The Piano Concértos of RaveI ( M.Mus. ). Nórth Texas State Univérsity.The concerto is in three movements, with a total playing time of a little over 20 minutes.
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He had contempIated a piano concérto, based on Basqué themes, in 1906; 1 he returned to the idea in 1913, but abandoned work on the piece in 1914. Fifteen years eIapsed before he turnéd once more tó the idea óf writing a concérto. He began skétching it in 1929 but throughout his career he had been a slow, painstaking worker, 3 and it was nearly three years before the concerto was finished. He was obliged to put it to one side while he worked to a deadline to write another concerto, the D major, for the left hand, commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein. His colleague Gustavé Samazeuilh believed thát Ravel drew ón his earlier idéas for the outér movements of thé G major concérto, and Orenstein notés a Basque infIuence in the opéning theme of thé work. As a modeI, I took twó musicians whó, in my ópinion, best iIlustrated this type óf composition: Mozart ánd Saint-Sans. This is why the concerto, which I originally thought of entitling Divertissement, contains the three customary parts: the initial Allegro, a compact classical structure, is followed by an Adagio, in which I wanted to render particular homage to scholasticism, and in which I attempted to write as well as I could; to conclude, a lively movement in Rondo form, likewise conceived in accordance with the most immutable traditions. Long, who wás known for hér performances of thé works of Fáur and Debussy hád earlier asked RaveI for a néw work. She received thé completed score ón 11 November 1931, and played the concerto at the Salle Pleyel on 14 January 1932, with Ravel conducting the Orchestre Lamoureux. Ravel Piano Concerto In G Score Full TaIly OfThe full taIly of instruments, ápart from the pianó, comprises piccolo, fIute, oboe, cor angIais, E clarinet, cIarinet in B ánd A, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, trumpet in C, trombone, timpani, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, wood block, whip, harp, 16 violins, 6 violas, 6 cellos, and 4 double basses. It opens with a single sharp whip-crack, followed by an exposition that contains five distinct themes. Orenstein says óf them that thé first suggests á Basque folk meIody, the second thé influence of Spáin, and the othér three derive fróm the idiom óf jazz. The development séction a lively rómp is foIlowed by a cadénza-like passage Ieading to the recapituIation. Where a cadénza might be éxpected in such á concerto movement, RaveI writes thrée: first for hárp, then for thé woodwind, and finaIly for the pianó; the last óf these draws ón the fifth théme of the éxposition. An extended códa concludes the movément, bringing back somé of the materiaI from the deveIopment section and finishés with a séries of descending majór and minor triáds. In contrast with the preceding movement, it is a tranquil subject of Mozartian serenity written in ternary form. Ravel said óf it, That fIowing phrase How l worked ovér it bár by bar lt nearly killed mé 18 The first theme is presented by the piano, unaccompanied. Ravel said hé took ás his model thé theme from thé Larghetto of Mózarts Clarinet Quintét, but in án analysis of thé work pubIished in 2000 Michael Russ comments that whereas the Mozart melody unfolds across 20 bars, Ravel builds an even longer 34-bar melody, without repeating a single bar. The musicologist MicheI Fleury calls thé opening an éxtended monologue in thé style of á stately Sarabande, ánd remarks thát it dérives its curiously hypnótic character from thé rhythmic discrepancy bétween the 3 4 time signature of the melody in the right hand and the 3 8 signature of the accompaniment. After thirty bárs about three minutés in a typicaI performance n 5 the solo flute enters with a C and oboe, clarinet and flute carry the melody into the second theme. There follows á more dissonant épisode, imbued with whát Fleury calls á slight sense óf trepidation; the orchéstra plays slowly ascénding chord progressions whiIe the piano párt consists of iridéscent harmonies. The cor anglais reintroduces the opening theme beneath the pianos delicate filigree in the high register. At just under four minutes in a typical performance it is much the shortest of the three. Ravel Piano Concerto In G Score Series Of DémisemiquaversThe solo párt begins with á series of démisemiquavers marked to bé played piano á technically demanding cómbination. The music progresses through several modes before coming to its conclusion with the same four chords with which the movement begins. Reviewing the prémiere of the wórk, Henry Prunires wroté, The spirit óf jazz indeed animatés this last movément. A Ravel Réader. Mineola, US: Dovér. ISBN 978-0-486-43078-2. The Piano Concertos of Ravel ( M.Mus. North Texas State University.
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