This week marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel, whose exquisite musical craftsmanship and singular style made him – in his lifetime and ever since – one of France’s most famous composers. To celebrate this milestone anniversary, NMSU piano professor Laura Spitzer and Portland-based pianist Thomas Otten will perform a duo piano concert on Wednesday that features several of Ravel’s most famous works.
“Ravel is a composer who really does embody magic,” Otten said in an on-air interview last Thursday with Spitzer and Intermezzo host Leora Zeitlin. “The music does have this other-worldly quality, and then he sprinkles in jazz,” he said, “and then he has neo-classical elements.”
The program will include sections of Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, the entire Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (played on two pianos), and La Valse, as well as a short cycle of songs based on Don Quixote that Otten will sing. Otten is also a classically-trained baritone.
“You don’t hear as much Ravel performed as Debussy. And it’s rare that I teach Ravel,” Spitzer noted, “because even the simplest pieces are difficult. These Mother Goose pieces were written for children, and I’ve had to practice them – a lot!”
Listen to the interview to learn more about Ravel, his music, and the joy of discovering something new in a piece that one has played for years. The free concert is Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Atkinson Recital Hall.
Musical clips heard in the interview are all by Maurice Ravel:
1.) “Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas,” from the Mother Goose Suite, Pascal Rogé performing (London/Decca cd #440836);
2.) and 3.) Piano Concerto in D “for the left hand”, second movement, then first movement, Leon Fleisher performing (RCA cd #456775);
4.) La Valse, performed by Desirae and Deondra Brown (RCA cd #66007).
