Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales

The Valses nobles et sentimentales is a suite of waltzes composed by Maurice Ravel. The piano version was published in 1911, and an orchestral version was published in 1912. The title was chosen in homage to Franz Schubert, who had released collections of waltzes in 1823 entitled Valses nobles and Valses sentimentales. however, other than the name and the waltz form, there is little similarity between Ravel's and Schubert's works. A typical performance of all eight waltzes takes 15 minutes. They are marked:

1. Modéré, très franc (G major)

2. Assez lent, avec une expression intense (G minor)

3. Modéré (E minor)

4. Assez animé (A♭ major)

5. Presque lent, dans un sentiment intime (E major)

6. Vif (C major)

7. Moins vif (C major/A major)

8. Épilogue. Lent (G major)

Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), was a great French composer. He was influenced by French music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, by American jazz, and by the French school of Emmanuel Chabrier, Erik Satie, and especially Claude Debussy. Nevertheless, Ravel was extraordinarily original. He is widely admired for his innovative and distinctive style, and he produced numerous masterpieces.