Composer of the Week: Ravel

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

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An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): Little Master in a Big Country

Little Master in a Big Country

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), Little Master in a Big Country

Donald Macleod tells the story of Ravel’s thrill at first visiting the USA.

Donald Macleod tells the story of Ravel’s thrill at first visiting the USA, a four-month odyssey that took in jazz, Broadway, Gershwin…and 20 pairs of pyjamas!

Donald Macleod tells of the story of Ravel’s thrill at first visiting the USA, a four-month odyssey that took in jazz, Broadway, Gershwin…and 20 pairs of pyjamas!

The music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) is much loved for its remarkable orchestral colours and brilliant virtuosity. But his chamber music - intimate, crystalline, and beautiful - is often overlooked. This week, Donald Macleod introduces every one of Ravel’s works for small instrumental ensemble - an array of work that spans the composer’s colourful life and career.

In the spring of 1927, Ravel toured the USA at the height of the Roaring Twenties. He was delighted by what he found - but took the careful preparation of packing no fewer than twenty pairs of pyjamas for the trip! Donald Macleod tells a story of mutual excitement, as Maurice Ravel and America fell in love with each other, with a complete performance of the composer’s jazz-tinged Violin Sonata.

Fanfare for “L’Eventail de Jeanne”
New York Philharmonic
Pierre Boulez (Conductor)

Tzigane [original version for violin and luthéal]
Sarah Nemtanu, violin
Romain Descharmes, piano

L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (excerpts)
Duo miaulé… Ronde des chauves-souris
Jane Berbié (the cat), mezzo-soprano
Camille Maurane (the tom-cat), baritone
Francoise Ogeas (the child), soprano
Sylvaine Gilma (the nightingale), soprano
Jeannine Collard (the dragonfly), mezzo-soprano
Colette Herzog (the bat), soprano
R.T.F. National Orchestre
R.T.F. Choeur De Radio France
R.T.F. Maitrise De Radio France
Rene Alix, chorus master
Lorin Maazel, conductor

Trois Chansons Madécasses
Cyrielle Ndjiki Nya (soprano)
Kaoli Ono (piano)
Sarah Van Der Vlist (flute)
Albéric Boullenois (cello)

Violin Sonata no 2 in G Major
Roberts Balanas, violin
Siqian Li, piano

Produced by Steven Rajam

Composer of the Week: Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod presents an in-depth survey of the life and work of Maurice Ravel.

Donald Macleod presents an in-depth survey of the life and work of this week's composer, Maurice Ravel.

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Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

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