Thank you streaming this. You are definitely showcasing the best of Western music. The number of people who watch this is a sad commentary on the musical consciousness of the nation and the world. You have certainly raised my consciousness with your enthusiastic and earnest presentation. Anyone who wants to be a composer should watch these. The caliber of the musicians on this show is outstanding. And like most great musicians, they don't really mind being "shuffled off the piano". That essential humility is the mark, in my opinion, of a true artist.
This video is so interesting, I am learning Gaspard De La nuit right now and I love hearing the backstory and explanations about Ravel and this piece, thank you!!
Anyone heard the program, I think it was somewhere on npr, about the disease that took Ravel’s mind. The case was made that he had fronto temporal dementia. The characteristics of mind produced by this disease are super interesting to compare to what was going on in Ravel’s music. Repetition is apparently one of these. The program highlighted Bolero. Gaspard would make an interesting comparison.
The "Piano Puzzler" inspired me to check you out. You are a great musician. I can't think of anyone with such a fantastic knowledge of music: harmony, melody , counterpoint, all of it. Best of all is your beguiling presentation. I wish I were living in New York so that I could attend your presentations.
+Jacob Opper Thank you so much for your nice comment! We do live stream many of our events for free, including the entire Inside Chamber Music series! Here is a link to the live streams we're doing this year. Hope you can tune in for some! www.chambermusicsociety.org/watchlisten/watchlive
Yes, thank you Mr Adolphe. Wonderful of you to share your insights into the harmonic, melodic, and era interests of Ravel in the beginnings of the 20th century.
Did they start the marking for Le Gibet a bit early? I think the editor thought after the man tells Ondine he loves a mortal woman, the movement ended...
54:19 -- beg to differ, it is not an major chord w an added sixth. It is one of the beginning themes played w an extra note above it ( a major second). Ravel loves to work out all the beginning themes of a work and not play one of them, often the second theme (see his Toccata), then play that theme in a striking manner later in the piece. In this piece it obviously is meant to evoke woozy, scary haziness, as if Scarbo was smokily going out of focus.
Great presentation! But listen, forcing poor Carlo to sit uncomfortably in that stiff little chair for 43 minutes before his performance was thoughtless and cruel. How much effort would it have taken to provide a nice padded armchair? 🎹
Some interesting information but I could have done without the lame little wisecracks and pointless digressions. If he’d left them out he’d have had time to read the poems in full which would have been more illuminating. And he treats the very patient and talented Mr Grante like a dogsbody. Not impressed.