Synopsis
La Valse — one of the most popular orchestral works by Maurice Ravel — was performed for the first time this day in 1920 by the Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris, conducted by Camille Chevillard. Ravel’s score was subtitled a “choreographic poem for orchestra in the tempo of the Viennese waltz.”
La Valse is a far more Impressionistic work than any of the waltzes by the Strauss Family. It is certainly darker. Ravel said, “I had intended this work to be a kind of apotheosis of the Viennese waltz, with which was associated in my imagination an impression of a fantastic and fatal kind of Dervish’s dance.”
La Valse was written for the great ballet impresario Serge Diagalev, who apparently found it undanceable, and his failure to stage La Valse caused a serious rift in his friendship with Ravel.
Contemporary composer Judith Lang Zaimont is an unabashed Ravel enthusiast — ”Ravel’s music defines ‘gorgeous,’” she said. “It’s beguiling to the ear, and sensuous. His textures are built in thin layers, like a Napoleon pastry, and his intricate surfaces — beautifully worked-out — shine and fascinate.”
Zaimont should know. For many years she taught composition at the University of Minnesota, and her own solo piano, chamber and orchestra works are increasingly finding their way into concert halls and onto compact disc.
Music Played in Today's Program
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): La Valse; Boston Symphony; Charles Munch, conductor; RCA 6522
Judith Lang Zaimont (b. 1945): Symphony No. 1; Czech Radio Symphony; Leos Svarovsky, conductor; Arabesque 6742
On This Day
Births
1887 - Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg, in Göteborg
Deaths
1707 - British composer and organist Jeremiah Clarke (Julian date: Dec. 1)
Premieres
1891 - Brahms: Clarinet Trio and Clarinet Quintet, at the Singakadmie in Berlin, both with clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, accompanied by cellist Robert Hausmann, and the composer at the piano (in the Trio) and the Joachim Quartet (in the Quintet). A private performance of the Clarinet Trio had occurred earlier in Meiningen on November 24, 1891, with the same performers.
1902 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera Kashchey the Immortal, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Dec. 25)
1909 - Liadov: Kikimora for orchestra, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Nov. 29)
1926 - Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No. 1, in Leningrad, by the composer
1929 - Constant Lambert: Rio Grande for piano and orchestra, in Manchester, England
1932 - Britten: Phantasy Quartet No. 2 for oboe and strings, in London, with oboist Leon Goossens and members of the International String Quartet
1948 - Henze: Violin Concerto, in Baden-Baden
1997 - Kevin Volans: Cello Concerto, in Munich, by soloist Wen-Sinn Yang with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra
2001 - Henry Brant: Ice Field for orchestra, by the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2002
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.