Tzigane (Ravel)
Tzigane is a rhapsody for violin and luthéal , or for violin and orchestra, that Maurice Ravel composed in 1924. Even if the name goes back to French terms for gypsies such as "gitan", "tsigane" or "tzigane", it is more aimed at the romantic gypsy cliché associated with Hungary . B. from Liszt and Brahms than to real music from Sinti or Roma . No real gypsy melodies are used either. The piece is one of the most demanding works of virtuoso violin literature.
The instrumentation
The composer wrote two versions. A chamber music cast was followed by an orchestral version.
For violin and luthéal
The original score by Tzigane contains register instructions for execution which refer to the Luthéal , the accompanying instrument originally intended by Ravel. This is a mechanically prepared piano that imitates the sound of the Hungarian cimbalom (dulcimer). This chamber music version of his piece is mainly played with violin and piano today, but his scoring for violin and Luthéal has hardly been used due to the rarity of the accompanying instrument. Only in the last few years have there been artists who have performed the piece in the cast intended by Ravel. The first was the Dutch violinist Theo Olof (1924–2012) to find a Luthéal in the Brussels Musical Instrument Museum; it was played by Daniel Wagenburg. Daniel Hope had a Luthéal built for his recording. Its sound is very different from the last existing, original Luthéal in the Brussels Musical Instrument Museum (MiM).
The orchestral version
Ravel orchestrated the composition for an orchestral version soon after the version for violin and Luthéal was completed.
The world premieres
The composition was commissioned by the Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Arányi , a niece of Joseph Joachim . The first performance took place in London on April 26, 1924 with the dedicatee, accompanied by Henri Gil-Marchex . The first performance of the orchestral version took place in Paris on November 30, 1924, with the Concerts Colonne conducted by Gabriel Pierné .
description
The composition consists of a single movement of about 10 minutes. The first part is composed entirely for violin solo and conceived in the style of an improvisation on gypsy themes. In the second part, the very timbre-rich accompaniment by the Luthéal or orchestra begins.
Web links
- The score in the IMSLP
- The Luthéal in the MiM Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels
- Introduction to Ravel's Tzigane by the violinist Midori, translated by Nicolai Burchartz ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- Information from Bayerischer Rundfunk about Ravel's Tzigane
Individual evidence
- ↑ see the score of the composition
- ^ Photo of such an instrument by Pleyel
- ↑ see article about Hope http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96046890
- ↑ see: http://bso.http.internapcdn.net/bso/images/program_notes/Ravel_Tzigane.pdf