IDAGIO | Ravel: Boléro, M. 81 - Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1 - De Falla: El amor brujo & Nights in Gardens of Spain 8885012630177

Featuring

Volker Hartung
Dora Brockmann
Filippo Faes
Junge Philharmonie Köln
Georges Bizet
Manuel de Falla

Maurice Ravel

Did you know?

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Composition History

Manuel de Falla's ballet 'El Amor Brujo' was commissioned in 1914 as a 'gitanería' (gypsy piece) by Pastora Imperio, a renowned flamenco gypsy dancer.

Composition History

The Carmen Suites, orchestral music from Bizet's opera, were compiled posthumously by his friend Ernest Guiraud, who also wrote the recitatives for the opera.

Compositional Technique

Maurice Ravel's 'Boléro' is a famous orchestral work that builds a gigantic crescendo from pianissimo to triple fortissimo using a constantly repeating Boléro theme.

Critical Reception

At the 1928 premiere of 'Boléro', a concertgoer reportedly called it 'the work of a madman', to which Ravel supposedly agreed, saying she was 'the only one who understood me'.

Composer Biography

Manuel de Falla lived in Paris and was friends with Maurice Ravel, Isaac Albéniz, Florent Schmitt, and Igor Stravinsky, and worked with Debussy to promote chamber music.

Critical Reception

The premiere of 'El Amor Brujo' in Madrid in 1915 was unsuccessful, partly due to the choreography by Pastora Imperio, the dancer who commissioned it.

Cultural Impact

Georges Bizet's opera 'Carmen', from which the Carmen Suites are drawn, became one of the greatest successes in opera history, despite initial mixed reception.