Â鶹Éç

Ravel's title is the standard French word for ‘Gypsy’, but the piece has Eastern European, Jewish and even at times Scottish music influences.

The soloist, whom the composition casts as a formidable, even fearsome presence, appears to have the world at his or her fingertips. It is this soloist who begins with a cadenza that, after a minute or so, introduces the principal theme, which is then varied and developed, soon with kaleidoscopic intervention and support from the orchestra.