Ravel: Concerto en sol, Le Tombeau de Couperin & Alborada del gracioso

Featuring

Josep Pons
Javier Perianes
Orchestre de Paris
Maurice Ravel

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Composition History

Ravel's Concerto in G major was intended to be a brilliant work showcasing the performer's virtuosity, taking inspiration from Mozart and Saint-Saëns.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Maurice Ravel, the composer, deeply admired Franz Liszt and, like him, orchestrated a substantial portion of his own piano works.

Composition History

Ravel began composing Le Tombeau de Couperin in 1914, but his work was disrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, during which he served as a driver in the army.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In Le Tombeau de Couperin, Ravel's homage is directed less at Couperin himself and more towards 18th-century French music, reflecting qualities like formal perfection and precision.

Composer Biography

Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, in the French Basque Country, and was always proud of his Basque roots, inherited from his mother, Marie Delouart.

Compositional Technique

Ravel's orchestral versions of his piano works, such as Le Tombeau de Couperin and Alborada del gracioso, are described as refined reworkings that acquire new nuances and inventive sonorities without changing the musical material.

Performer Biography

Javier Perianes, the pianist on this recording, was awarded the 'National Music Prize' in 2012 by the Ministry of Culture of Spain and named International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) Artist of the Year in 2019.