Cathédrale St. Christophe, Belfort

"Autour de Ravel"

with pianist Sylvia Kohler
An eclectic by excellence while remaining in an undeniably French aesthetic, Maurice Ravel has been able to synthesize a wide variety of musical trends while maintaining his own style from his earliest compositions.

This concert offers an agenda in violin/piano duo around the composer Maurice Ravel reflecting the different influences that have traversed his work:

In particular, Spanish music, his mother humming to him from his earliest childhood as a lullaby of habaneras and zarzuela choruses,




As well as his fascination for jazz and more particularly for Gershwin's works, 4 of which are on the agenda for this evening:

The very famous "Summertime" and its 3 Preludes arranged for violin and piano by the illustrious violinist Jascha Heifetz.

"You Americans take jazz too lightly.

You seem to see in this music, little value, vulgarity, and of ephemeral.

Whereas in my opinion, it will give birth to the national music of the United States".

Maurice Ravel

April 1928