This recording adheres to Ravel's original instruction for the Concerto in G to be performed with a chamber orchestra of 50 to 60 musicians, rather than an expanded string section.
Composition History
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was commissioned by Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm during the First World War.
Performer Biography
Pianist Vincent Larderet studied Ravel's music using the personal scores of Vlado Perlemuter, Ravel's disciple, which contained annotations from the composer himself.
Composition History
Maurice Ravel's two piano concertos, the Piano Concerto in G and the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, were composed simultaneously, beginning in the autumn of 1929.
Historical Context
Florent Schmitt's 'J'entends dans le lointain…' (I hear in the distance…) was written in 1917, providing a tragic backdrop of the horrors of mass graves and suffering from the war.
Critical Reception
Florent Schmitt, a contemporary of Ravel and considered one of the greatest French composers of his time, has inexplicably fallen into obscurity.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ravel believed that concerto music "should be light-hearted and brilliant, and not aim at profundity or at dramatic effects."
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