Vanessa Wagner RAVEL Piano Works
Vanessa Wagner is keenly interested in the music of her time and devoted to the great repertoires of the past and the present; she brings out admirably the different dimensions that exist in Ravel’s music. In seeking to understand in depth the actuality of Ravel’s works, she reveals their repercussions today. It is very tempting to see in the works of Ravel a reflection of the main trends in the music of our time: minimalism and repetitive structures (Boléro), spectralism (Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, the introduction), a fondness for early styles (Menuet antique), a tendency to
take instruments to their very limits (Scarbo), and so on. This temptation, both attractive and perilous, has the advantage of reviving the question of Ravel’s continued relevance today. What does Ravel tell us about our time? What happened to the ‘new school’, for which he prepared the arrival in anticipating the move away from Impressionism?
From the Pavane to Gaspard de la nuit, the works of Ravel’s early mature period pose the question
of his successors. Critical interpretations of Ravel are few and far between; rightly or wrongly, Debussy remains the first choice for aesthetic digressions. Commentaries on Ravel are a confused mixture of tribute and falsehood. While few have attempted to see in him the promise of future forms, none have ventured to minimise his importance.
take instruments to their very limits (Scarbo), and so on. This temptation, both attractive and perilous, has the advantage of reviving the question of Ravel’s continued relevance today. What does Ravel tell us about our time? What happened to the ‘new school’, for which he prepared the arrival in anticipating the move away from Impressionism?
From the Pavane to Gaspard de la nuit, the works of Ravel’s early mature period pose the question
of his successors. Critical interpretations of Ravel are few and far between; rightly or wrongly, Debussy remains the first choice for aesthetic digressions. Commentaries on Ravel are a confused mixture of tribute and falsehood. While few have attempted to see in him the promise of future forms, none have ventured to minimise his importance.
Ravel did not aim to set an example for posterity, nor did he prescribe how his music was to be listened to. He was secretive. And he showed no ambivalence. He had faith in the power of his works and made no attempt to attract a following or create a host of epigones. Who are his heirs? His legacy is diffuse but also indelible, intangible but nevertheless clear. The peril and the strength of his example. (François Meïmoun)
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