Paavo Jarvi seems to be stepping outside of the composers his father, Neeme, favors, which is a good thing, but Paavo's conducting of Ravel is hardly impressive. Like his Debussy recording, Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Nocturnes; Etc. [Hybrid SACD], there is just something missing here. I can't hear one bit of passion coming from Jarvi. The Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra play well, but there's just not much fire here. Am I missing something? I don't think I am. I own almost every recording of Ravel's orchestral music available.
That said, the audio quality is top-notch, but this alone does not save this recording from mediocrity. Perhaps someone else will enjoy this recording, I just couldn't get into Jarvi's way with Ravel. I'll stick with Martinon, Boulez, Dutoit, and Tortelier.