Bolero for Organ

There are very few people who aren’t familiar with the Bolero by Maurice Ravel – it is a classic highlight, an unparalelled orchestral gem. Created as ballet music for the dancer Ida Rubinstein in 1928, it quickly became popular throughout the world, even if the French composer could not understand its success: ‘I have written but one masterpiece: the Bolero. Unfortunately, it does not contain any music’, he said to fellow composer Arthur Honegger. To transfer the variations on the steady bolero rhythm with its at least fifteen-minute crescendo to an instrument like the organ is a fascinating, yet delicate task. Klaus Uwe Ludwig tried this experiment and now presents a pleasing arrangement of the Bolero: a convincing and melodious realisation for the ‘queen of instruments’ – a brilliant sound experience for every church or concert hall.