Hyperion Records

Ravel's friend the composer and pianist Alfredo Casella had published a group of six pastiches in 1911 and was planning a second volume, to which he invited Ravel to contribute. The two subjects chosen by Ravel were among his favourite composers. The Borodin pastiche is a waltz that makes characteristic use of chromatic harmonies over ostinato pedals, echoing the ‘Sérénade’ from Borodin’s Petite suite and the scherzo of his Second String Quartet.

from notes by Roger Nichols © 2011