— French perfection and intercontinental impulses.
This year, Maurice Ravel is being celebrated all over the world — and for good reason: Few artists mastered the craft the way he did, with a unique and fascinating tonal language filled with impulses across all continents.
We have invited pianist Håkon Austbø , one of our foremost experts on 20th-century French music, to curate a programme where we get to experience Ravel in all its breadth — perfected to the fingertips. With him he has a solid team of fellow players: violinist Anders Nilsson and cellist Audun Sandvik . Read Austbø's presentation of the program below, and welcome to our celebration of Ravel's 150th anniversary!
Anders Nilsson violin
Audun Sandvik cello
Håkon Austbø piano
Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. The program is without intermission.
The program will be played on March 30 in Oslo and April 4 in Bergen.
-
Maurice Ravel (1875—1937)
Sonata for violin and piano in G major (1927)
Valses nobles et sentimentales (1912)
Trio for piano, violin and cello (1914)
-
“When I was asked to put together a programme with chamber music by Ravel, the choice was not that difficult, as there are few works by him in this genre. The two most important are included in the program, combined with one solo work.
After a previously unpublished violin sonata was rediscovered in the 1970s, the G major sonata was given second place. It was composed at a time when Ravel was very interested in jazz, and the second movement, Blues , in particular, bears the mark of this. If American music inspired the sonata, Valses nobles et sentimentales refers to Vienna. Ravel's fascination with the Viennese waltz resulted in another masterpiece, La valse , which he worked on at the same time. The two works have several themes in common.
The trio is one of Ravel’s best works and stands alone in the 20th century literature for this ensemble. Few composers have exploited the three instruments so masterfully; it sounds truly orchestral. Here, Basque music sets the scene, as Ravel spent the time composing in the region where he was born, the French Basque Country.”
— Haakon Austbo
Welcome to a unique musical experience!
Photo: Ivan Tostrup (Austbø) / Andreas E. Nygjerd (Nilsson) / Bård Gundersen (Sandvik)