Ravel's Orchestration

"A piece for piano," says Lucas Debargue, "is orchestrated for the piano." All the tools that made Ravel a genius of piano writing — his expert use of all the colors and textures at his disposal, which Beatrice Rana and Nathalie Stutzmann compare to the skill of a master painter — also made him one of the most celebrated of all orchestrators. In interviews and side-by-side comparisons of La Valse, Ma Mère l'Oye, and more, observe how Ravel's orchestrations of his own and others' works represent much more than a simple translation from one medium to another.