Pianist Alexander Solopov plays Ravel's "Toccata"
Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 -- December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist of the impressionistic period, known especially for the subtlety, richness and poignancy of his music. His piano, chamber music and orchestral works have become staples of repertoire.
Ravel's piano compositions, such as Jeux d'eau, Miroirs and Gaspard de la Nuit, are virtuosic, and his orchestrations, as in Daphnis et Chloé and his arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, are notable for their effective use of tonal color and variety of sound and instrumentation.
To the general public, Ravel is probably best known for his orchestral work, Boléro, which he considered trivial and once described as "a piece for orchestra without music."
According to Sacem, Ravel's estate earns more royalties than that of any other French musician.
Tags: Toccata Maurice Ravel solopov piano Pollack Hall