Ravel, M.: Gaspard De La Nuit / Miroirs / Jeux D'Eau

Featuring

Tzimon Barto
Maurice Ravel

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Ravel's compositions often aimed to fully explore a specific musical form or instrumental technique, leading him to invent without appearing revolutionary.

Performer Biography

Tzimon Barto's international breakthrough came in the mid-1980s when he performed at the Vienna Musikverein and Salzburg Festival at the invitation of Herbert von Karajan.

Composer Biography

Maurice Ravel, born in the Basque region of France, inherited the Basque language from his mother, who came from a working-class background of fishmongers.

Composer Biography

Ravel's hands were too small for him to become a great pianist, but his fellow student Ricardo Viñes, a Catalan pianist, was an invaluable guide in keyboard technique.

Compositional Technique

The works on this album, including Gaspard de la nuit, Miroirs, and Jeux d'eau, represent a school of expressive virtuosity focused on describing imaginative landscapes and creatures.

Performer Biography

Tzimon Barto, the pianist on this recording, received his first piano lessons from his grandmother at age five and later studied at the Juilliard School of Music.

Composition History

Until 1914, Ravel and Ricardo Viñes, the pianist who premiered these works, were part of an artist group called Les Apaches, to whom Miroirs was dedicated.