Tzigane for Violin and Piano

Description

Virtuoso piece in the style of a Hungarian Rhapsody – thus reads Ravel’s entry on Tzigane in the so-called Autobiographical Sketch. Composed in 1924, there are three versions of this work: with piano, with orchestra and with luthéal, a device for keyboard instruments to extend the timbre. Tzigane was inspired by the Hungarian-English violinist Jelly d’Aranyl, to whom Ravel had already promised a virtuoso piece in 1922 following Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies. Work progressed slowly and d’Aranyl only received the music four days before the première – but she still gave a brilliant performance.