ABSTRACT
On the outskirts of Paris in 2005, the Lycee Florent Schmitt was renamed in honor of Alexandre Dumas after a ten-year controversy, begun by an investigation of Schmitt's musical associations with Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Ravel's music is admittedly difficult to analyze and does not reveal itself easily. On the surface it may even appear that Ravel is using traditional forms, but, as in Debussy's music, the proportional element uncovers patterns that are more complex and intricate. Perlemuter's suggestions create a break in the patterning, one left unresolved until the end of bar 29. Assuming that the underlying pulse is felt in three, and not in two, and if performers lead with the left hand, the first four bars are naturally felt as two two-bar phrases. For a "Golden Section (GS) performance", thinking orchestrally offers creative possibilities that can highlight important divisions of the structure without using rubato.
