Ravel had limitless admiration for Debussy’s famous orchestral work, going so far as to say in an interview that it was his innermost wish to die to the sounds of this “unique marvel in the whole of music”. Since Debussy had himself already published a version for two pianos, Ravel in 1910 undertook an arrangement for piano 4-hands. It was published that same year by Fromont in Paris, and made an impact all of its own. We have been able to recruit Debussy specialist Denis Herlin as editor of this Henle Urtext edition, the first to evaluate all the available sources. The fingerings are by Andreas Groethuysen of the famous Tal & Groethuysen Duo.
Content/Details
- Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
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Preface
A miracle of sound, the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune by Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918) was not only the composer’s most often-performed orchestral work during his lifetime, but also his first to be perform-ed and published. Composed between 1892 and 1894 and based on the poem L’Après-midi d’un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé, it was a definitive turning … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer
Maurice Ravel
Together with Satie and Debussy, Ravel numbers among the innovators who had a falling out with academic education and created their own avant-garde tonal languages – inspired, in Ravel’s case, by Russian and Spanish music, but also by exoticism – without abandoning tonality. This master of orchestration begins with piano works, which he orchestrates; songs with piano and piano compositions exist on an equal footing in orchestral versions.
| 1875 | Born in Ciboure on March 7; the family moves to Paris that same year. |
| 1882 | Lessons in piano, theory, and composition. |
| 1889 | Beginning of his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, from which he will never graduate. |
| 1901 | “Jeux d’eau” for piano, in a new “Impressionist” tonal language, as is “Miroirs” (1904–05). |
| 1903 | “Shéhérazade” for voice and piano/orchestral accompaniment with orientalist tonal elements. |
| 1905 | Scandal surrounding Ravel’s third application for the Prix de Rome. |
| 1907 | Premiere of the “Histoires naturelles” after Jules Renard provokes astonishment in audiences and critics. |
| 1907–08 | Rhapsodie espagnole for orchestra. |
| 1908/10 | “Ma mère l’oye” (“Mother Goose”) for piano, four-hands, as a ballet in 1911. |
| 1911 | Premiere in Paris of his opera “L’Heure espagnole.” |
| 1911/12 | “Valses nobles et sentimentales” for piano/orchestra. Premiere of the ballet “Daphnis et Chloé” in 1912. |
| 1914/19 | “Le tombeau de Couperin” for piano/orchestra anticipates the coming neoclassicism. |
| from 1920 | Many concert tours through Europe and the United States. |
| 1925 | Premiere of his opera “L’Enfant et les sortilèges.” |
| 1928 | Conferral of an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. “Bolero” for orchestra. |
| 1929–31 | Piano Concerto in G major with elements of jazz. |
| 1937 | Death in Paris on December 28. |
About the authors
Andreas Groethuysen (Fingering)
Prof. Andreas Groethuysen, born in 1956 in Munich, studied music with Ludwig Hoffmann in Munich and, on a scholarship from the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”, with Peter Feuchtwanger in London.
After several years as a soloist, Groethuysen formed a piano duo with Yaara Tal, which has now become the focus of his artistic work. The duo regularly performs in many European countries, in Israel, China, North and South America. In exclusive cooperation with SONY CLASSICAL the internationally acclaimed piano duo has released a great many CDs – 28 to date – almost all of which have been awarded prizes.
Voor de fraaie nieuwe urtext is Henle uitgegaan van de eerste druk. De editie is echter aangevuld met Debussy`s commentaaar in zijn handexemplaar van de orkestpartituur.