La Valse
From Wind Repertory Project
Maurice Ravel (transcribed by Joseph Kreines)
Contents |
General Info
Year: 1920 / 2005
Duration: c. 13:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Nikk Nakks Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $100 | Score Only - $50.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II-III-IV
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II-III-IV
Bb Solo Clarinet I-II (in A or B-flat)
Bb Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
Eb Alto Clarinet
Bb Bass Clarinet
Eb Contra-alto Clarinet
Bb Contrabass Clarinet
Alto Sax I-II
Tenor Sax I-II
Baritone Sax
Trumpet I-II-III-IV
French Horn I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III-IV
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass I-II
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Harps (2)
Percussion I-II, including:
- Bass Drum
- Castanets
- Cymbals (crash) (2)
- Snare Drum
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Triangle
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
In a letter written in 1906, Ravel spoke of plans to compose a waltz that would pay tribute to Johan Strauss and be “an apotheosis of the Viennese waltz.” He titled his rough sketch Wien: Poème Symphonique (Vienna: Symphonic Poem). By 1920, the work had evolved to its finished form and its final title: La Valse: poème chorégraphique. This is no typical waltz; it is a surreal parody, an apocalyptic view of wartime Vienna, familiar to Ravel through his service as an ambulance driver during World War I.
In Ravel's version we are meant to see, as through a mist, an imperial palace of the mid-19th century, a grand ballroom filled with dancers, a scene alive with light and colour, an “impression of a fantastic and fatal whirling.” It is a waltz with one foot planted solidly in classical waltz traditions, with the other balanced uncertainly on the shaky ground of the new, the avant-garde, the modern. Rarely performed as a ballet, it is often programmed as a concert work, the absence of visual “busyness” helping to free the palette of the mind’s eye to imagine the surrealism of Ravel’s vision. Ravel dedicated his waltz to his long-time friend Misia Sert, a woman who was held in high esteem by many influential personalities of the day. It was in her home that Ravel first performed a piano reduction of the work for Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky, and Francis Poulenc.
Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Commercial Discography
None discovered thus far.
Audio Links
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Recent Performances
(To add performances, please join the WRP by contacting the webmaster)
- Florida State University Wind Orchestra (Rick Clary, conductor) - 21 October 2005
Additional Works for Winds by this Composer
This composer primarily wrote orchestral and piano music. Other transcriptions of his works include:
- Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2 (tr. Mark Hindsley)
- La Vallee des Cloches (tr. Donald Hunsberger)
- Pavane pour une infante defunte (tr. Mark Hindsley)
Additional Resources
None discovered thus far.
