When
listening to La Valse, one imagines dancers gradually emerging from a whirlpool
of frantic motion. Ravel wrote that "...[C]louds
whirl about. Occasionally they part to allow a glimpse of waltzing couples. As
they lift, one can discern a gigantic hall filled with a crowd of dancers in
motion. The stage gradually brightens. The glow of the chandeliers breaks out
fortissimo."
Ravel's
original idea was to create a work which would be the apotheosis of the
Viennese waltz, which ruled the Imperial Court at the time (1855). But as the
piece evolved, Ravel called it "a fantastic and fatefully inescapable
whirlpool". One feels the sense of
foreboding underlying the frantic elation.
The gaiety seems forced, decadent and anguished. Ravel combines these contrasting moods of
gaiety and impending doom throughout this work. There is a whirlwind of frantic elation, broken off suddenly into
harsh strident chords with an underlying restlessness. Ravel achieves this through a variety of
constantly changing colors, with their tragic underpinnings.
The
original orchestral version was transcribed by Ravel into a piano version in
1920 and into a two-piano version in 1921. Soojin Ahn
Classical Music | Piano Music
Maurice Ravel
La Valse Play
Recorded on 08/30/2005, uploaded on 01/13/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
La Valse Maurice Ravel
When listening to La Valse, one imagines dancers gradually emerging from a whirlpool of frantic motion. Ravel wrote that "...[C]louds whirl about. Occasionally they part to allow a glimpse of waltzing couples. As they lift, one can discern a gigantic hall filled with a crowd of dancers in motion. The stage gradually brightens. The glow of the chandeliers breaks out fortissimo."
Ravel's original idea was to create a work which would be the apotheosis of the Viennese waltz, which ruled the Imperial Court at the time (1855). But as the piece evolved, Ravel called it "a fantastic and fatefully inescapable whirlpool". One feels the sense of foreboding underlying the frantic elation. The gaiety seems forced, decadent and anguished. Ravel combines these contrasting moods of gaiety and impending doom throughout this work. There is a whirlwind of frantic elation, broken off suddenly into harsh strident chords with an underlying restlessness. Ravel achieves this through a variety of constantly changing colors, with their tragic underpinnings.
The original orchestral version was transcribed by Ravel into a piano version in 1920 and into a two-piano version in 1921. Soojin Ahn
More music by Maurice Ravel
Blues, from Sonata for violin and piano
Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Faure
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Noctuelles from Miroirs
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Une barque sur l'ocean, from Mirours
Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques
Tzigane
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Sonatine
Performances by same musician(s)
Humoreske, Op. 20
Widmung
Transcendental Etude No. 12, Chasse-Neige
Of Love and Death, from Goyescas
Sonata No. 34 in e minor, Hob. XVI: 34
Sonata in A minor D. 821 (Arpeggione)
Viola Concerto
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