Ravel the elusive

At once a craftsman whose perfection was compared to that of a Swiss watchmaker (his father was of Helvetian descent) and a mischievous child, surrounded by his home and refuge Le Belvédère of a multitude of improbable and often fake trinkets (mystifying visitors, all the objects in his "Japanese salon" were counterfeits), and automata that brought him great joy, Ravel, all about the marvelous sublimated games of composition and orchestration, took malicious pleasure in multiplying constraints, which, far from restricting his inventiveness, forced him to explore new avenues. Facing obstacles with unshakeable determination, this veritable prestidigitator tightened his writing and emerged victorious from this deliberate asceticism. Seeking his inspiration in the fairytale, in the sounds and atmospheres of Spain or the Orient, he refinedly pastiches, for example in l'Enfant et les Sortilègeshe possesses a rare ability to amaze, as in the abundant Daybreak ballet Daphnis and Chloéand to worry, as Le Gibet from Gaspard de la Nuit. In 34 concise, easy-to-read chapters, Karol Beffa recounts various facets of the life, work and highly discreet personality of the man whose 150th birthday the musical world is celebrating this year.^e anniversary of the composer's birth. He adds personal recollections of the works, describing them briefly and to the point, showing how Ravel influenced him as a performer, composer and transmitter of music. This accessible work succeeds in bringing us closer to the elusive author of the MirrorsHe's a shy, hypersensitive man, and makes us love him even more.

Karol Beffa: En avant la musique! Maurice Ravel, 208 p., € 14.00, Editions des Equateurs, Paris 2025, ISBN 9782382848029

Pocket monographs

In just a few years, the Presto collection published by Infolio in the canton of Vaud has already been enriched by some fifty short monographs in pocket format - invitations to get to know or discover Swiss personalities from the recent or more distant past, writers, visual artists, philosophers, historical notabilities and, of course, musicians. The sixty-odd pages of each opuscule are enhanced by an attractive iconography.

The composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, who died 75 years ago, is evoked by James Lyon. Identifying various decisive influences on the creator of the eponymous rhythm, such as his dual theatrical and musical training, his Viennese youth and studies in Austria and France, his short-lived position as conductor in Algiers, which enabled him to hear Arab music and its rhythms, or his meeting with the precursor Mathis Lussy, the author traces the gradual development of the Dalcrozian pedagogical method, its revolutionary implementation in Hellerau, Germany, before the First World War put an end to it, and the founding of the Institute that bears his name. Thanks to his indefatigable vitality, the Genevan tirelessly worked to unite body and mind through and for music, inspiring composers, choreographers and dancers the world over.

Russian-born pianist Nikita Magaloff spent most of his life on the shores of Lake Geneva. Jean-François Monnard recounts his childhood, during which he became acquainted with Prokofiev and Rachmaninov; his piano education, especially with Isidor Philipp, whose pearl-like playing he retained; and his early concerts, during which he accompanied the famous violinist Joseph Szigeti. We'll learn about the stages of his career, the contours of his vast repertoire, the characteristics of his playing, the importance of his activities as an attentive and tolerant teacher, and his humanist vision of art and its transmission.

James Lyon :Jaques-Dalcroze - Le chantre de la joie, 64 p., Fr. 12.00, Collection Presto, Infolio, Gollion 2024, ISBN 978-2-88968-149-5

Jean-François Monnard: Magaloff - Prince des pianistes, 64 p., Fr. 12.00, Collection Presto, Infolio, Gollion 2023, ISBN 978-2-88968-088-7