- Ravel’s early working title for this symphonic poem was Wien (Vienna).
- Ravel began work on this piece just before WWI broke out. During the war, he struggled to finish his compositions. The impetus to complete this one was a ballet commission from Sergei Diaghilev, who actually ended up rejecting the work after all, feeling it wasn’t suitable for a ballet score.
- Ravel completed La valse (which he subtitled “poème chorégraphique”) in 1919-20.
- Though Diaghilev rejected La valse forhis Ballets Russes, Bronislava Nijinska choreographed it instead, and her ballet was presented at the Paris Opera on May 23, 1929.1
Sources
- Barbara L. Kelly, “Ravel, (Joseph) Maurice,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 20, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052145.
Cut IDs
19950