Author : Maurice Ravel

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Author : Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel

Tags : 2 PianosDuet

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In the "Nocturnes" for orchestra and women’s chorus, composed between 1897 and 1899, Debussy realized his idea that musical form should arise organically from the material. Utilizing a tripartite structure, he made references to the symphony while simultaneously distancing himself from it by substituting the motivic-thematic elements with a range of nuanced timbres. The movement titles "Nuages" (clouds), "Fêtes" (festivals), and "Sirènes" (sirens), which draw inspiration from nature and culture, hint at the programmatic music that was prevalent during that era. Nevertheless, Debussy was not focused on tone-painting; instead, he emphasized poetic imagination. The arrangement of this impressionistic masterpiece for two pianos, completed by Ravel in 1909, posed a challenge that the young composer navigated with remarkable skill. Alongside Louis Aubert, he also successfully premiered the work on 24 April 1911 at the Salle Gaveau in Paris. We were fortunate to engage Debussy expert Denis Herlin for the first critical edition of the arrangement, with Andreas Groethuysen providing the fingerings.

Author : Moritz Moszkowski

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Author : Moritz Moszkowski

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Author : Moritz Moszkowski

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Author : Maurice Ravel

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In his "Autobiographical Sketch," Ravel reflected on the importance of his 1906 piano work "Miroirs" (HN 842) for his harmonic development. He noted that the piece "disconcerted even those musicians who had been most familiar with my compositional style up to then," particularly in the fourth movement, "Alborada del gracioso" (Morning Song of the Court Jester), which makes extensive use of harsh dissonances. This technically and musically charming genre piece, brimming with rousing ideas and rhythms, has become one of the French composer's best-known piano works. We are now publishing it in a new Urtext edition.

Author : Maurice Ravel

Description

Author : Maurice Ravel

Description

Author : Maurice Ravel

Description

Ravel's piano cycle "Gaspard de la nuit" was inspired by a collection of prose poems by the French Romantic Aloysius Bertrand. Rather than simply creating an atmospheric depiction of the literary model, Ravel recounts the eerie-grotesque scenes from Bertrand's poems in a fascinating musical manner. Ravel's "three romantic poems of transcendental virtuosity" were intended to surpass the technical refinement of Balakirev's "Islamey," which was considered unplayable at the time.