Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is one of the pieces on Sean Chen’s program for his September 9, 2017 performance at Steinway Society – The Bay Area. Below the clip is a note about the music from Steinway Society board member, Donald Wright. The video is a clip of Sean at Gilmore Keyboard Festival’s 2016-17 Rising Stars series.
Ravel dedicated each of the six pieces in Tombeau de Couperin to someone he knew who fell during World War I.
He was influenced in writing this suite by the French “clavecinistes”–the harpsichord composers of the 17th and 18th centuries, many of whom wrote “tombeaus” (literally “tombstones”), pieces dedicated to the memory of notable persons who had died. Such pieces usually have a sad and nostalgic feel, which Ravel–and Sean Chen–capture beautifully here.
