La Valse for Two Pianos

The Composer's Original Version

By Maurice Ravel

La Valse, in its many incarnations, is one of my all-time favorite compositions by any composer of any era, so I'm reviewing this with more than a hint of bias. That said, Ravel's masterful manipulation of the Viennese waltz idiom comes brilliantly to life in this transcription...

for two pianos. For those accustomed to the more popular orchestral version, I can say that this version sacrifices little of the color which characterizes the tone poem. The most difficult challenge in performing this version is locking in with the other performer, as Ravel often uses patterns which don't necessarily make the beat clear. However, the edition is nicely arranged so that you can easily see both parts and the ways in which they interact. A thrilling piece for any team willing to give the effort.

Yeah! Usually I don't like transcriptions from the orchestra to the piano, but this one is very well composed. Ravel was a pianist and I'm sure he got it! Very good republishing from Durand edition. Dover did a really good job with this excelent work, made two copies...

for both pianists and all that in a very resonable price! If you have a good piano duo, don't miss title from your repertoire!