Ravel, Bolero + La Valse

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Joshua Weilerstein

Clarinet, Timpani, Performing, Trombone, Cello, Trumpet, Bassoon, Classicalmusic, Performing Arts, Arts, Violin, Flute, Piano, Conductor, Music, Weilerstein

4.9 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2023

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maurice Ravel the Magician, the Swiss Watchmaker, the aloof, the elegant, the precise, the soulful, the childlike, the naive, the warm, the radical, the progressive. These are all words that were used to describe a man of elegant contradictions throughout his life and into today. I talked a lot about Ravel’s skill with orchestration last week when we discussed Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, but Ravel's brilliance and creativity in terms of orchestral sound is absolutely unparalleled in musical history. But Ravel is somebody I’ve very rarely covered on the show, partly because he didn’t write very many large scale works that would cover a whole hour long episode. Well, it took 6 years for me to figure it out, but I realized a little while ago that I could cover two of Ravel’s shorter pieces and put them together on a double bill, so to speak. So today I’m going to tell you about Ravel’s most beloved and most despised piece, Bolero, and about my favorite piece of Ravel’s, La Valse. These are two pieces that could not be more different in their aims, in their constructions, and in their impacts on the audience. They are both thrillingly exciting, but in completely different ways. A good performance of Bolero should make you want to jump out of your seat with excitement, while a good performance of La Valse should terrify you to your core. Join us to learn all about it!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Sticky Notes, the Classical Music Podcast.
0:10.8	My name is Joshua Weilerstein, I'm a conductor, and I'm the Music Director of the Phoenix
0:14.4	Orchestra of Boston, and the Chief Conductor Designate of the All Borg Symphony.
0:18.9	This podcast is for anyone who loves classical music, works in the field, or is just getting
0:23.3	ready to dive into this amazing world of incredible music.
0:27.1	Before we get started, I want to thank my new Patreon sponsors, Matthew, Tom, Elaine,
0:32.0	AJ, and all of my other Patreon sponsors for making Season 9 possible.
0:36.8	If you'd like to support the show, please head over to patreon.com slash Sticky Notes
0:41.1	Podcast.
0:42.1	And if you are a fan of the show, please just take a moment to give us a rating or review
0:45.5	on Apple Podcasts.
0:47.2	It is greatly appreciated.
0:51.3	So I'm in Manchester this week with the wonderful BBC Philharmonic.
0:55.1	We're doing a really nice program, six pieces from six different countries at this
0:59.6	open day of music at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.
1:03.4	It's such a wonderful orchestra work with, they're so dedicated and they're so fast, they're
1:08.0	the fastest orchestra I think I've ever worked with in terms of picking things up.
1:11.6	So it's been a joy with them as always.
1:13.9	And for the show this week, I've got a really fun episode on two pieces of Maurice Revelle's
1:19.2	Bolero and Lovevalls.
1:21.2	I really hope you enjoyed this one.
1:38.1	Maurice Revelle the magician, the Swiss watchmaker, the aloof, the elegant, the precise, the
	...

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