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Vlado Perlemuter (all solo works, but not the concerti)
Jacques Février (Wittgenstein did the official premiere of the leftie-concerto - that was in the deal, Ravel had no way out -, but Février was chosen to do the French premiere, and worked on the piece with the composer)
Marguerite Long (not sure how much they actually worked together, but the G major concerto was dedicated to her, etc)
Ricardo Vines, sure

Gieseking played for Ravel, no? I'm having a bit of a black-out on other pianists that worked extensively with Ravel. As I'm working on Gaspard de la nuit, I'm having troubles finding an ideal tempo for Scarbo. Though the other Ravel "reference piece" in regards to similar rhythms/character etc would be the 2nd movement of the Piano Trio (192 on the crotchet, as far as I recall), then this tempo seems a few tads too slow for my taste. The "Pantoum" of the piano trio is notated in 3/4 first of all, while Scarbo is in 3/8...in any case, when I'm listening to Perlemuter, Février and others, it seems they're more or less aiming for a similar tempo to that of the trio. It's not scary enough for my ears, and also...they're clearly having difficulties, even at that 'slow' pace.

Thoughts?

Perlemuter's book on Ravel is useful and all, and it's a nice reference. Still, I think it's a pity that no yet greater pianists went through the entire body of solo works with Ravel himself. Perlemuter does a lot of great things, and I had a teacher that studied for him, but he wasn't quite able to pull off the most virtuosic of the piano works, IMO.

Marcelle Meyer? I think they did something together.

Paul Doguereau

Robert Casadesus had a lot to do with Ravel, and he recorded all of Ravel's works.

Casadesus was the first performer to play an entire Ravel solo recital. The two became such good friends they subsequently went on tour together playing two piano works.

The G Major Concerto was written specifically for Marguerite Long, and she was the first to record it with Ravel being present in the studio during the session. They initially did a tour together, with Ravel conducting in order to introduce the piece to the public.

I am at a loss as to why no one mentions the 2002 recording "Maurice Ravel, The Composer As Pianist and Conductor," by Kenneth Caswell. The only reason I can come up with is, as has been shown in prior posts, there are those who consider themselves experts on piano roll recordings, which they are not!

I have discussed this recording, as well as the Debussy roll, with Ken at length, and this is the most accurate example of Ravel's style of playing.

Still, one would somehow think there'd be yet more top notch pianists that had worked with Ravel....But true about Casadesus. Did he write a lot on his encounters with Ravel? I remember only reading a few small paragraphs here and there..

I don't know. It doesn't seem to me that most composers really have had a lot of performers who worked with them extensively. How many pianists worked directly and at length with Bartok, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Szymanowski, et al.? There were some, but I don't think there were a lot, in any particular case.

Listen to 'Mr.Scarbo': Samson Francois, he didn't play for Ravel, but in France he was considered to be the one and only to play Gaspard the right way, that is in the 50's and 60's, pupil of Cortot and a 'noctuelle'...

Three things: First, Impressionism was not just like Twelve Tone composition, it was not "Avant Garde," it was heretical.

Secondly, Monsieur Ravel had a Twenty-first Century gay lifestyle, way before it was "fashionable." That means that when you don't see a lot of pianists "warming up" to this guy, now you know why.

Third, Cecile Dunoyer, who is a very legitimate Marguerite Long biographer, has the following book, which spends an entire chapter on her (Long's) professional relationship with this composer.

A Life in French Music, 1874–1966
Cecilia Dunoyer.

And, for the record, Madame Long extensively played in a 19th century style, the original style, and rolled her chords when playing Ravel, and asynchronized her bass line.

"L'art de Marguerite Long" is a reference recording, along with "Ravel Conducts Ravel."