In Search of Ravel
If the program is as succulent as it is substantial, even better, since it increases the chances of discoveries, as is the case
PalmOnce again, just after the Pollensa Festival, Bernat Quetglas and the Mallorca Chamber Orchestra, converted into a symphonic orchestra for the occasion, with more than fifty musicians on the stage of the Cloister of Sant Domingo, take the musical witness to delve into the personality of more musicians than with the originality. Maurice Ravel needs no introduction, but revisiting him is always a joy and, in a way, a rediscovery where we can glimpse new details and nuances that only serve to further enhance his indisputable talent. If the program is as succulent as it is substantial, so much the better, given that it increases the possibilities of discoveries, as is the case.
The first of the three days dedicated to the French began with the Ravel Symphonic, and what better way to do so than with the delicate and descriptive Opening-Fantasy, of Scheherazade, that without pause opened the door of the comb wide to the mythical Bolero, which, due to its complex simplicity and the countless versions that everyone has heard throughout their lives, requires the most precise interpretations. In some way, this Bolero was the one that set the tone for the evening, setting the bar very high. A masterpiece articulated on the structure of a single theme from which a whole series of chromatic variations emerge in perfect balance. This balance is what Quetglas and the OCM, corrected and augmented, achieved in the legendary venue, which was packed to the rafters.
The second half began with the Concerto for piano and orchestra in G major M. 83, led by Llorenç Prats as soloist. A challenge for virtuosos, with which the main protagonist, as there are many who at one time or another become key figures in this story, achieved a very careful, neat, and luminous execution, with all the ingredients of a major piece, with a cadence in the first movement full of contrasts, which makes it clear. A surprise encore. Prats invited the conductor to perform a fragment of Ma mére el Oye, as it was originally written, by four hands. The finale was missing, the Suite No. 2, of Daphnis and Chloé, a ballet that Igor Stravinsky considered not only Ravel's best work, but one of the most beautiful products of all French music. With the Suite, It seemed that the tour was quite abundant and considerable, but there was still another encore missing, which was the Pavane pour a deceased infante, of extreme delicacy to round off a concert worth taking note of.
