Friday, March 7, 2025

March 7 - Maurice Ravel (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 7th  can be found here: John Wilbye (2019), Maurice Ravel (2020), and Thomas Linley the Younger (2021), Maurice Ravel (2022), Maurice Ravel (2023), and Maurice Ravel (2024).

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Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a great French composer, pianist and conductor.  



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dressing the Part (1)


He dressed like a dandy and was meticulous about his appearance and demeanour.  – Wikipedia


Though a stylish young man named Maurice

Was perspiring, at work on a piece,

He was dressed in a vest,

And his trousers were pressed

In a perfectly exquisite crease.

 

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Dressing the Part (2)

 

As Ravel sniffed a rarified brandy

Which he held in the crook of his hand, he

Struck a chic pose

In the up-to-date clothes

Of an au courant musical dandy.



Two Observations on Gaspard de la Nuit


(1)

Gaspard is as tough as it gets,

And many a pianist regrets

The folly of trying

These finger-defying

Vertiginous piano vignettes.


(2)

It’s “Scarbo”, as you may recall

That’s famously found on the wall

Of a building, once Schmitt’s,

Where a page or so fits

In an eye-catching musical sprawl.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.] Ravel (2024)

 


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