Ravel plays Ravel

[jmj4879]

Correction suite à une faute de frappe, il faut lire

allez voir sa maison à Montfort l'Amaury, c'est très émouvant. Jean Michel, de Paris.

[jmj4879]

Ravel était un merveilleux musicien et un pianiste accompli. C'est une grande joie de réentendre ces morceaux tels qu'il les a enregistrés sur des rouleaux perforés. Merci de les avoir pis en ligne. Je recherche aussi une copie de l'enregistrement qu'il avait fait de son Boléro sur disques 78 tours, je n'ai que la deuxième partie. Allez voir sa maison à Montforet l'Amaury, c'est très émouvant. Jean- Mix*chel, de paris

[Etheryczna]

Pure awesomeness...

[MEpianist]

This seems like the music of a war veteran.

[habbobeem]

but this is REAL playing!...how can it be..such a high sound quality?

[eloyhbermudez]

what is a piano roll

[nicolesherburne]

I just learned that player pianos can do dynamics . . . . . so I think this is totally plausible that this is Ravel playing. do a wikipedia search on "piano rolls". Way cool to be able to hear this as he played it!

[MrRbjunior83]

Is it possible this recording quality in 1912 with the fonograf...Sorry,but it is very strange,dont you think?

[cyutaeha]

@MrRbjunior83 this was from a piano roll

[musiclassic1]

Yea, ravel's good

[enriquequezadasluna]

I think this is not Ravel, this track shows a good pianist. I have a Cd whit a Roll recorded of he playing and he sucks haha. But he is a marvelous composer i love it

[shanrico]

WHen was this recorded?? Very interesting to hear this version -- I've known this piece for years but this is a new version to my ears and quite revealing...

[WackidWally2]

I can only listen to Ravel for so long, his music becomes overwhelming over a period of time...

[MothmanCometh]

This music would fit perfectly in Silent Hill.

[sq5508887]

Ravel is bored enough he trys to simulate the piano like an electrical instrument.

[DjAotaka]

if you like this viodeo, then you won't like this one : watch?v=kffacxfA7G4

[Changles]

@DjAotaka Actually I do - my music taste is pretty eclectic and therefore awesome.

[browny333]

well, he was clearly a reasonably competant pianist, not so much a concert phenomenon, and this sounds pretty amazing too. he was more respected as a composer however.

[The1976spirit]

WOW

[MultiTyrannosaurus]

He was not at all a good pianist, but all the more a ingenious composer! Look at the "Toccata" from "Tombeau de Couperin"!

[Berdjum]

looooollll

[joanidesdottori]

@blade42251 No , Ravel was a very good pianist and also was known as an important one

[LordCalvinHastings]

I really like the precise and clear melodies in Ravel's compositions. And this recording is amazing.

[Xaraxass]

why isn't all the song like the 1:50 passing ? The song is boring but this passing is nice.

[str3123]

@Xaraxass because this is a 'song', right? Love how people belive to know about music...

[mountainharry]

@Xaraxass boring because you don't understand,my friend.

[angeladeniselear]

Music and piano-playing of the very highest order.

[Billytwotimes4]

Its music - listen and be quiet . . . . close your eyes and keep your soul close to you.

[igotwoodhaha]

This song is fuckin awesome.

[mrbrianmccarthy]

Ravel is one of my personal favorite composers.What beautiful sublime music.

[twobillies]

Sad Birds



[G400martin]

For those of you who don't understand how this could be Ravel, notice that the uploader mentions "piano roll". Google it and find out how it works.

Step 1: Ravel run piano roll while he plays to record self

Step 2: Many years later when recording quality is greatly improved, someone connects the piano roll created by Ravel to a piano that they can record with audio

equipment

Step 3: Release recordings of the modern sounding piano with Ravel's own playing.

Piano Rolls are today's MIDI files.

[acortot]

It's funny how modern institutionalized teaching seems to sell the idea that 'composers are not good pianists' when the evidence suggests quite the opposite.. who else but the composer can give you the best starting point when interpreting a composition..

...ah but that would mean that the opinions of 100,000 professional teachers would not matter as much anymore, I guess..

[kellymich]

This is excellent.

Ravel’s artistry is sublime. I have never heard better

Really wonderful... thank you for posting this.

[marginallymental]

He was a master of silence as well as sound. Nothing extranious or wasted. What a treasure.

[Neongrapes]

wow, i've never heard anybody play the piano this well before....this is incredible;

all the droves of performers nowadays don't even compare

[BalmungBerserk]

ravel got issues

[bb0ysmiley]

Ravel plays Ravel? Is this recording from 1912? I expect the sound quality to be propotional to the picture. Anyways, the playing is good =)

[aljaesson]

@bb0ysmiley its a piano roll playing, thats why

[bb0ysmiley]

@aljaesson I found out ;)

[jimmiecisco]

@bb0ysmiley says it is a ROLL

[bb0ysmiley]

@jimmiecisco I found out ;)

[Losloth]

I will never write poetry like Ravel composed. There are no words that can express that!

[JarrellJeff]

Reminds me of the "Eyes Wide Shut" movie Theme.

[kiasmus]

So beautiful and moving... Who said Ravel was cold? Whoever it was, what a narrow, petty, dwarfish concept of emotion he had!

[StoptheIgnorants22]

@kiasmus well he was consider more a pessimistic composer, but he also cared about the beautiful things in life

[ComradeKomaron]

Thank you greatly!

[2marmac]

I love him forever.....

[emptyrob]

Happy Birthday, mon cher Maurice!

[marymary0223]

この曲名をご存知ですか？

[watama76]

Miroirs「鏡」というピアノ組曲の二番目の曲で、 Oiseaux tristes 「悲しい鳥」というそうです。

すばらしいです。

[marymary0223]

ありがとうございます。

本当に素敵ですね。ラヴェル。

[hitler7261]

formidable!これを聞いたらもうリヒテルでもケンプで­も駄目です。素晴らしいです。

[brastoki]

Perfect execution! Ravel was a complete musician! Excellent pianist, genius orchestrator, profound expert in music language and of course marvelous creator!

[Csibon13]

@brastoki he was an ok pianist, but he himself said he couldn't manage some of his own pieces, especially scarbo.

beautiful compositions though.

[blade42251]

@brastoki he was actually known as an extremely poor pianist... oddly enough everyone thinks he was a great pianist because his music is so phenomenal.

[ObscureAuteur]

@brastoki It is curious you should say that. Apparently Ravel could play everything he wrote including Gaspard, but as he sat down to play his concerto his comment was "now its all going to ruined" apparently in reference to his own estimate of his piano playing. In the various notes I have read it appears Ravel never premiered his piano works. The name I recall most often for that honor was Ricardo Viñes.

[Svokel]

@ObscureAuteur

Ravel was not a good pianist. There is tons of historic evidence (also from his correspondence).

[ObscureAuteur]

@Svokel Everything I put there was from sources I have read over the years with at least the authority of your comment. Undoubtedly he is not a GREAT pianist. But if he could effectively play his own work, and get through a public performance of his concerto without truly embarrassing himself and outraging the audience he was at least A pianist. I suppose you can play Jeux d'eau? I can't, and apparently he could, however less perfectly than Giesecking, Casadesus, Haas, Simon et al.

[crowdmaker]

@Svokel Well, we know he wasn't a great one, but to say he wasn't "good" is a bit of a stretch. He did tour America playing his own music. It isn't easy to get people to pay for your playing - you can do that, I'll call you good.

Anyway, we have rolls to hear the direct evidence. Me myself, I wouldn't be sorry to hear Ravel play even other composers, especially with that marvelous timing of his. Always with good sense, yet so evocative. A perfect mirror to his music, in its own way.

[csabaimate]

@Svokel He was good enough to tour with his pieces as a pianist composer, and he was good enough to wrote really virtuosistic music.

[MATTDUNCAN1]

goodness me...apart from the amusing comments..for the RECORD i RECORD my comment here..this is a wonderful RECORDING..and of course a piano roll is a recording...the word record has been on the record before the invention of edison...silly

[cbdesade]

@MATTDUNCAN1, the comments are getting wretched, but your comment about recording is right on target. As home entertainment goes, the piano roll certainly belies the idea of "progress": these antique recordings could provide immeasurably better sound quality than the best piano cd's available.

[lenniethedogsparty]

Fascinating posting - thank you.

[ChadCooper7777]

this interpretation is ridiculous...Ravel would have fainted....Who is this hack??!!!!!!!!!!!!?????

[truecrypt]

Please research the subject and don't post ridiculous comments.

[ChadCooper7777]

please look up the word "sarcasm" in the dictionary....what a loser

[truecrypt]

No, I wasn't sarcastic... rather pitiful...

Ignorance is always aggressive though...

[ChadCooper7777]

no you idiot...I WAS BEING SARCASTIC WITH MY ORIGINAL POST....did you go to public schools?

[truecrypt]

Oh... first of all there is no need to be rude...

If you wish to direct your post to certain user, you should use "reply" option.

As for my public school - you wouldn't pass even a second grade exam there... and I'm not even being sarcastic...

[ChadCooper7777]

I have a BA from UT Austin....

[Ckorn123]

ChadCooper7777 = White supremacist redneck hick. You are not worthy of Ravel...only a trailer where you can remain incestuous.

[eddy23170]

i have been listening to Ravel longer than you have been alive

[kaliyarivet]

Damn, that has to be the most scathing put-down I've ever seen on Youtube. Props, brother.

[ChadCooper7777]

i was pretty sure that would shut you up

[truecrypt]

Dear ChadCooper7777,

You were wrong then...

May be in Austin your degree gives you a right to shut people up or call them idiots and losers... but in my world BA from UT doesn't mean much! ;)

FYI, I'm just a little bit sarcastic here...

[truecrypt]

@eddy23170,

In my world degree is not a measure of human decency. I assure you though, - some people would kill for a chance to have my degrees and awards! ;)

[muertabo]

oh, sad birds, very beautiful title for the song

[Baruchyoseph8]

@truecrypt children cnildren ... what does this have to do with Ravel (a genius) palying Ravel (a genius)

[PIRANHISSE]

Rss!

[livery9]

piano roll

[Zebeldarebel]

The colors in this piece are so vivid!

[acorntechnique]

This recording cannot be Ravel himself.

The recording is crystal clear and in excellent stereo.

Ravel died in 1937.

Your trying to tell me this recording pre dates that

???

[Leibo07]

@acorntechnique

Exactly my thoughts of course.

And to purplekitteh I say : even would this be possible, it is clear that it has nothing to do with a "document".

[Darthcasey]

Did you not read the into section? It was recorded with a piano roll. If you do not know what a piano roll is then research it and you'll find your answer.

[acorntechnique]

Of course i know what a piano roll is, and whilst there is some merit in piano rolls, it's not the same as a 'recording'

[Leibo07]

@acorntechnique

Yep, agreed.

[Darthcasey]

I agree it's not the same in it's full glory, but at the same time it contains the same exact pedaling, notes, dynamics, voicing, etc, as the performer used. The only difference is the variety of pianos you can play it on, which I guess is what would make the biggest difference since every piano reacts differently.

[Leibo07]

This can never be Ravel.

[purplekitteh]

it is ravel, they took old piano rolls he made of his pieces himself and hooked them up to a steinway. i have the cd this is from.

[Leibo07]

@purplekitteh

How can one say that this 'is' "Ravel" ?

[purplekitteh]

just look up Ravel plays Ravel on google

[onxtcz]

theres a performance of this on the internet somewhere that makes me cry

[mrstrings65]

oiseaux tristes

[Shaghayegh11]

such an imaginative performance!

[pmberns]

This I can believe is actually Ravel. He was known to have actually played and recorded piano rolls of this piece after all.

[billyguns2]

Fabulous! We CAN go back in time occasionally and see how the masters played their own music.

[777cc777]

more general eclection from tc *-)

[sajeijeh]

so sad...

[girl8wanye]

Haunting, it sinks in heavily. Ravel plays it in such a hauntingly beautiful way. I almost cried (ugh).

[silverbud]

"If you honestly thing that a preformer is is a "re-creator" you must be out of your mind."

Well, then Glenn Gould was out of his mind. And Evgeny Kissin. I remember that opinion said in interviews, maybe here on youtube.

[looy64]

Ravel was a very good composer. He was friend with Pierre Vellones, go see him on my vids and tell me what you think about him !

[jero13595]

How haunting (both the composition and playing). This is like a force drawing you into a distorted world of loneliness and isolation. It sucks you nearer and nearer, then slowly fades into nothingless... AMAZING ENERGY. Richter doesn't even come close despite his shimmering tone.

[karon4789]

Is this Ravel's real play?

[Coccilover]

Thx man to defend me; and to answer you, i was serious. I think that the composer is the man who imagined the piece and what she means. That's why he is the only one who can perform 100% correctly. Piannist like Richter can play more beautiful than we could ever do, but not as good as the man who wrote the piece. anyway, Good recording -> 5 stars

[OrangeSodaKing]

Really? I (along with a bunch of other people) can't stand Rachmaninoff's intrepretations of his own pieces. He plays them like he's bored. Very bored.

[Heifsin85]

I totally disagree with all of you. If you honestly thing that a preformer is is a "re-creator" you must be out of your mind. These composers spent their whole lives learning theory and composition. Painstakingly writing each note. And you think a player is just as important?

[truecrypt]

Dear Heifsin85;

It was a time when composer and performer used to co-exist in one person... It's a different matter nowadays. Still - professional performers spend much more time on education and training than composers. And yes, good performer can bring up something which even composer didn't see/hear in his own creation. So, there is a performer in every composer and vice versa. Pressing the right key sometimes even harder than writing a note! ;)

[fortune32]

Ye..but composers have a greater musical mind, a greater understanding. Great composers ussually can perform just as well, and if not it's because they hav't worked at the instrument enough. Cause performing is firstly about practicing..in some sense.

[truecrypt]

Dear fortune32;

ye.. but you greatly simplify and generalize the issue... Creativity and understanding is not always the same. Deep understanding and ability to re-create is also a very special gift. Millions of people practice very hard but can't become even average performers. So, performing is NOT about practicing... in some sense.

[fortune32]

Yes. I see. You're right , performing is not only practice. However, my point is that people who compose well also have the potential (in most cases) to be great performers, and if for some reason they are not, it's due to the lack of practice and mechanical ability and not musical understanding/ creativity. Performers however, cannot compose well, making them in a sense..,inferior. Now this is just a point of view i wanted to bring up, not what I believe. I"m french, sry for the bad english.

[truecrypt]

CREATOR will always have superior "position" to EXECUTOR. Yet in our particular area (classical music) performer is not just an "executor". Primitively speaking Bach is more important than Gould and Chopin is superior to Rubinstein, but both performers give us unique and superb interpretations which may even exceed composer's intentions.

[fortune32]

Yes. I think we could go on for as long as we want, I would but, I'm not sure you want to. So, ye, it's a difficult question. Tell me if you are willing to debate, i'll think of arguements.

[truecrypt]

We can discuss endlessly who and what is more important, but the truth is - both composer and performer need each other. To see performer as a primitive "executor" is a great simplification of the matter. Ravel's own performance is excellent, but it's not an ultimate one... The same would be true even with great Rachmaninoff... or even Chopin himself...

[Diomedes22]

this is truly sad and indicative of how far classical music has fallen from being a vibrant living art form. To compare imitation (in any form) to creation is wildly ignorant of what it takes to create. Only someone who's never done anything conceptually new would be able to say somthing like this.

[pupusman]

@truecrypt

I am precisely of the same opinion, truecrypt - you've articulated this very well.

[rontayan]

I can agree I have many friends that can create but have little understanding.

[michaeljh216]

Well if I might add something in the sense of composers vs. performers neither is inferior. A composer might not be able to perform well but can create. A performer might not be able to create, but can perform well. Although it sounds good to say practice makes a good performer, Truecrypt has a point when he says that there are millions of average performers who practice just as much as other professional performers.

[fortune32]

and all the greats being mediocre to poor performers. I can't, and i'm sure you share my feeling. Is the thought of Lang Lang composing a Piano concerto even conceivable, No.

Now please go easy on me, for I am holding a difficult position to argue, and am also doing it agaisnt my belief. But please take a moment to appreciate the arguement, for as fragile as it may seem, it bears an element of undeniable truth.

[michaeljh216]

I suppose you have a point to some extent, but comparing lang lang with any of those composers is obviously a joke. Of course we all know of our good friend horowitz who was a great performer, and I doubt anyone would argue that he could create a piano concerto. And don't worry, I'm actually going against my beliefs too, normally I believe that creation is much more advanced than common performance. I suppose this performer vs. composer dillemma depends on case by case circumstance.

[fortune32]

Very good. I expected you to make such a step. But i thought you would have chosen kissin as an example, but thats fine.lol. You have, with you previous comment proven my point. By taking an example like horowitz I could now argue that Horowitz is a great performer because he's a great composer, which you yourself said to be true. Your only way out would be to find me a great composer who's a mediocre performer. You won't. So my point still satnds.

[michaeljh216]

hehe sorry i didn't respond so quickly, I was busy with other things. What I was trying to get at was that performers can add certain dynamics and feelings to songs that composers might have never considered trying. They can make the song sound better... to a point lol =)

[michaeljh216]

(continued) Don't forget that there are also many composers who spend just as much time composing music as other composers and never come close to other composers' levels. Just try to think of the composer as the brains and the performer as the brawn =)

[fortune32]

Great composers are ussually great performers, and if not the case it is due to lack of pratice rather than lack of potential. Now this reasoning does not apply to great performers, who are most of the time unable to even compose a simple song. These two points made, can it be concluded that composers are superior? The answer is yes, assuming my premises are correct. However, I'm sure one could disagree with them. Which you do. But, honestly, can you imagine chopin,liszt,beethoven,mozart.

[amosbass]

Stravinsky was not a great performer. He could write a bit though! =)

[fortune32]

Horowitz never composed. But the point is he was born with the ability to compose and thus as a result he could also perform well. He din't compose maybe for personal reasons. Who knows. Lang Lang was born a good performer, but can't compose. Composers are then greater. Easy. LOL. I hope you find a good arguement to own me, it's fun debating!

[michaeljh216]

Well obviously finding a composer who was a bad performer is alot more challenging than finding a performer who was a bad composer. Not because the performer cannot compose or vice versa; if we speak of any worthwhile composer, the majority played their songs well. If we look up any original composition on youtube however, you will find tons of composers with songs that carry much potential, yet their performing skills are lacking so much that we cannot hear how good their pieces really are.

[darkmaides]

Tchaikovsky wasnt much of a pianist, He could write a bit though!

[michaeljh216]

haha yay i love tchaikovsky.... A bit off track on my part but i agree =)

[darkmaides]

oh and dont forget Wagner :)

[michaeljh216]

o o o and good ol crazy beethoven, some say he's overrated but i like him =D we're gonna get blocked for spam lol

[darkmaides]

oh oh oh and Mahler! wasnt much of a performer as well..

[geoffreyefloyd]

lol...it's ravel...lol

[michaeljh216]

In essence, we can't really find a GOOD composer (or one worth mentioning) that couldn't perform well because their songs would sound like crap in the first place because of the performance. I try using myself as an example because sometimes I can hear amazing pieces in my head, yet I can't play them because of lack of performing skills. Try not to laugh at that one please hehe

[fortune32]

I agree. So,like i said before, if someone (like yourself lets say) has a brilliant musical mind, and can't perform it's due to lack of pratice and not potential. Conclusion: people who compose ALWAY perform well if they bothered to practice.

[kurtjmartin]

a enjoyable composer's name live on far after him 'Bach' and others...........

a performer not so....only remembered a few decades not centuries.

[dawidmysle]

acutally horowıtz dıd compose

[youvebeensmoked]

Yes, I do. I think composers would agree with that, too. Performers bring new ideas to pieces, and have made nearly all the greatest recordings of the repertoire. Do you really think Chopin's Chopin is better than Rubenstein's? That Horowitz's Scriabin is worse than Scriabin's?

And this bizarre suggestion that a composer works more than a performer? That is pig ignorant. These performers spent their whole lives learning, too.

Without performers, music is just notes on a page.

[Leibo07]

Exactly. Performer, re-creator.

It, btw, made me quite sick when I learned that the EMI-set of complete Debussy piano works by Gieseking is gone now. Kinda funny (yes..., why funny?) that a German guy actually should be the best for those French works.

[Leibo07]

O yeah, ancient debate. But the performer is not equal to the creator, or better : the performer is a creator as well. (If he's lucky, or willing)

[shimotsumanominamo]

-creator who operates at different level from the composer.

[dercrazykraut]

sdf

[augfive]

vince vaughn!!?

 i thought it was matt damon!

[Dfrance13]

Vince Vaughn is my cousin, and I was there when he made this recording. If you listen carefully you can hear me coughing in the background. Yeah, that's me.

[wogandmush]

must have been one hell of a cough to be picked up by a piano roll.

[Dfrance13]

It has been authenticated, but not as Ravel. Actually, the piano here was played by none other than Vince Vaughn.

[pjioayncoe]

A song about a lonely bird with another lonely bird...Ravel dedicated it to Ricardo Viñes, who like Ravel chose solitude. The beginning call is hopeful, while the end call is dejected and heartbroken. Ravel turns music vividly to images and symbolizes life with every image he presents. Thank you Truecrypt for sharing this beautiful playing.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Haunting like a reflectively oscillating spectre...because of the constant flux between states of mind and perspective angle therewith..Now playful...now gothic...now dangerous...now consoling...now distant...now far...now precipitous...now hesitant.A psychic treat that reminds me of the poetry of Николаи Клюев.

[SparxDaBomb]

nice

[SparxDaBomb]

pretty good son

[paulostroff99]

Wonderful! Bravo! TY.

[minetto2]

even if the sound quality is technically not perfect, the piano sound, and, most of all, the interpretation is truly impressive, Ravel is not 'only' a composer of genius, he is also a marvellous musician, painist and sound maker

[snaaptaker]

Wonderful.

[solosteven37]

Best version

[Coccilover]

Of course it's the best verson that a piannist can make, cuz it was "his" piece. He was the only one to know how to play the right way.

[John11inch]

Roflcopter.

[Leibo07]

@ Cocclover :

You're serious, right here right now?

[amadpianist]

*Gets some handbags for the duel*

[palcsi]

It has a much more organic quality than most performances I've heard. Thank you for posting it.

[Polygor]

I have another piano roll CD of his music and his renditions are certainly different to the interpretations that I'm used to.

[hinatachansama]

very

[smithsherman]

Ravel may not have liked his playing,but I certainly do.I find it has that same time-suspended hauntedness as does Scriabin playing his own music.This isn't neat tidy little shrink-wrapped plastic notes like other

pianists who remain nameless,do.,,it's more effective.

[slothvader]

very good call.