Par MY DOMINIQUE. Dix-sept Poèmes de Maurice Carême mis en musique par Dominique My Pianiste, chef d'orchestre, je ne me suis jamais demandée si j'étais digne de mettre les doigts dans la musique de Schumann, Ravel ou Bizet... ou de créer et interpréter les compositeurs d'aujourd'hui comme Gérard Pesson, Jean-Marc Singier ou Tristan Murail. Ma passion pour la musique m'a toujours guidée dans mes …

Par VAUGHAN WILLIAMS RALPH. Vaughan Williams arrived in Paris in 12th December 1907 so that he could have lessons with Maurice Ravel. This is the first of his works to demonstrate the effects of these lessons which, as he wrote to Michael Calvocoressi after his return to London, 'helped me and taught me more than I imagined was possible'. Although works written not long after his Paris sojourn sho…

Born in Paris in 1899, Francis Poulenc soon became a notable composer and pianist. His Serenade, originally composed in 1925-1926 for Voice and Piano, met much success as part of his Bawdy Songs. Therefore, it was well-received when Maurice Gendron transcribed it for Cello and Piano. Poulenc, as a member of Les Six, composed music in a style contrary to that of Richard Wagner and impressionists C…

Sur le départ pour un congé prolongé, Ravel écrit au mois de juin 1905 à un ami: 'J'ai été horriblement occupé à cause d'une pièce de harpe commandée par la maison Erard. 8 jours de travail acharné et 3 nuits de veille m'ont permis de l'achever, tant bien que mal.' Rien toutefois dans cette oeuvre ne trahit la hâte avec laquelle elle a été composée. Il semble bien plutôt que Ravel ait su, dans cet…

Ma mre l'oye (Mother Goose Suite) is typical of Ravel's style with its modal melodies, use of dance forms and rhythmic precision. For this suite, Ravel selected favorite French fairy tales with references to fantasy, dreams and legends of childhood, and provided simple and delicate settings for piano duet (one piano, four hands). Although featuring childhood themes, Ma mre l'oye is at the late int…

13 Well-Known Melodies In Easy Arrangements. The music chosen for 'Curtain up!' ranges from the early classical period to the 20th century and includes arrangements of works by Vanhal, Leopold and Wolfgang A. Mozart, Weber, Diabelli, Mendelssohn Bartholdy through to Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Rachmaninoff. Two lively compositions by Maria Holzeis-Augustin are also included. All arrangements are suitab…

Inspired by Béla Bartók's violin sonatas, Ravel planned his own sonata for violin and piano in 1922, but at first did not get beyond sketches. Many interruptions ensued and the work was only finished in 1927. He dedicated it to his violinist friend Hélène Jourdan-Morhange. Regarding the sonata's sparse, thinned out compositional structure and instrumentation, Ravel later emphasized that the sonata…