Context

Piano Concerto in G major by Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel was a French composer who travelled to New York in 1928. When he met the composer, Gershwin (who wrote ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and ‘I got rhythm’), Ravel was enchanted by Gershwin’s piano-playing and musical style – he even asked Gershwin for lessons!  3 years after this visit Ravel composed his last major work – the Piano Concerto in G major.

There are 2 YouTube videos to watch here. The first is a performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto and the second is a performance by Herbie Hancock (jazz performer and composer), improvising on Ravel’s Piano Concerto.

Piano concerto in G major, 2nd movement, by Ravel
Ravel’s Piano Concerto performed by Herbie Hancock

Listen For

There is so much to listen out for in these two recordings, however, the purpose of putting both side by side, is to get you to listen to how a musician can improvise on, what is considered to be, a masterpiece.

You may need to listen to both recordings a number of times, especially if you have never heard the concerto before.  Then you can hear how Herbie Hancock has maintained the integrity of the original piece whilst applying his own jazz style.

Things To Consider

  • Think about the skills required to perform an improvised version of a complex masterpiece (with orchestral accompaniment) such as Ravel’s ‘Piano Concerto’.

“The G-major Concerto took two years of work, you know. The opening theme came to me on a train between Oxford and London. But the initial idea is nothing. The work of chiseling then began. We’ve gone past the days when the composer was thought of as being struck by inspiration, feverishly scribbling down his thoughts on a scrap of paper. Writing music is seventy-five percent an intellectual activity.” (Maurice Ravel)

  • What do you think of Ravel’s words about how a composer gets his ideas?

“I’m not interested in redoing something that somebody already did. I’m much more interested in finding new ways of putting things together and new elements of expression”  (Herbie Hancock)

How far do you think Herbie Hancock achieved this in his version of the Ravel Piano Concerto?