Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 03/09/2005, uploaded on 06/17/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Anecdotes surround composers and the often divine-like inspirations that give birth to their works—think of the scherzo of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which is said to have sprung into the composer’s mind as he stepped from darkness into brilliant light. Of this we will never be certain if it is true or not, but Maurice Ravel marked himself the moment of inspiration for his Piano Concerto in G major. Travelling between London and Oxford by train, he envisioned the opening theme of the Concerto, but was quick to remark that it was merely the beginning of an idea and to stress the great intellectual work that must necessarily follow. The Concerto was then composed over a two-year period during 1929-31, during which time he also made his fourth concert tour of the United States. Ravel soaked in the lush jazz scene of New York City and New Orleans during this tour, as well as meeting George Gershwin. He was tremendously influenced by the vibrant and lively rhythms of jazz and they became a central element of the Piano Concerto.

Coming off his successful tour, Ravel intended to give the premiere performance of his new Piano Concerto, but was set back by fatigue. Undeterred, however, he planned a premiere in Amsterdam on March 9, 1931. This performance, too, was cancelled due to a commission by Paul Wittgenstein for a piano concerto for left hand in addition to other performances obligations. In time, Ravel passed the pianists duties to Marguerite Long. The Concerto in G was finally premiered on January 14, 1932 with Ravel conducting the orchestra. It was well-received and just four days after the premiere, Ravel and Long set out on a tour of twenty cities presenting the Concerto to consistently favorable reviews.

Following the traditional three-movement pattern, the Piano Concerto in G is particularly Ravelian in its application of the jazz idiom and its adherence to the traditional concerto forms. Beginning with a single whip-crack that instantly establishes the energy and momentum of the entire work, the sonata form first movement is a spirited and vibrant blend of the Spanish influences well-known in Ravel’s music and the jazz style he experience in America. Its second theme is even vaguely reminiscent of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Starkly different, the central Adagio movement has an almost Mozartian grace to its melodic lines. It is a deeply introspective movement, contrasting eloquently with the previous extroverted Allegramente, full of beautiful passages of longing. When Long praised the Adagio’s opening melody for its natural flow, Ravel responded: “That flowing phrase! How I worked over it bar by bar! It nearly killed me!” Lastly, the curt finale returns to the extroverted energy of the first movement but in overflowing abundance, driving the work to its feverish and high-spirited conclusion.      Joseph DuBose