Ravel: A Biography

Author: (French) Yankolevich
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Music is peculiar, I would say it is almost a miracle. It is a hazy mediator between thought and phenomenon, spirit and matter. Similar yet different from everything it mediates—a spirit that requires time to prove itself, a self-sufficient entity indifferent to space. —Heinrich Heine
Ravel and Debussy are the twin stars of French Impressionist music, often compared to one another. However, Ravel's music cannot be simply summarized as Impressionist. His meticulously crafted, rigorous style has rarely been achieved in the history of music. The author of this book conducts a detailed analysis and dissection of Ravel's significant musical works, such as Mirages, Ghosts of the Night, Mother Goose, and String Quartet, striving to depict Ravel's comprehensive musical characteristics to the readers. In the process of analyzing the works, the author also selects some of Ravel's letters and impressions from his contemporaries, aiming to reveal Ravel's musical philosophy and thoughts.