The Münchner Rundfunkorchester (Munich Radio Orchestra), founded in 1952, has a broad artistic spectrum, including opera, sacred music, children's concerts, and film scores.
Performer Biography
Asher Fisch, the conductor, began his career as an assistant to Daniel Barenboim and has conducted at major opera houses like the Met in New York, the Vienna State Opera, and Milan's La Scala.
Critical Reception
L'heure espagnole, despite being a boulevard comedy, was initially deemed inappropriate for the Paris Opera and only premiered in 1911 after intervention from an influential personality.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ravel found the play by Franc-Nohain, about a bored clockmaker's wife and her lovers, to be ideal material for a 'humorous musical piece' in the spirit of Italian opera buffa.
Composition History
Maurice Ravel's L'heure espagnole, a one-act musical comedy, was his first work for the stage, composed between 1907 and 1909.
Compositional Technique
Ravel, whose mother was of Basque-Iberian origin, incorporates Spanish folklore into L'heure espagnole, but often with irony, making it sound artificial rather than authentic.
Compositional Technique
Ravel's L'heure espagnole uses a musical leitmotif for time in a 5/4-time signature, and the action unfolds in 'real time', lasting less than a full hour.
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