[F_minor] RE: Ravel

["Houpt, Fred" <fred.houpt@rbc.com>]

Speaking of which....I have yet to hear one single recording live or in
studio of "The Great Gates of Kiev" for piano reduction.  I can't stand
it.  The piece sounds preposterous to me on a piano and belongs in my
mind only to a huge orchestra blasting away.  It would be like Saint
Saens Organ symphony reduced to a harmonica solo with Tommy Reilley
turning blue in the face.  Just don't go there guys.....leave it to the
bigger versions and just call it a day.
 
Fred
 
 

________________________________

From: Etha Williams [mailto:diftorhehsmusma@gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 1:22 AM
To: boyboy_8@yahoo.com
Cc: f_minor@email.rutgers.edu; Houpt, Fred
Subject: Re: Ravel


I have never been a great fan of piano transcriptions for orchestral
works, as this seems more often than not to just further the futile
endeavor of trying to get a piano to sound like an orchestra.
Nevertheless, this transcription is quite an impressive feat. (As an
aside, I love the introduction, and my best friend and I are fond of
using the "x's transcription of x's transcription of..." line whenever
we try to recreate by ear a piece we've heard on radio/CD/etc; but our
"transcriptions" are of course never anywhere as good as GG's...)

Anyway, here is a bit more about the La Valse transcription, in a letter
by GG:

December 6, 1974

Mrs. Morris Hochberg 
Detroit
Michigan
U.S.A.

Dear Sylvia:

Many thanks for your note re 'La Valse'. I'm delighted that you enjoyed
the clip and I do hope that you will be able to see the programme in its
entirety in February. I'm afraid, however, that my general francophobia
proceeds apace: actually, the current decade-by-decade television series
is, if nothing else, a good training-ground since it has compelled me,
for the first time in my life, to play Debussy and Ravel. But also, I
must tell you, for the last time; actually Columbia have badgered me
about a recording of 'La Valse' and I'm afraid that I've dug in my heels
at least as firmly as when they have a similar notion some years back
about one or other of the Chopin sonatas.

In any case, I had a great deal of fun with 'La Valse' because I found
Ravel's own contribution downright unusable for at least half its
length; as you perhaps know, he simply wrote out the harmonic foundation
of the piece on two conventional staves and added, as a kind of optional
extra in very small print and on a third stave, most of the colouristic
elements which gave the piece its flavour; much of the time, indeed,
there is simply no way in which one can incorporate the third-stave
elements and simultaneously be obedient to the material on the primary
staves. Consequently, I cleared away as much of the lower-stave
underbrush as possible and incorporated as much of the third-stave
material as I could -- admittedly make a few discreet alterations in
Monsieur Maurice's voice-leading as I went along. As I say, it was great
fun, and I do hope you'll see the programme in February -- the Ophelia
songs of Strauss and the excerpts from Pierrot made it all worthwhile.

All the best for now,

Sincerely,
Glenn Gould
 [snip] 
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