MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)
Boléro (1928)
Ravel composed and Nijinsky choreographed the ballet Boléro for the legendary dancer Ida Rubinstein, and its Parisian premiere caused a sensation. Ravel himself once described it as “an experiment…consisting wholly of orchestral tissue without music—one long, very gradual crescendo.” Two short measures repeat over and over to the hypnotic beat of the snare drum—which becomes the focal point of the entire work—starting softly, increasing in intensity and volume, and reaching a powerful climax some 17 minutes later. Ravel’s self-deprecating comment notwithstanding, there is genius in the orchestration—shifting combinations of instruments that are layered over each other to create rich and ever richer sonorities. The result is nothing short of exhilarating. “The ideal is an absolutely steady beat that never wavers—that you lay down for all to follow—a seamless crescendo from the nearly inaudible beginning to the final explosion of sound,” says New York Philharmonic’s Principal Percussionist Christopher Lamb, who will play the snare drum, “but the reality is that Boléro is an ensemble piece requiring compromise between the drum and the rest of the orchestra. We have to listen to each other, especially at the beginning, when the first few solos are played so softly. It’s a combination of locking in the rhythm, while leaving room for some give-and-take.” Boléro’s non-stop drumming also makes it a test of a percussionist’s endurance. “I prepare for that in a number of ways. To remind myself of what 17 minutes feels like I play along with a Boléro recording, and I practice my listening skills by improvising along with jazz recordings.” And then there’s the question of concentration during the performance. “I keep my music in front of me, even though it’s only two measures, and refer to it occasionally to ‘reboot’ … to stay in the ‘zone’.” While Boléro is “a big deal” for some percussionists, Christopher Lamb says “I enjoy it! It’s fun to play!”

Conductor, composer, and pianist Bramwell Tovey has been music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) since September 2000 and is also principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He has presided as host and conductor of the New York Philharmonic’s Summertime Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall since its founding in 2004. Mr. Tovey has appeared as a guest conductor with ensembles including the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Frankfurt Radio, and Bournemouth Symphony orchestras, and, in North America, the orchestras of Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Seattle, Montreal, and Toronto, where his trumpet concerto, Songs of the Paradise Saloon, was premiered in December 2009. This season Mr. Tovey appears with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall; in January and February he led the VSO in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, featuring the Toronto Mendelssohn and Vancouver Bach Choirs and an international cast, at the Cultural Olympiad of the Winter Olympic Games. In May 2010 he will return to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as curator, conductor, and piano soloist for the contemporary Metropolis Festival, and to the main subscription season in the fall of 2011. He will make his Sydney Symphony debut in the 2010–11 season.

Mr. Tovey’s recent compositions include Urban Runway, co-commissioned by the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, premiered in the summer of 2008, and The Inventor, a full-length opera for the Calgary Opera to be premiered in January 2011. In 2003 he was honored with a Juno Award for Best Canadian Classical Composition for his Requiem for a Charred Skull. Bramwell Tovey received a 2008 Grammy Award and a 2008 Juno Award for his recording of violin concertos by Barber, Korngold, and Walton with violinist James Ehnes and the VSO. His other numerous honors include fellowships from the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and honorary doctorates of law from the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, and Kwantlen University College. In 1999 he received the M. Joan Chalmers National Award for Artistic Direction, a Canadian prize awarded to artists for outstanding contributions to the performing arts.

In the 2008–09 season Ms. Graves reprises her title role portrayal in Richard Danielpour’s opera Margaret Garner for the Michigan Opera Theatre, and returns to Washington National Opera as Carmen in a production by Francesca Zambello. She also portrays Dulcinée in the San Diego Opera’s new production of Massenet’s Don Quichotte. Highlights of her recital schedule include performances with Brian Stokes Mitchell and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; a program to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., under the auspices of the Denver Spirituals Project; and a re-creation of the historic Marian Anderson concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Ms. Graves also will appear as featured soloist in a nationally televised Memorial Day concert with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Denyce Graves is a native of Washington, D.C., where she attended the Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts. She has also been invited on several occasions to perform at the White House. She has been the recipient of many awards, including the Grand Prix du Concours International de Chant de Paris and the Marian Anderson Award, presented to her by Miss Anderson herself. Ms. Graves is making her New York Philharmonic debut in these Summertime Classics concerts, and will appear with the Orchestra again on July 29 at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.