As far back as 1906 Ravel imagined a piece that would be 'the apotheosis of the waltz' in tribute to Johann Strauss II.
Maurice Ravel on the balcony of his house in Montfort l'Amaury Photo: Wikimedia Commons
'Dance in the City' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Photo: Public Domain
It was the impresario Diaghilev who made Ravel focus on it at last, by asking for a piece for his Ballets Russes.
Ravel had suffered during the war years. His dangerous service as an ambulance driver on the Verdun front left his health in a precarious state, and he lost his mother in 1917.
'La Valse', when he finally came to compose it, is written for a ballroom balanced on the edge of an abyss.
The rhythmic pulse for the waltz rises out of the depths like a disturbed heartbeat. The sense of unease grows, with stabbing notes on the horns and uncomfortable shivers in the low strings. When the melody fully emerges it is a ghostly, fairy-tale waltz.
With careful listening, a recurring intrusion of the orchestra's deepest instruments can be heard, rumbling like distant artillery.
Recorded 9 September 2017, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Graham Kennedy
