Idil Biret was a pupil of Alfred Cortot, a renowned French pianist, and a lifelong disciple of Wilhelm Kempff, a celebrated German pianist and composer.
Performer Biography
Idil Biret, the pianist on this album, began playing piano at age three and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, graduating at fifteen with three first prizes.
Composer Biography
Maurice Ravel, the composer of the works on this album, repeatedly failed to win the prestigious Prix de Rome, leading to a scandal that caused changes at the Conservatoire.
Compositional Technique
Ravel considered the 'Ondine' movement from Gaspard de la nuit to be as difficult as Balakirev's Islamey, a notoriously challenging piano piece.
Recording & Production
The Idil Biret Archive (IBA) aims to collect and release as many of her recordings as possible, including old commercially unavailable ones and new recordings.
Composition History
Ravel's choreographic poem La valse was rejected as a ballet by the Russian impresario Diaghilev, which ended their professional relationship.
Recording & Production
The IBA emblem features an etching by Albrecht Dürer, a German Renaissance artist, sent to Idil Biret by her teacher Nadia Boulanger for Christmas in 1959.
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