La Valse is less nihilistic than some readings, it's lighter, wonderfully athletic and full of brilliantly lit detail, though still mustering a real punch in the cataclysm of the final pages. It also makes a real showcase for Les Siècles' gorgeous early 20th-century French woodwind sound and plush strings ... In Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures ... the sound is wonderfully vivid, and both in the opening Promenade and the final Great Gate of Kiev, the immediacy is startling ... The result is like viewing a restored old master; every detail glows, exactly as Ravel would have imagined it"

"This album is Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth's third album of Ravel's music played on period French instruments. The fully orchestrated Pictures at an Exhibition is heard in the new Ravel Edition, commissioned in part by Les Siècles, and a stunning, live La Valse serves as its foil. As in their previous recordings, Les Siècles' playing is muscular and profoundly adept, and attuned to the possibilities of Ravel's orchestration ... This album is full of musical joy, both serious and humorous. La Valse alone would highly recommend it, but the performance of Pictures elevates it to required listening"

"Recording of the week: The choice of instruments produces a wealth of almost infinitesimally distinctive timbres that cumulatively bring a real freshness and revitalisation ... Ravel's treatment of Mussorgsky's composition is rightly held up as a textbook example of orchestration, and Roth makes sure that we hear every last nuance of such masterly efforts ... La Valse is magnificently balanced, with virtuosity on display from every section of the orchestra"

"Natürlich klingen die französischen Blasinstrumente, die hier verwendet werden, weicher, farbiger und flexibler als von heutigen Instrumenten gewohnt, aber dies allein ist es nicht, was das Hörerlebnis ausmacht. Es ist vielmehr die phänomenale Charakterisierungskunst Roths und seiner Musiker ... Genau wie von Ravel vorgesehen. Eine Sternstunde!"

"At just over 44 minutes, this new album from Les Siècles could be considered short measure, but the performance of La valse is very nearly worth the price of the disc by itself ... The poème chorégraphique steals the show in a dazzling performance of outstanding virtuosity ... As Pictures go, this is a very enjoyable tour around the gallery ... but it's that La valse which keeps haunting me (in the best possible way)"

Vurdering: 5/5

"Roth certainly foregrounds each work's grotesque qualities. The slithering string portamento in 'Gnomus' is striking ... Roth has taken some pains to perform a version of Pictures faithful to Ravel's final thoughts ... Yet the differences are not so notable as to make this an 'essential' version and some of Roth's decisions are questionable"