M. Ravel "Bolero": history, video, interesting facts, listen.

M. Ravel "Bolero"

The classical symphonic music of the 20th century is notable for its brightness, beauty and richness of timbres. No exception is the "Bolero" by Ravel. This music has conquered world scenes, it is known and popular. But are all the riddles known to us about such a fascinating work?

The history of "Bolero" by Ravel and a lot of interesting facts about this work read on our page.

History of creation

USA. Maurice Ravel is on a touring trip. Shortly before his departure, the composer met with the most famous soloist in the Russian ballet. Her name is Ida Rubinstein. It cannot be said that the technique of the above-mentioned ballerina was better than Anna Pavlova or Natalia Trukhanova, but her artistic abilities drove many crazy. The meeting was more than businesslike. Ida asked Ravel to write a dance work, preferably a ballet in which she could be a soloist. As conceived by Ida, the work was supposed to maximally reflect her individual dance abilities.

The tour ended successfully, and Maurice Ravel could finally get to work. According to the memoirs of the composer, the work was written easily and simply, so he quickly completed the score. Then began rehearsals. The conductor was appointed a longtime friend of the composer, before the skill of which Ravel bowed, namely maestro Toscanini. However, between them there was a small altercation concerning pace. Since Ravel respected the conductor’s opinion very much, he allowed him to play at his own pace.

The first production took place in the Grand Opera and was a huge success among the public. It seems Ravel managed to find the key to the heart of society at that time. The music was clear to every listener, regardless of age or status. Perhaps this played its own role in the emergence of popularity.

Interesting Facts

• The composer himself did not count on the success of the work, he considered the composition rather monotonous, since the only variety in music was the crescendo of the entire orchestra. Moreover, all the relatives and friends of the composer agreed with this opinion.
• Bolero Ravel is most popular in Japan. So it was used in the cult film anime "The Adventures of Digimonov", as well as in the famous game "Flower, sun and rain", created by Goichi Suda.
• The genre basis is a folk-household. It is a synthesis of two common dances in Spain: the bolero and the sortsico.
• The work was chosen more than once to create numbers at sports competitions in the discipline "Figure Skating". At the Olympics in Yugoslavia, it helped the British pair of figure skaters Jane Thorville and Christopher Dean to win the long-awaited gold medal.

• On average, the rhythm is repeated about 170 times!
• In Russia, the work of honor is the most performed to date.
• The construction is original in its own essence, as it is a chain of strict variations, in which not only the melody is preserved, but also the rhythm. Moreover, the rhythmic figure throughout the performance is clearly depicted by the snare drum unchanged. The only thing that makes music interesting is the most brilliant orchestration.
• For all the time of performance, namely from 15 to 18 minutes, depending on the tempo, a musician who plays the snare must make about 4 thousand beats. It is because of the monotony and monotony of the drum part, sustained in strict ostinato, the party is considered one of the most difficult.
• Ravel did not like to talk about this work, so when asked about the creation, he always modestly replied that only an idea was brilliant here, and even a student studying at the Composition department would have done the work.
• The composition brightened the final part of the film "Orchestra". The idea to use music came to the director Rybchinsky.
• Despite the fact that Ravel’s “Bolero” is a ballet, it is most often included not for theatrical productions, but for the concert repertoire.

• Often the work was performed without the participation of the orchestra, you can listen to one of these performances in the movie “The Road to Paradise”, where it can be played by means of a female choir.
• When the composer was told that Bolero was a masterpiece, he replied with a grin that this music was empty.
• Initially, conductors were afraid to conduct this work, due to the composer’s desire to strictly and strictly observe the tempo instructions. They were necessary to emphasize automatism in music.
• In the film adaptation of the most famous novel by Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita” in the scene “Ball of Woland” this composition is used. It is noteworthy that this idea was proposed by the genius of the composition Alfred Schnittke.

Performances on the stage

For the first time the ballet was staged on the stage of the famous theater of France and the world Grand Opera, in late November in the 28th year of the 20th century. Straram was appointed conductor. As originally conceived, the main women's party was danced by Ida Rubinstein. The main choreography was concentrated on the soloist, the role of the troupe was minimal. The performance ended in furor. The work became so popular that it became independent. First of all, he was included in the concert repertoire, but the performances in the leading theaters of the world did not stop.

Already in the 30s of the XX century, "Bolero" was staged at the Opera Comic theater, then the performance was staged for the troupe. The production was done by the no less famous director of that time, Mikhail Fokin. The action was colorfully decorated, thanks to the efforts of the decorator Alexander Benoit. The audience of the Grand Opera were shocked by such a premiere, and she entered the repertoire, but only for the season.

At the same time, the ballet became a constantly performed composition at the Russian Ballet Theater in Monte Carlo.

In the United States of America, the work became truly noticed only by 1995, after the production of Yushkevich.

Currently, the performance periodically flashes on the world arenas of the world, but more often it is still performed as a separate concert work.

Bolero in the cinema

The music of "Bolero" on everyone's lips, of course, such a popular work can revive and decorate scenes in famous movies. The most famous movies that use music are:

• Ten (1979);
• The Master and Margarita (1994);
• Jokes aside (1995);
• The road to heaven (1997);
• Convergence (2000);
• Cool guy (2002);
• Base Clayton (2003);
• Moonlight magic (2014);
• Photographer (2015);
• Eddie "Eagle" (2016).

Music and dramaturgy

Despite the obvious neglect of the creator to his own creation, the work can be found dramatic development. Ravel was a very capricious man and wanted everything to be as he had intended. He even nearly quarreled with his long-time friend, conductor A. Toscanini, who decided to play the work at a pace that, in his opinion, better reflected the essence of the work. Why was the pace so important in this case? Because it is the pace that plays the key role. As conceived by the author, the action of the ballet began near a small factory in Spain, the music is quite automatic and depicts the movement of time and progress of the 20th century. In some ways, the plot was supposed to overlap with the famous opera Bizet "Carmen". Each viewer can find a plot similarity.

It is believed that in the composition the composer used two themes that alternate in pairs. As already mentioned, changes are achieved by orchestration. Special emotional development is achieved by dynamic growth, leading to orchestral climax. This culmination is achieved at the end of the work and is the culmination of the “horizon”. It should be borne in mind that this technique most strongly affects the emotional state of a person, he feels a sense of incompleteness, despite the fact that music has a logical conclusion. In this case, the person wants to listen and listen to the work. It should be noted that after the premiere all Paris sang a melody. From a professional musical point of view, this effect was achieved thanks to the constant repetition of the melodic line. You must agree, it's hard not to remember the melody, if during the piece it was repeated many times.

Ravel's “Bolero” is deservedly at the place of honor among the true masterpieces of classical music. It is performed in the best theaters in the world, used in film and advertising. It is safe to say that the Bolero rhythm is the rhythm of the perpetual motion engine of time, and while this music is playing, progress is moving.