‘One day I told Ravel how anxious I felt not being sure if I could keep the melody singing in the middle movement in the very slowly flowing phrases. “Flowing phrases!,” Ravel exclaimed. “How I toiled on them – bar after bar! They almost killed me,”’ recalled Marguerite Long, a great pianist and Ravel’s good friend.
Not only had Ravel planned to premiere his Piano Concerto in G major, but also intended to tour the world with the piece. However his deteriorating health and decreasing technical skills made him entrust the premiere to Marguerite to whom the piece was dedicated. Ravel conducted the premiere himself and the work proved a tremendous success. In Wrocław Bertrand Chamayou plays the Ravel masterpiece, so fondly remembered by the audiences of the last Wratislavia Cantans.