Ravel : Tzigane (Rapsodie de Concert)

Tzigane (Rapsodie de Concert)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Maurice Ravel, himself a pianist, composed a number of works for violin and piano, as well as chamber music spotlighting the violin. But only once did he write for violin and orchestra, in this “concert rhapsody,” dating from 1924, and first performed in London by the Hungarian violinist, Yelly d’Aranyi, (who happened to be the grand-niece of Brahms’ violinist colleague, Josef Joachim.) Another version for violin and piano was prepared by the composer at the same time. The title, ”Tzigane” (“Gypsy”), is characteristic of Ravel, who was fascinated by exotic places and cultures, writing compositions based on Hebrew, Greek, African and Asian themes, and even a movement in his 1927 Violin Sonata entitled “Blues.” Of course, no “exotic” culture is more associated with the violin than that of the Gypsies. Although Ravel had frequently heard Gypsy violinists, all of the musical material in “Tzigane,” while influenced by authentic Gypsy music, is original.

The violin dominates the composition, as in the opening, where the violin is heard without accompaniment in an extended cadenza of dizzying technical virtuosity. The basic musical elements are laid out, by turns playful, songful, passionate and dramatic. Eventually the piano enters with a billowing background, leading in the primary theme, which is highly dancelike in character. The soloist is increasingly urged to employ every imaginable “trick” of the violinist’s trade, with trills, pizzicato (plucked) effects, flute-like harmonics, soon moving into a stomping, rhythmically charged section of ever greater energy and brilliance. The music plunges ever onward to end with dazzling, unbridled bravado.

for a concert by Darwyn Apple