A collection of prose poems by the French Romantic Aloysius Bertrand inspired Ravel to write his piano cycle “Gaspard de la nuit”. Unlike earlier works he does not merely create an atmospheric depiction of the literary model – in a fascinating manner he recounts the eerie-grotesque scenes using musical means.

His “three romantic poems of transcendental virtuosity” were supposed to surpass the technical refinement of Balakirev’s “Islamey” (HN 793), which was considered unplayable at the time. ...