Book Description

Customer Reviews (7)

Great deal for starters
I purchased this book used several years ago, and it's still in great condition with only minimal wear.It contains over half of Ravel's piano solo pieces, including the infamous Miroirs and Gaspard de la nuit.If you are at all interested in Ravel, I would highly suggest purchasing this collection.

However, with that said, this is not the best source available if you are a serious Ravel performer.There are many errors, though not serious (one exception is in Ondine however, where a pattern is incorrect in the RH at the beginning) and the music can be cramped and difficult to read at times.If you really want to study this music well, I would suggest purchasing Nancy Bricard's editions from Alfred.Especially useful are her editions of Miroirs and Gaspard de la nuit.I must disagree with Mr. Meyer below and point out that it is helpful to see what errors were where in the score, so that way a performer is more likely to believe and understand the importance of the error.The music in Bricard's editions is typeset beautifully, and she gives a lot of insight in the pieces and many helpful performance suggestions - especially fingerings.

cheap and good
I give this book 5 stars because it is the cheapest way to own the best editions of Ravel's greatest masterpieces for piano.The last reviewer is correct in stating that these are reprints of the original french editions, but those editions remain the best since there currently exists no critical or scholarly editions of ravel's piano works.The Dover edition even corrects some errors that existed in the original editions.The last reiviewer likes Nancy Bricard's editions (and other editions published by Alfred edited by Maurice Hinson) but I think Nancy Bricard got a little too happy when she got access to Ravel's manuscript, and purposefully included obvious errors into the score, including a footnote explaining that it's an error, instead of just correcting it.Alfred can hardly be trusted for scholarly editing, so for now, this edition remains the best buy.

Some of piano's wickedest compositions
This volume is valuable for the inclusion of "Gasparde de la Nuit" and "Jeux D'eau." These are some of Ravel's most alluring piano compositions. They are in some cases almost unplayable (no fault of publisher Dover) but at least you can review the notation along with recordings of these works. Interesting if all you know of Ravel's piano works is "Pavane pour une Enfant Défunte."

Affordable, but flawed.
This is indeed a very good publication of some very important works by Ravel.Certainly the price alone justifies the purchase, considering Durand editions are still nearly 50% or higher in price.The edition does however, through no fault of Dover because it is a reprint, present some notational flaws that have not been corrected.Nancy Bricard has published a much more authoritative and instructive edition for Alfred Masterworks, for instance of Gaspard de la Nuit.Correcting many of the most obvious of errors.The Dover edition is still reliable, but one must warn that a proper performance dictates cross-reference with other editions.

praise for Piano Masterpieces from a Ravel buff
The edition is clearly an attractive one. Not only is it an affordable and well layed-out presentation of Ravel's greatest works for solo piano (indeed, one would hardly expect to find Miroirs, Gaspard de la nuit, andJeux d'eau in one volume), it is also a compilation of the authoritativeDurand and original French editions, editions which, when sold separately,are notoriously expensive. A must-have for any serious, ambitious musician,or devoted connoisseur! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

lots of new information about Ravel
As the dean of Ravel studies, Professor Arbie Orenstein, states on the book cover, this book offers lots of new research and insights into the very famous composer of "Bolero" and other works. This volume is an essential companion to Prof. Orenstein's own works. It offers lots of previous unpublished items and facts about Ravel's creative milieu, in addition to the most plausible explanation of the relation between Ravel's life and music.

good book, faulty premise
This book seems well researched and offers some new insight into the life of Maurice Ravel. However, the main premise of this book is the assertion that Ravel was homosexual. It is true that little is known about Ravel's personal life and it is also true that many fine biographies have been written about Ravel without delving into this subject. The problem is that Mr. Ivryoffers little, in my opinion, to substantiate the claim. Still, this book offers much to Ravel fans. Besides, it really doesn't matter what Ravel's sexual preferance was. Mr. Ivry presents some interesting angles on Ravel's creative output. Though I have read at least 7 or 8 Ravel biographies prior to this one I still learned a few new things and for this I am grateful. ... Read more

Amazon.com
He is remembered in the United States primarily for the rather banal repetitions of Bolero, but Maurice Ravel wrote a great deal of music more worthy of celebration: ballets like Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) and Daphnis et Chloe; orchestral and piano works like Pavane pour une Infante Defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) and the Rapsodie Espagnole; operas like L'Enfant et les Sortileges (The Child and the Enchantments); and settings of Greek and Jewish songs. British author and critic Gerald Larner offers a well-researched, well-written, accessible biography of Ravel's life and compositions that explores his music and his motivations, a part of the Phaidon Press Limited 20th Century Composers series.Book Description
He is remembered in the United States primarily for the rather banal repetitions of Bolero, but Maurice Ravel wrote a great deal of music more worthy of celebration: ballets like Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) and Daphnis et Chloe; orchestral and piano works like Pavane pour une Infante Defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) and the Rapsodie Espagnole; operas like L'Enfant et les Sortileges (The Child and the Enchantments); and settings of Greek and Jewish songs. British author and critic Gerald Larner offers a well-researched, well-written, accessible biography of Ravel's life and compositions that explores his music and his motivations, a part of the Phaidon Press Limited 20th Century Composers series. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

The only one to buy...
If you are considering playing either of these difficult quartets, you need this score.The spacing of notes is excellent and helpful as the rhythms are often complex.The score is large enough to play from at the piano. A Glossary of French Terms is included which is helpful as not all the musical instructions are found in standard music dictionaries.

Excellent reference
This is the definitely the edition to buy if you're studying/playing either of these two quartets.It's a reprint of the Durand edition, so it's about as official as you can get.and CHEAP, too!It's a nice small size- sort of halfway between a normal paperback book and a standard big Dover score.

Good Source!
Good to get the Debussy/Ravel String Quartet Cd, Emerson of course, and this handy book.
Good for composition to study and easy to open.
Go for it~! ... Read more

Book Description
The melodies of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) span the entire chronology of his creative output, from his earliest song, written during his student years, to the cycle Don Quichotte a Dulcinee, his last composition in any genre. Ravel's vocal melodies are elegant and refined, classical in their phrase structure, with meticulous attention to detail. The diverse musical influences on his song style range from French Baroque music, to his teacher Gabriel Faure, to Arnold Schoenberg. This is the first comprehensive collection of Ravel songs ever published. There are 50 songs in the High Voice volume, and 49 songs in the Medium/Low Voice volume. The collection also includes excerpts from the opera L'Enfant et les Sortileges. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Maurice Ravel- Collected Songs - High Voice
This is an excellent collection of Ravel's vocal music. The print is clear and the page turn is perfect for pianists. I love it! ... Read more

Book Description
This Companion provides a comprehensive introduction to the life, music and compositional aesthetic of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875SH1937). Leading international scholars offer a powerful reassessment of this most private and elusive musician, examining his work in detail within its cultural context. Marking the 125th anniversary of Ravel's birth, the volume explores the full range of his work--piano repertory, chamber works, orchestral music, ballets, songs and operas--and concludes by analyzing the performance and reception of his music, including previously untranslated reviews. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Nearly perfect
This is really an amazing buy if you are a serious pianist.Each piece is given an introduction, and all of the French terms are translated in a glossary near the front.This is especially helpful for those of us who aren't great with French.The music is clean and neatly spaced, and it looks vibrant and new.Like a previous reviewer said, the only minor flaw is that no fingerings are included, and of course using the right fingerings and hand positions is crucial in Ravel.There are also few typographical errors in the music, probably because these are later works by Ravel.

If you want fingerings and performance suggestions for Le Tombeau de Couperin, I would suggest Nancy Bricard's edition from Alfred.In particular, the Toccata and the Prelude are good pieces to have suggested fingerings for.

An Impressive Set of Works and More
This book contains a great selection of pieces at a more than resonable price. I bought it as a set with Piano Masterpieces of Maurice Ravel also by Dover. (I saw another edition of Ma Mere l'Oye *on it's own* was more than what I paid for this whole book!)Dover editions I have found in the past have great quality.The pages are sewn in so the book will last a lifetime without pages falling or ripping out.

If you're not already impressed by the selection of pieces (I love the 1913 Prelude which I already had a copy of and memorized a while ago), Dover goes even further with this set.It opens with the table of contents and after that it has a complete glossyry of french terms and text used in the music!This I found was quite impressive. Even Dover's other Ravel book doesn't do this.Some of the terms sound enough like English words or Italian musical terms for you to figure it out but it's really great that they gave you it there for you to know for certain.Following that are translations of the wonderful quotes of fairy tales from La Mere and other text that appears in the book.

Before each multi-movement piece it receives it's own cover page followed by an introduction to the piece written by Ronald Herder citing Orenstein's book Ravel: Man and Musician as a primary source.It is really nice to learn a little about the piece before playing it and it's a wonderful inclusion.The music appears to be in chronological order with the three 1913 pieces grouped together under a single cover sheet (sans any introduction).The title piece is well deserving of it as it is a large section of the book with it's 7 movements.The book concludes with Ravel's transcription of La Valse.It is annotated with Ravel's own notes on the orchestra version sometimes including a third ossia staff showing parts of the orchestration unincluded in the transcription.Instruments are named in french and can be translated via the glossary at the front of the book.

The only problem anyone might have with this book is that there are no noted fingerings as far as I've seen.I don't rely on them much myself but I know other people prefer them.If that is an issue, consider still getting this book and consulting someone on parts where you are unsure of the best fingering.Otherwise this is the perfect set!

Dover gives us the rest of Ravel
Together with Le tombeau as promised by the title, this volume includes the original piano versions of Ma Mère l'Oye, all eight Valses nobles et sentimentales, the 1913 Prélude, the two pieces À la manière de (Chabrierand Borodin), and the composer's own piano transcription of La Valse. Thisfine, durable Dover edition nicely complements Dover's "PianoMasterpieces of Maurice Ravel" with no overlap to give a nearlycomplete collection of all of Ravel's compositions for the piano. The onlypiano work absent from both volumes is the Habanera, probably because thatwork is almost invariably performed by two pianists, although I own atranscription for a single player. Many of the works in this volume arequite accessible to pianists of intermediate skill, if they aresufficiently motivated by a love of the music of Ravel, and even in Letombeau, a work of legendary difficulty, the exquisite Menuet, should proveplayable by all but beginners.Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

This score is a must
These works show why Ravel is the Master of orchestration. This is a must for every conductor or composer. ... Read more

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Book Description
The last years of the great French composer's life as envisioned by "the master magician of the contemporary French novel" (The Washington Post)

A bestseller in France, Ravel is a beguiling and original evocation of the last ten years in the life of a musical genius, written by the acclaimed novelist Jean Echenoz, winner of the Prix Goncourt. The book opens in 1927 as Maurice Ravel—dandy, eccentric, and curmudgeon—voyages across the Atlantic aboard the luxurious ocean liner the France to begin his triumphant grand tour across the United States, where he will travel aboard such fabled trains as the Zephyr, the Hiawatha, and the Sunset Limited, smoking his precious stash of Gauloises along the way.
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Customer Reviews (1)

Minimalist fiction?
Jean Echenoz's Ravel is simple, precisely pruned for minimum gestures that achieve maximum effects, and unfailingly elegant.The narrative traverses Maurice Ravel's tour of the United States in 1927 and his continuing decline (signs of which appear before he embarks and occur now and then during the trip)toward his untimely death.The author makes no attempt to explore or explain the "mysteries" of musical creation or the nature of "genius."This is not a large novel about the psychology of the artist, nor is it really a small novel about the same.It delicately constructs a portrait of a man who has lived very nearly with no human relationships of any depth, who has depended upon the generosity and patience of friends and admirers, almost parasitically, and yet who somehow manages to remain sympathetic or at least interesting enough to be worth reading about.

What is most impressive about this novella (it is called a "novel" on the cover, but the text of the narrative fills fewer than 100 pages of generously spaced large type, so I think of it as a novella) is the control exercised by the author--every detail feels properly placed after careful weighing to assure its appropriateness; nothing is excessive, nothing is out of place.The literary mastery is undeniable. Even more--the success is that though the work is so carefully and artfully composed, it never feels precious or excessively studied.And finally, it has sent me back to Ravel's music, especially the lovely chamber works.And I know that I will read the novella again (one of the virtues of a short narrative--it is easier to contemplate re-reading it than is possible with some of the great loose and baggy monsters one also loves.
So why 4 stars?It is lovely--an elegantly carved cameo--but minor. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Comprehensive review of the composers life and his music.
Chronological overview of Ravel's life starting with his studies at theParis Conservatory through his death. Includes complete list of allcompositions and discussion of how he went about composing, from conceptionto sketch to revision and transcription.Interesting anecdotes flesh outhis personality: Originally intended to be concert pianist (Faure advisedagainst it, and was right!); did not support French boycott of Axiscomposers during WWI; highly supportive of young composers; told a youngToscanini he was conducting Bolero ridiculously fast; always thegentleman--accepted criticism constructively. Could use more discussion ofIntroduction & Allegro, relationship with Debussy, Satie, Vines. ... Read more

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Book Description

Book Description
Based on the original printed score of 1929, including facsimile of Ravel's manuscript. Duration: ca. 29 minutes. ... Read more

Book Description
Text extracted from opening pages of book: BOLERO THE LIFE OF MAURICE . RAVEL Maurice Ravel, from a photograph by Henri Manuel BOLERO THE LIFE OF MAURICE RAVEL BY MADELEINE GOSS De la musique avant toute chose, De la musique encore et tou jours. Verlaine NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY To the memory of my son ALAN who, in a sense, inspired this work CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Bolero 1 II. Childhood on the Basque Coast . . 14 III. The Paris Conservatory in Ravel's Time 26 IV. He Begins to Compose .... 37 V. Gabriel Faure and His Influence on Ravel 48 VI. Failure and Success .... 62 VII. Les Apaches 74 VIII. The Music of Debussy and Ravel . . 87 IX. The Stories from Nature ... 100 X. The Lure of Spain 114 XL Ma Mere VOye 128 XII. Daphnis and Chloe 142 XIII. The Great Year of Ballets ... 156 XIV. Ravel Fights for France .... 170 XV. The Child and the Sorceries . . 185 XVI. Ravel's Home at Montfort-l'Amaury . 203' XVII. Concerts in America .... 216 XVIII. Last Compositions . 233 vii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XIX. Simple, sans remords , . . . 248 XX. Finale 258 Acknowledgments 263 List of Ravel's Compositions . . . 265 Recordings of Ravel's Works . . 275 Bibliography 283 Source Notes 285 General Index 293 Index of Ravel's Compositions . . 301 Vlll ILLUSTRATIONS Maurice Ravel frontispiece Ravel directing Bolero 1 Ravel's baptismal certificate .... 18 Marie Eluarte Ravel 20 Joseph Ravel 20 Ravel's birthplace 20 Maurice Ravel and his brother, Edouard . . 21 Ricardo Vines 52 Gabriel Faure 53 A group of Prix de Rome contestants ... 64 Ravel with his famous beard .... 65 Vines and Ravel 78 A letter from Ravel to Vines .... 79 The gateway to Le Belvedere .... 104 One of Ravel's scores 105 Le Belvedere from the garden .... 120 Teatime on the balcony 121 Rooftops Montfort-PAmaury .... 134 ix ILLUSTRATIONS RavePs writing-table 135 Zizi, Ravel's mechanical bird . 135 Ravel lifts his mask 158 Edouard Ravel 168 The piano in Ravel's study 169 The bedroom at Le Belvedere .... 169 Ravel as a soldier during the World War . . 174 Ravel's study in the home of M. and Mme Bonnet 174 The bedroom and bar, designed by Leon Leyritz 175 A corner of Ravel's modern bedroom . . .175 Mme Reveleau, Ravel's faithful bonne . . . 206 The villa at Montfort-l'Amaury .... 207 Ravel with his Siamese kitten, Mouni . . 212 At Biarritz with Mme Jourdan-Morhange and M. Vines 212 A later portrait of Ravel 240 At St Jean-de-Luz with Mme Marguerite Long . 240 Back to France from the United States . . . 241 Going over a score with Jacques Fevrier . . 254 Death-sketch by Luc-Albert Moreau . . . 254 Ravel's tomb in Levallois-Perret .... 255 BOLERO THE LIFE OF MAURICE RAVEL Ravel directing Bolero. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

What a Wonderful piece
I just received the score today and I'm already in love with it.What a wonderful piece!

The writing is exquisite and the print is very easy to read.The score itself is durable and, with a little pressing, lies flat on a table or music stand.It's the largest size available (which is what I prefer) and, most importantly to the starving music student, it's cheap!

A must for musicians and concert-goers alike. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Maurice Ravel's Miroirs is perfect for the aspiring piano player who desires more challenging material. Written in 1905, this collection of five piano solos clearly represents Ravel's compositional style during the Impressionistic period. Each work contained sharply defined ideas and modal/tonal concepts unrivaled by any of his contemporaries. This cycle is presented in its entirety with French editorial markings throughout. Just in time for the advanced piano student!! Titles are: Noctuelles * Oiseau Tristes * Une Barque Sur L'ocèan * Alborada del Gracioso * La Vallée des Cloches. ... Read more