Ravel Gaspard

[fignewton]

I recently attempted this masterpiece. I found it to be very difficult in the sense that no matter how much it is practiced, the piece always seems slightly out of reach. Particularly to keep a cohesive tempo in Scarbo while trying to have everything speak at the soft dynamics, and maintaining the phrase in Ondine while finding a balance of flexibility and evenness. I'm looking forward to playing it again in a year or so.

[lelle]

Well done! You articulated my own feelings on the piece very well. For someone who says that the piece seems slightly out of reach, I think you are well on your way, you are doing lots of nice things and clearly got enough technical resources! Which parts don't sit well enough with you yet? I think after a year's break, where your technical and musical skills will inevitably grow, you'll feel much more on top of things.

[fignewton]

Thank you for listening to it and your comments, Lelle! One spot is the opening of Ondine. I wanted my bottom notes to be brought out a bit so that they wouldn't get lost in the texture, but this resulted in some of my G-sharps to not be as voiced as I would have liked. When I started a take which had good voicing, I didn't like my rubato, and so on. It becomes maddening. Ondine is filled with passages I found elusive like this, especially considering all of the extreme dynamics.