Ravel / Prokofiev, M. Angius
The intense music of Maurice Ravel is paired with that of Sergei Prokofiev, two composers who were contemporaries of one another, in a concert programme for the orchestra and choir of the Fondazione Arena di Verona. This short concert series consists of two pieces by Ravel, La Valse, a choreographic poem for orchestra, and his most iconic work, Boléro. Prokofiev's captivating Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78, provides a fitting conclusion at Verona's Teatro Filarmonico, a wonderful venue for such a carefully considered programme of 20th-century music.
Ravel's La Valse premiered on 12 December 1920 in Paris. The piece was written from 1919 but was conceived as early as 1906 when the Frenchman considered writing a waltz in honour of Johan Strauss the Younger. Some of his work on that piece ended up being developed into La Valse which was scored to impress the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Although he responded favourably to the music, Diaghilev turned it down as a ballet. Since then, La Valse has become a concert piece, orchestrated more for listeners than dancers, yet still retaining occasional choreographic touches throughout. That said, it has also been performed as ballet music, as it was originally intended, despite its popularity as concert music.
Boléro was written later in Ravel's career. Commissioned by the Russian dancer and showwoman Ida Rubinstein, it was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 22 November 1928 as a ballet. Choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska, Boléro was an instant hit and its premiere was welcomed by a jubilant audience reaction. Ravel considered the work to be experimental and not as important as his other music. Despite his view of it, Boléro has gone on to become his most famous work, one that has, if anything, gained in popularity since the composer's death in 1937.
The programme's finale is Alexander Nevsky, a work Prokofiev originally scored for a Sergei Eisenstein film of the same name. The heroic plot tells the tale of the Prince of Novgorod, a war hero who defeated an invading army of Catholic Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Given the movie came out in 1938 on the eve of the Second World War, its themes would have chimed with the people of the then Soviet Union. The great Russian composer adapted the film score into a cantata in 1939 and it is this version, Op. 78, which has become a staple of the modern performance repertoire.
The highly respected Marco Angius takes control of proceedings at these concerts. He has conducted all over the world and, since 2015, served as the Musical and Artistic Director of the Orchestra of Padua and Veneto. With such a compelling programme and an experienced conductor, these concerts will live long in the memory.