Cellist George Roth, a member of the Budapest Trio, remembering the occasion in 1928 when he, his brother the violinist Nicholas Roth, and a guest pianist were engaged to play Ravel’s Piano Trio with the composer during a Ravel Festival in Paris’s Salle Gaveau. Ravel was originally going to be the pianist, but in the end he just turned the pages of the score for the guest pianist, however he attended the rehearsals. George Roth recalled this event in 1997 – although he refers to the date as July 1928, the concert in fact took place on the 8^th of June. His recollection is divided into three segments:

• The rehearsal:
• Ravel practising the piano:
• The performance:

Pianist Bertrand Chamayou commenting on Ravel. This is in two segments:

• General comments:
• More general comments and consideration of Pavane pur une infante défunte:

Soprano Dame Felicity Lott discussing the demands and challenge of performing Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarme:

Soprano Fatma Said discussing her recording of Shéhérazade. This is in two segments:

• Shéhérazade in the version for voice and piano and with the ney flute:
• The flute and the ney flute in La flûte enchantée:

Baritone Thomas Hampson commenting on Chansons Madécasses and also the observation on the cycle made by the baritone, author and pedagogue Pierre Bernac:

Baritone Thomas Hampson commenting on Don Quichotte a Dulcinée and recalling studying it with the baritone and pedagogue Martial Singer, who had performed the world premiere:

Baritone José van Dam commenting on studying Un grand sommeil noir:

Baritone José van Dam commenting on Kaddisch and other Jewish songs by Ravel:

Conductor John Wilson discussing his recent published score edition of Daphnis et Chloé:

Scholar and author Sylvain Fort discussing the criticisms Ravel received in his lifetime:

Scholar and author Sylvain Fort discussing L’heure espganole. This is in two segments:

• The novelty of Ravel keeping the entire text of Franc-Nohain’s play intact:
• Translation problems with double meanings:

Scholar and author Sylvain Fort discussing L’enfant et les sortilèges. This is in two segments:

• Part 1 
• Part 2

The comments of Thomas Hampson and Sylvain Fort are provided by kind permission of the Hampsong Foundation: hampsongfoundation.org

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