BACKGROUND TO… Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole

The composer’s first major orchestral work to get a public airing, Rapsodie espagnole is one of several pieces in Ravel’s catalogue to romanticise his Spanish heritage. The Spanish flavour of this atmospheric and colourful fourpart work is derived from dance rhythms such as the Malagueña and Habanera, which appear in the second and third movements, the latter based on a two-piano piece Ravel composed in 1895. The final section is all-out fiesta, replete with castanets. The work was premiered in Paris in 1908 and performed at the Proms under Henry Wood in 1909.