Ravel in Vancouver

Ravel travelled up from Seattle for his first venture into Canada, to give a recital in Vancouver on 14 February 1928. 

He was joined by the soprano Lisa Roma, and the performance took place in the New Auditorium (on the corner of Denman Street and Georgia Street), a large theatre with unsympathetic acoustics. Their reception was a cool one, neither performer having a virtuoso style, and many in the audience were disappointed. According to the reminiscences of the composer Jean Coulthard, after the first couple of pieces many of the audience started to leave, and by the end of the recital there were fewer than 50 people remaining. (Potvin [1988] p.152-154).

The local newspapers had published articles in advance of the recital to promote the event, and in their reviews the critics tried to make the best of the disappointment by contrasting Ravel’s qualities as a performer with those of the composer: only the latter was great. (Vancouver Daily Province, 12 & 15 February 1928; Vancouver Sun, 11 & 15 February 1928 – as quoted in Potvin [1988] p.152-154).

Ravel’s visit to Vancouver was necessarily brief. On the following day he was due in Portland, Oregon, for his next recital, which proved to be rather more successful.