European Impressionism
Quartets by Ravel,
Debussy and Saint-Saëns -
heard by
HOWARD SMITH'[Quatuor Modigliani] attack it with some vehemence.'
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Two composers repeatedly appearing cheek by jowl on chamber music CDs are Frenchman Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Basque Maurice Ravel (1875-1937); both men wrote a solitary highly regarded string quartet and each was regarded as a proponent of European Impressionism.
Musically these two differed significantly -- take for instance Debussy's La Mer (1903-05) compared with Ravel's Ma mère l'oye (1910-1911). The older composer creates his sound imagery with washes of orchestral light and colour. Ravel's nursery piano suite, amended for orchestra, proceeds with luminous pointillism...
Copyright © 9 April 2013
Howard Smith,
Masterton, New Zealand
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