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Ravel’s Bolero

Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by French composer Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece, which premiered in 1928, is arguably Ravel’s most famous musical composition. It was also one of his last works before illness forced him into retirement.

Boléro is written for a large orchestra. An average performance will last around 15 minutes, with some recordings extending as long as 18 minutes. The original version by Ravel took 17 minutes 6 seconds. It can be done quicker; below you can find a 90-second rendition.

Bolero has been adapted for smaller orchestras, and even solo instruments, by many other artists, and the score has been used in several films, including “10″ (with Bo Derek) and “Les uns et les autres” by Claude Lelouche.

Ravel’s estate still owns copyright on the work, and has on numerous occasions banned “unorthodox” use of Bolero. For example, the estate objected to Frank Zappa’s treatment of Boléro on his 1991 live album The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, and has forced omission of the song from the European release of the album. (The video is shown below.)

Another famous example of using Boléro was when British ice dancers Torvill and Dean skated to Boléro in their gold medal-winning performance at the 1984 Winter Olympics, which is still the only ice dancing performance ever to have received a perfect score from every judge. The piece is so well known in the skating world from this use that it has become a taboo piece of music, since its use usually garners criticism and comparisons to the performance of Torvill and Dean. Their performance is shown below.

Bolero is sometimes jokingly referred to as “the world’s longest crescendo”. Whatever it’s length, it is one of my absolute favorite pieces of music.
Enjoy the selection of Bolero performances below!

Ravel’s Bolero on Wikipedia | Maurice Ravel on Wikipedia

The Orchestral Version, with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conductor Daniel Bahrenboim (1998). Parts 1 (7:08) and 2 (8:19)

The Ballet Version, choreographed by Maurice Bejart. Dancers: Elisabeth Ros et Octavio Stanley. Parts 1 (10:02) and 2 (5:12)

The Weird Version, played by Stringfever: four musicians on a single bright red 5-string electric cello (2:57).

The Mexican Film Version. In El Bolero de Raquel, actor-comedian Mario Moreno Cantinflas makes a mash of Maurice Ravel as he crashes a nightclub stage in this 1957 Mexican comedy about a kind-hearted but mischievous bootblack. The dancer is Elaine Bruce. (6:17)

The Animated Version. A Russian animation film about enriched spirituality by Ivan Maximov (5:29)

The Forbidden Version. Frank Zappa’s “Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life” playing the version the Ravel estate didn’t want you to hear. Live recording 1988 (6:11)

The Olympic Version. Torvill and Deanat at the 1984 Olympics, where they won gold. The quintessential ice dance, the only one to score 6.0 from all judges. (5:30)

The Guitar Version. French guitarist Claude Bourbon, aka The Frog With The Happy Blues plays a mesmerizing stylized version. (10:47)

The Vocal Version. Korean opera singer Kimera performs in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow with The Bolshoi Orchestra and Ballet. (3:43)

The Turbo Version. The Japanese Vanilla Mood ensemble quartet races through Bolero in 1:31.

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