Friday Music

French composer, pianist and conductor Joseph Maurice Ravel is regarded as France's greatest composer.  He was a master of orchestration and took great pains to tediously study each instrument to determine its potential before using it to maximum effect. 

Boléro is a one-movement piece originally commissioned and composed as a ballet for the Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein.  Its debut was in 1928 at the Paris Opera and is considered Ravel's greatest composition.  I happen to appreciate the Spanish and Arabic influence found in the composition.

Nicely performed by the Spanish orchestra Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia.  Bonus is Dvořák's: Danza eslava n° 8 - a Slavic dance number – at the twenty minute mark. 

Enjoy….