
Ravel
A Listener's Guide
Victor Lederer(Author)
Amadeus Press
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
168 pages
978-1-57467-477-4 (ISBN)
Description
An enigma to those who knew him, the early-20th century French master Maurice Ravel composed some of the most popular and beloved music in the repertory. In Ravel: A Listener's Guide, Victor Lederer surveys and explores this master's refined and utterly distinctive oeuvre.
Ravel is often mentioned in the same breath as his older contemporary Claude Debussy, but the works of the two composers display as many differences as similarities. Where Debussy rejected existing forms, the structuralist Ravel embraced the baroque suite and classical sonata form as vehicles for his ideas, in addition to his own concise inventions. At his best, which is where we usually find this focused stylist, passion flows just beneath some of the most exquisitely crafted surfaces in music, under which lurk ironies that raise as many questions as they answer. A perfect example is Bolero, Ravel's most famous work; Lederer analyzes the music and looks at the outsized role it has assumed in our culture.
Lederer walks the reader and listener through Ravel's relatively small but crucial contributions to orchestral, vocal, chamber, and piano music. Ravel's two operas, idiosyncratic and underappreciated, are examined in detail as well. The book includes a Naxos CD with examples from across the master's career.
Ravel is often mentioned in the same breath as his older contemporary Claude Debussy, but the works of the two composers display as many differences as similarities. Where Debussy rejected existing forms, the structuralist Ravel embraced the baroque suite and classical sonata form as vehicles for his ideas, in addition to his own concise inventions. At his best, which is where we usually find this focused stylist, passion flows just beneath some of the most exquisitely crafted surfaces in music, under which lurk ironies that raise as many questions as they answer. A perfect example is Bolero, Ravel's most famous work; Lederer analyzes the music and looks at the outsized role it has assumed in our culture.
Lederer walks the reader and listener through Ravel's relatively small but crucial contributions to orchestral, vocal, chamber, and piano music. Ravel's two operas, idiosyncratic and underappreciated, are examined in detail as well. The book includes a Naxos CD with examples from across the master's career.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Hal Leonard Corporation
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
249 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57467-477-4 (9781574674774)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Victor Lederer (New York City) is a writer on music and urban history. His books include Verdi: The Operas and Choral Works, Beethoven's Chamber Music: A Listener's Guide, Beethoven's Piano Music: A Listener's Guide, Bach's Keyboard Music: A Listener's Guide, Chopin: A Listener's Guide to the Master of the Piano, and Debussy: The Quiet Revolutionary, all for Amadeus Press's Unlocking the Masters series.