MAURICE RAVEL Introduction et allegro
Claire Thai, harp
Fuki Wang, flute
Sara Han, clarinet
Eric Tsai, violin
Haram Kim, violin
SoHui Yun, viola
Andres Sanchez, cello
Performed on Friday, February 21, 2020
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) is widely regarded as one of the most skilled and singular musicians of his time. Ravel’s style, replete with a genius for orchestration and a refined sense of harmony, has been tied since his own time with that of his contemporary, Claude Debussy. In the case of this work, the rivalry between these two composers was something more than imaginary. In 1904, Debussy was commissioned by the Pleyel harp company to compose a work for their newly invented chromatic harp (which, Debussy’s efforts notwithstanding, was doomed to fail). Not to be outdone, the competing Érard company responded by commissioning a work from Ravel, to be composed for the (standard, and surviving) double-action harp. Ravel, freshly out of school at the Paris Conservatoire, had just been embroiled in controversy. His fifth unsuccessful application for the Prix de Rome had led to a public uproar and accusations of favoritism leveled at the jury. The fallout from this incident cost several faculty members their jobs. Ultimately this worked to the benefit of Gabriel Fauré, a close friend of Ravel’s, who was subsequently installed as the conservatory’s new director. Whether because of these wild circumstances, or because Ravel happened to receive this commission just days before he was set to go on a sailing trip with friends, this piece is simpler in form and harmony than some of Ravel’s other efforts. It is, nonetheless, unequivocally beautiful, an excellent example of Ravel’s signature timbral sophistication, and a wonderful showpiece for the harp.
—Nick DiBerardino
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