“Ravel is commonly understood as a French composer, but to us he is a French-Basque composer,” says Robert Treviño, Music Director of Spain’s Basque National Orchestra.
As a child, Ravel heard Spanish folk songs, sung to him by his mother, who was of Basque heritage, and who grew up in Madrid. This early influence is evident throughout Ravel’s works. Now, a Spanish orchestra, led by a Mexican-American conductor who grew up in Fort Worth, is playing this music with unique insight.
Ravel’s famous Boléro, composed in 1928 for a ballet commission, is a sensuous exercise in orchestral color. Its simple, infectious melody floats over an unyielding rhythmic ostinato, played 169 times by one or more snare drums. As more voices gradually join in, the music takes the form of a vast, expansive, unrelenting crescendo. (You can find more background on Boléro in an earlier post).
Listening to Robert Treviño and the musicians of the Basque National Orchestra, Boléro‘s majestic crescendo takes on new power. A meticulous sense of control results in a climax which arrives just at the right moment:
Recordings
- Ravel: Boléro, M. 81, Robert Treviño, Basque National Orchestra Amazon
Featured Image: Robert Treviño at the headquarters of the Basque National Orchestra