Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" performed by the WDR Sinfonieorchester under the baton of Alondra de la Parra on January 27, 2022 at the Kölner Philharmonie.
Maurice Ravel - Bolero
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Alondra de la Parra, conductor
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The idea of pursuing a career as a musician came early and was supported by his parents: At the age of 13, Maurice Ravel receives lessons at a private music school and studies immediately afterwards. There is little motivation left when Ravel fails his intermediate exam and has to leave the master class right away.
Nevertheless, one work in particular composed by Ravel, the "Boléro", is one of the best known and most frequently played pieces of music in the world. Ravel not only works on the Boléro with the greatest care and attention to detail, he often takes a long time to complete his works - due to the complexity and accuracy of his works, he is also called the "Swiss watchmaker" among composers.
Regarding his orchestral work "Boléro" - eponymous with the dance genre - Maurice Ravel commented one day: "My masterpiece? The Boléro, of course. It's just a pity that it contains no music at all".
Beginning with the probably best-known, always constant (ostinato) rhythm, the snare drum opens the piece in pianissimo.
It accompanies the two 16-bar melodies (melody A and B) throughout, which are repeated eighteen times - first solo, then by several registers in unison. They occur in the form AA BB until the last two repetitions. In the climax of the climax, A and B follow each other "undoubled". The melodies are varied only in the shaping of the instrumentation - and thus the timbre - resulting in a majestic crescendo until the end of the boléro.