{"id":356,"date":"2017-11-16T11:29:06","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T10:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk.linux182.unoeuro-server.com\/2017\/11\/16\/vaerkgennemgang-af-maurice-ravels-klaverkoncert-i-g\/"},"modified":"2024-11-23T00:21:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T23:21:21","slug":"vaerkgennemgang-af-maurice-ravels-klaverkoncert-i-g","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/vaerkgennemgang-af-maurice-ravels-klaverkoncert-i-g\/","title":{"rendered":"Work review of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was regarded at the end of his life as one of France's great composers - both internationally and locally. After a rough start, when the established French composing community didn't like his new and modern style, he gradually gained more and more recognition. Towards the end of the 1920s, he composed two piano concertos: the first, composed between 1929-30, is known as the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, as it was commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein, a famous pianist who had lost his right arm during the First World War. At the same time, he composed another, this one for both hands, known as the Piano Concerto in G major. The contrast between the two is striking and intentional, because where the Left Hand Concerto is bombastic, melodramatic and in every way a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven's compositional style, the G major concerto is an attempt to write in a style closer to that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or his compatriot Charles-Camille Saint-Sa\u00ebns. It is the Piano Concerto in G major that we are going to take a closer look at today, specifically the first movement that is marked Allegramente<\/em> (ital. fast\/cheerful).<\/p>\n

The concert begins with a crack like a whip and we hear the piccolo play a fun melody, but the piano plays airy notes underneath:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The trumpet then picks up the same melody, now without the airy piano playing, but with more solid markings of the underlying chords played by harp, percussion and strings:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Soon the whole orchestra is tuning in a variation on this melody and more and more power is added - until it stops completely and the English horn ends this melody for now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

We are now actually presented with the piano playing a simple melody, but it is embellished with extra notes. Overall, the expression is calm and soft:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The clarinet comments with a variation on the melody and the trumpet continues:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

And now the piano takes hold! The playing is more determined, gone are the soft transitions, all notes are sharply marked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The same pattern as before is now repeated: The other instruments comment in descending phrases, first the piccolo, then the clarinet, then the trumpet and then the piano gathers more speed:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The piano gets quieter and quieter and the energy fades. But then it starts again and we are now presented with a brand new melody - though occasionally interrupted by the rest of the orchestra playing high-pitched sounds and emphasised chords:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The piano melody continues and develops beautifully for a while. But then the bassoon suddenly takes over the piano's role. Now the bassoon has the melody and the piano imitates the harp underneath. As before, the melody is interrupted by the entire orchestra playing high-pitched sounds and emphasised chords. Towards the end of the melody, the trumpet also joins in:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Then the piano takes hold! Broken sounds and a fragmented melody dominate, while the orchestra continuously comments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This form continues for the next while, until the piano plays an even more complex basic figure, combining it with the descending theme we heard earlier:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The tempo increases and the piano plays more and more complex figures, occasionally complemented by the orchestra. The music becomes more and more chaotic... until it suddenly stops and the piano plays a complex series of notes:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

It stops... and then continues as chaotically as before! The piano plays the melody that opened the whole concert on top of the confusion and the marked chords, but distorted and not nearly as nice as when the piccolo played it:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Soon, however, the oboe calls for calm with the same melody the English horn played earlier - and the piano returns to its first melody: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This is the melody we've heard, but when it comes to the end, the piano doesn't let other instruments play the ending, the pianist does it himself:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This is followed by a quiet piece with the harp leading. The orchestra joins in from time to time, but generally calm prevails. The woodwinds play quiet melodies and all is joy. And now comes the piano's showpiece:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The piano plays the most beautiful melody - in the left hand, because the right hand is busy with the trills above the music. The orchestra supports, but it is clearly the piano that dominates with a very technically demanding section. And it gets harder as the tempo increases and soon the piano moves all the way to the low register and begins a trip on the way up:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The flute and trumpet try to harmonise the melody with the piano:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

And soon the first movement is brought to its climax, which is brought down to the end as quickly as it can be reached.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The first movement of the piano concerto was heavily inspired by vaudeville and jazz, which was very popular in Paris at the time. And Ravel was very successful in bringing those elements of the unpredictable and virtuosic into the music - while there are also moments of immense beauty and intimacy.<\/p>\n

The music samples were recorded by Jeff Maookain and made available via CreativeCommons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) sidst i sit liv betragtet som en af Frankrigs store komponister – b\u00e5de internationalt og lokalt. Efter en h\u00e5rd begyndelse, hvor det etablerede franske komponistmilj\u00f8 ikke kunne lide hans nye og moderne stil, vandt han l\u00f8bende mere og mere annerkendelse. Mod slutningen af 1920’erne komponerede han to klaverkoncerter: Den f\u00f8rste komponeret mellem 1929-30,…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"indlaegs_forfatter":[150],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ikke-kategoriseret","indlaegs_forfatter-niclasnhundahl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"indlaegs_forfatter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drvenneforeningen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/indlaegs_forfatter?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}