Kenneth Hesketh talks about Ravel and his orchestrations of the Sonatine and Les Sites auriculaires

Composer Kenneth Hesketh orchestrated Ravel's Sites Auriculaires and Sonatine for the RAVEL EDITION. Ahead of the world premiere of his orchestration of the Sonatine by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, he talks to us about his relationship with Ravel, Ravel's place in the UK and the art of Ravelian orchestration. This interview was filmed at the Royal College of Music in London. 0:00 Introduction 0:24 What does Ravel represent to you? 1:13 What was your first encounter with Ravel’s music? 2:57 Has Ravel influenced you in your artistic journey as a composer? 5:17 Berlioz, another influential French composer, is very popular in the United Kingdom, and many leading performers of Berlioz’s works are English. However, we associate Ravel a lot less with England. What links are there between Ravel and England? 7:55 You orchestrated Ravel’s Sonatine and Sites auriculaires. What is it that interests you about orchestration? 11:44 Another question regarding the nature of orchestration, this one slightly more provocative perhaps: do we have the right to orchestrate something that Ravel never did himself? Are there any limits to orchestration? 16:22 How do you find the right instrumental tone, staying true to Ravel’s musical aesthetic, whilst introducing your own individuality as a modern composer? 18:48 How do you choose what instruments to use in your orchestrations? 21:20 Can you tell us about how the idea to orchestrate Ravel’s Sites auriculaires came about? 22:32 Sites auriculaires is an incredible score with extraordinary sound qualities, particularly in the “Entre cloches” movement. What challenges does orchestrating a score like this present? 26:19 The first movement, Habanera, was orchestrated by Ravel and used in Rapsodie espagnole. How do you move away from this kind of “template”? What choices did you make? 28:57 You could say that Ravel’s Sonatine is the opposite in terms of tone and spirit. What motivated you to orchestrate this score? 🎼 RAVEL EDITION — Éditions critiques révisées des œuvres de Maurice Ravel Publiée par XXI Music Publishing (Belgique) 🌐 Site : https://www.raveledition.com 📧 Partitions & matériels d'orchestre : [email protected] Suivez-nous : → Instagram :   / raveledition   → Facebook :   / ravel-edition-101519387959000   → LinkedIn :   / pierre-jean-t-781a9316   #MauriceRavel #RavelEdition #MusiqueClassique #Musicologie #Manuscrit #Partition