The ‘Piano Concerto in G’ by Maurice Ravel is so astonishingly beautiful that time can appear to become suspended for a listener. The melody is somehow magical, transporting you to another place. In this episode I share insights into the piece, I discuss the Woodwind section of the orchestra, and begin to uncover how music works by answering the question ‘What is a Melody?’.

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Hello! My name’s Scott Wilson. I’m a conductor and I’m passionate about classical music. In this podcast we discover the music of one of our greatest artforms. We listen to a new piece in each episode, I share insights into the music, and over time, I’ll take you on a journey through classical music’s composers, musicians, and history. Everything’s discussed in an easily digestible way, and no prior knowledge is needed. This podcast is for you!

Today we’re listening to the Piano Concerto in G by the composer Maurice Ravel. It’s one of the remarkable pieces; so astonishingly beautiful that time can appear to become suspended for a listener. For me, it’s a magical journey to another place. I love this piece.

[music excerpt]

Well this is a different kind of piece to those we’ve heard in previous episodes. It’s quieter, more gentle and introspective, and it’s calmer. But it’s rich and it’s also bold. Just imagine being in the concert hall. At the front of the stage, a pianist sits at a piano, and behind, there’s an orchestra of sixty musicians with a conductor. And yet, only the pianist plays. It continues on like this for three minutes. Nothing but piano. The listener’s taken into some other world. It’s intimate: the pianist is speaking directly to each individual in the audience. As I said in the last episode, you are the third creative in music. The composer has imagined the sounds, the musicians are performing the sounds, but it’s you who hears the sounds and then invests an emotional response in them. Let’s listen to the opening again. Where does this music take you?

[music excerpt]

It’s the beauty of its simplicity that creates the magic for me. So few notes, but every single one is perfect. It’s the music of one of our greatest composers. And yet, as a young musician, Ravel was heavily criticised. A fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire described him as ‘a marked man’. Ravel was considered to be a progressive, and this was not acceptable to the conservatoire’s leadership. Before long, he was expelled.

In this next excerpt we get a sense of Ravel’s progressive ideas. Notice the way the music continually unfolds. We’re wandering without an endpoint. Though there are changes of direction, we never feel that we reach a destination.

[music excerpt]

I love the way the music flows, drifting this way, and then another way, seemingly without a goal. The music feels free, as if improvised by a pianist who delicately searches for each new note. This meandering quality was revolutionary in classical music. And this new compositional style compelled musicians to explore a greater range of sounds on their instruments.

I’m going to replay that same music, but starting several seconds earlier. Listen to its progressive qualities. The music unfolds slowly over time, drifting forwards with no predetermined ending. Also notice the changing sound of the piano. At the beginning, it sounds transparent, almost fragile. As the music continues, the sound increases. It’s a journey from hesitancy to confidence.

[music excerpt]

We follow the path of the music because we don’t know where it’s leading us. We’re intrigued; and we’re captivated by the sounds the pianist creates. Both of these qualities take place within what we call the melody. And in taking a look at melody, we begin a topic that we’ll discuss over several episodes: How Does Music Work?

Briefly, let’s listen again to the opening. You’ll hear the pianist playing a gently rocking waltz.

[music excerpt]

This waltz - 1-2-3, 1-2-3 - continues throughout the opening three minutes of solo piano. It’s played by the pianist’s left hand. On beat 1 we have a low-pitched note; this is the bass line. On beats 2 and 3 we have a cluster of notes, which we call chords. And chords are what give music a ‘full sound’. Together, the bass line and the chords create the gently rocking waltz.

[music excerpt]

Though the waltz is interesting, your attention is likely to go to the high pitched notes, as soon as they enter. These notes are played by the pianist’s right hand, and they are what we call the melody. The melody begins after the two initial waltzes:

[music excerpt]

A melody is a linear series of notes that are heard through time as if connected. If represented visually, a melody would appear as a flowing line which ascends and descends without break, as it progresses left to right through time. A melody is the part in the music that’s most easily singable, and which can be heard distinctly from the bass line and from the clustered groups of notes - the chords. In most scenarios, the bass line is the low-pitched notes, chords use the middle pitches, and the melody is made up of the highest pitches. 

So, this piece encourages us to listen to the flowing path of the melody, which we experience as a journey through the music. Another way of hearing music is to listen to the melody interacting with the bass line and the chords. When heard together, these elements are what we call harmony. And we’ll take a look at this in the next episode.

For now, let’s listen again. In the first couple of seconds the melody climbs upwards. It then arrives at a summit, suspending the listener there for a moment, before drifting back downwards. 

[music excerpt]

And that’s a favourite moment of mine. Following three minutes of solo piano, the pianist’s head rises and turns to the orchestra. The strings move their bows very lightly and a warm blanket of sound reaches out and embraces everyone in the concert hall. The pianist smiles at the flute player, who seamlessly takes over the melody.

Let’s listen again. Hear how carefree and relaxed the flute sounds: our floaty journey through the piece continues.

[music excerpt]

In moments like this, there’s a feeling of pure oneness between the pianist and the orchestra. For the conductor, it presents a problem: it’s easy to get in the way. Disrupting the flow of concentration between the musicians would end the dream-like atmosphere of the performance. Therefore, the conductor’s role must be subtle. When conducting this, my approach is to ensure that the flute player knows they are supported, but that they’re invited to direct the flow of the music during their solo. Gently indicating that I’m not going to involve myself in their moment creates clarity, and it allows the musician to focus fully on their performance. 

When I play this clip a little longer now, you’ll hear three woodwind instruments play solo: flute, then oboe, then clarinet. Ensuring that each of these musicians feels unimpeded by the all-powerful conductor, is essential for making great music.

[music excerpt]

Just as we discussed the brass and percussion sections in previous episodes, today we’ll explore the woodwind section. In the music we’ve just heard, solos were played by three of the four main woodwind instruments: flute, oboe, and clarinet. The fourth main woodwind instrument is the bassoon. Despite the name, not all woodwind instruments are made of wood, and indeed, most flutes are made of metal. But all woodwind instruments have mouthpieces. The player exhales into the mouthpiece which manipulates the flow of air, and as it does so, the sound is created. Woodwind instruments are grouped together for that reason: their sound is created by a mouthpiece which diverts the flow of air as it enters the instrument.

Historically, the woodwind section is made up of pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. Over time, the section has expanded, and for the past century three or even four of each instrument has become common. Also, flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons each have a smaller and a larger variation of the main instrument. Relatively well-known is the piccolo, which is a small, high-pitched flute. Less well-known are instruments such as the English horn, the bass clarinet, and the contra-bassoon. These are larger, lower-pitched, versions of the oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Importantly, these instruments don’t just extend the pitch range of the main instrument, but they have their own unique sound. They’re crucial, regular members of an orchestra. 

Though the saxophone is a well-known woodwind instrument, it’s a relatively rare addition to the orchestra. This is because it’s sound doesn’t blend as well as other woodwind instruments. In fact, not only do flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons have a wonderful ability to blend with each other, their sound is sympathetic with other instruments in the orchestra too. Their ability to blend can act as a glue between the disparate sounds of the string section and the brass section. This is one of the reasons why the woodwind section sits in the centre of an orchestra. They’re surrounded to the back by the curved row of the brass section. And in front and to either side of them is the string section, which we’ll discuss in the next episode.

We’re about to hear something truly special. The melody played by the piano at the beginning of the piece will now be played by the larger, lower-pitched version of the oboe: the English horn. It’s a powerful moment. The piano soloist steps back and accompanies, passing the glorious, long, flowing melody to a lone musician in the orchestra. It’s one of the great orchestral solos.

[music excerpt]

The poetry of this moment isn’t lost on anyone who hears this piece performed live. The limelight moves from the piano - the instrument most associated with virtuosic solo performance - to a single woodwind instrument. It’s incredibly moving: these few minutes are the high point of pure magic in this piece. 

Earlier we heard music that climbed upwards to a summit, before drifting back downwards. Now we’ll hear that same music again, but this time played by the English horn. There’s heartfelt emotion in the slowly unfolding melody; at the same time, the twinkling decorations of the piano give the music a gently playful character. The music smiles.

[music excerpt]

I think this piece becomes even more special when you realise that it was to be the first, and likely, only orchestral piece that Ravel would compose for himself as the soloist. I imagine him playing the piano throughout this section, making every note as perfect as it can be. And we have to imagine! It was one of the last pieces Ravel composed. He never found time to learn the piano part, and instead, for the premiere in 1932, he was the conductor.

Let’s listen to that same music again, this time all the way through until the end of the English horn solo. Imagine the composer playing the piano, accompanying this most captivating of melodies.

[music excerpt]

I find it astonishing how that melody comes to the most natural close, and yet as you heard, the piano finds a path forwards: the music flows onwards. A little while later, the piece itself does conclude, but it’s something I can’t give away here. In order for the piece to reveal the entirety of its magic, you must listen all the way through. The melody will take you on a journey that can transport you to another world.

Thank you for being with me for another episode of A Thousand Pictures. If you have questions or would like to make a suggestion of a piece or topic for a future episode, please get in touch via social media or email feedback@athousandpictures.com. Further information, a link to the recording featured in today’s podcast, and suggestions about what to listen to next can be found at athousandpictures.com. Or subscribe to our email list and you’ll receive this information directly to your inbox.

Today we’ve been listening to the second movement from the ‘Piano Concerto in G’ composed by Maurice Ravel. I recommend the recording by The Cleveland Orchestra, with pianist Krystian Zimerman and conductor Pierre Boulez.

And finally, please subscribe, please rate and review, and please share this podcast with others. Your support is valuable and it’s appreciated: together we can create a community which celebrates classical music! Now go and listen to this wonderful piece, and get out there and hear a performance by your local orchestra!

[music excerpt]