Maurice Ravel plays Oiseaux tristes from Miroirs

[TERRYBIGGENDEN]

This piece is so haunting and melancholey. Exquisite work.

[TERRYBIGGENDEN]

I'm constantly enchanted hearing a composer heir own work, especially pianists. This is memserising. He knows what he is doing—superb artistry. :-)

[TheComposerdude]

so intimy we are into his madness --so cool :D

[OriginalBasaliskos]

@Etheryczna Too bad it's impressionism.

[MsALmusic]

@ smithsherman haha, agreed. Argerich is specialist in the classical - romantic realm...definately not the 20th century. Thanks!

[MothmanCometh]

For some reason, this song reminds me of Silent Hill.

[maternalheart66]

@MothmanCometh that's not surprising, since this piece depicts a lonely bird in the middle of a hot, suffocating jungle. I guess it's the same type of thing as someone stuck in a hellish town :P

[4785689]

did he "recorded" alborada?

[truecrypt]

@4785689

Nope... AFAIK

[4785689]

@truecrypt ok! liked szimanowsky?



[thomasmoredamian]

The birds come alive: their hesitations, their idiosyncrasies, their beauty, their natural, mysterious ways. I am intrigued by this music, and ultimately comforted by it. "Sad Birds"....

[flibbertergibbet]

This renders everyone else's recordings of this piece virtually redundant...

[alxsandoiu2010]

A very nice song.. People judge Ravel's own interpretation of his work ? You couldn't, because one of those must admit that this is how he wanted it to be played..

[TheAlonetogether]

C'est le compositeur au piano et cela n'a pas d'équivalent.

[TheAlonetogether]

La pédale centrale est toujours à gauche ici. La résonance ne peut ni s'installer ni se déposer sur la table d'harmonie du piano. Main gauche large sans débordement. Chanter sous la nuit.

[NeRienII]

To the English speakers here, the French post below states that this recording is from a piano roll. So the physical mechanics of the piano roll are perhaps accountable for some of the quality of the interpretation. Casadesus or Ravel himself, if its taken from a roll, the physical nuances may not at all be well represented. A piano roll is not a recording of the sound. Have you ever seen how they're made? After the player performs, someone has to repunch and clean up the holes for clarity.

Den

[SecretPianist38]

Had a play through the G major concerto this morning in college and it always amazes me how a piece that sounds incredibly difficult is quite fun and not to tricky.

[Polygor]

If only we had the video to go with it.

[CarlHalling]

This is the version played apparently by Ravel himself I heard on French radio when I was in Paris in the year 1983-'84; I was entranced then; even if I only heard part of it...nice to hear it all at last.

[lessagaudier]

Peut-on avoir plus de renseignements sur cet enregistrement? Est-ce bien l'interprétation de Ravel? Et quand? Il s'agit forcément d'un disque remanié...;Quand l'a-t-il été?

[17182559]

Pour l'enregistrement sonore, je n'ai pas d'informations. Mais c'est sur un Piano Roll (piano mécanique) que Ravel a joué cette pièce, d'ou la possibilité de le réentendre aujourd'hui. Ravel n'était donc probablement pas là lors de l'enregistrement.

[poisson1991]

I CAN'T believe it!? How can people judge Ravel's own interpretation of his work?? One must admit that this is how HE wanted it to be played... duh!?

[v4liumfrance]

@poisson1991

well Ravel was limited concerning technic, he could'nt play some of his own pieces :)

that's why he hated to give concerts but asked his friends panist to play :)

[louis621]

@v4liumfrance in his prime he could. He was considered a virtuoso pianist who won first place in piano performance at the conservatoire (if i remember correctly). While his technique is not comparable to world class virtuoso's, he was on par with most professional pianists of his day. As he grew older he became unable to play the more difficult pieces of his repertoire and also what he probably considered his biggest failure, his concerto in G.

[maternalheart66]

@louis621 he was never a virtuoso, he tried winning the Prix de Rome 4 times or so and he never got it. Apparently his wrists were always to stiff and such.

[louis621]

@maternalheart66 the prix de rome was a competition in composition, not performance and he did win the piano perfermance prize. Consider this, Debussy won the prix de rome and he was definitely not as good a pianist as ravel. The only reason he didnt win it was because his piece jeux d'eau caused such a stir that the judges were almost forced to reject him the second 2 times. The incident was called the ravel affair and caused many professors in the conservatoire to resign.

[MsLavictoria]

@poisson1991

Yes and no... Beethoven used to reply when people congratulated him for his compositions "uh, if you'd know what's in my head, it's so much nicer..."

[poisson1991]

@MsLavictoria I must admit that what I said about the recording a few years ago might not be 100% true... It depends on the composer's skills, I guess. Oh and thanks for that fact about Beethoven, I think it's very interesting!! :)

[OriginalBasaliskos]

@MsLavictoria What? No he didnt. 

[snaaptaker]

This is a different performance from the other clip you posted with Ravel playing the same piece??

[chad410]

Argerich valse Nobles sentimentales Just listen!

[smithsherman]

A strange society we live that can pronounce Argerich a "Ravel-Specialist"..while this is far deeper & profounder than any of her

"specialities"

[Robotman42]

Your point is well taken; I would find it incredibly difficult to believe Ravel would not be the ultimate specialist in his own music. But can there not be specialists, some better than the others?

[mmoynan]

@smithsherman One would certainly hope so when the composer is playing their own work! :)