Stravinsky, Ravel, Prokofiev: Ballets

Against the backdrop of it's decors, ballet offers itself up as a spectacle, arousing admiration and enchantment. In the early twentieth century, from the Palais Garnier to the Bolshoi, from the Châtelet to the Mariinsky, the shimmering colors of the orchestra were often combined with the innovative choreography of the Ballets Russes. The music to which these ballets were danced, assigned to illustrious composers, could hardly be for piano, which was tolerated only to accompany the dancers in their rehearsal studios. But is that really the case? If so, then why are there so many piano versions made by the composers themselves, alongside the orchestral ones? Jean- Baptiste Fonlupt answers that question here with dazzling imagination and virtuosity.