Impressionism. Are you a Debussy person or a Ravel person? One New York Times reviewer writes, "Debussy takes historical precedence, but Ravel gets under the skin." I don't know much about this 'historical precedence,' but I do know that the sensual wanderings of Debussy's compositions sometimes wear me out.

"D'un Cahier D'equisse" - Claude Debussy

Where Debussy navel gazes, Ravel expands outward. Bolero is an elegant score of periods and exclamation points. He enunciates and pivots between crescendos. When I was a child, listening to Bolero on vinyl, I always pictured a scene of endless rolling hills, of gliding over the green grass, sun shining.

"Bolero" - Maurice Ravel 

"Ma Mère l'Oye - Ballet : 5" - Maurice Ravel 

What's funny (but not surprising) is that Ravel never liked Bolero. He considered it a trivial "piece for orchestra without music." Maybe that's why I like it so much. It reads like a soundtrack to elegance. Understated. The power of this composition lies in what's not said.

Perhaps an important point of disclosure: I know very little about classical music. I'm a big fan of Rachmaninov, Bach and Vivaldi. I also enjoy some Moondog. (Is that even considered classical?) I couldn't idenitify a Haydn,  a Schubert, or a Chopin if my life depended on it. Keep that in mind as I ramble on about crescendos and elegant compositions.

Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano is a nice example of what a little jazz influence can do to musical impressionism, and is perhaps a better example of Ravel's style as a composer.