# Who is the better orchestrator: R Strauss or Ravel



## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

Ravel and R strauss. Both geniuses in orchestration. Both great experimenters and both amazing composer. 
But who do you think wins the prize of orchestration.


----------



## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Dear Lord, do we really have to choose? LOL!!

I'll pick Ravel for the following reason: Strauss often in orchestral works packs in too much activity so that some parts get swallowed up and really are not heard well or at all, while Ravel's are more transparent so that all or nearly all parts come through.


----------



## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

Other ...........


----------



## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

Although I'd rather not comment on how each composer chose to orchestrate his own compositions, Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition" has certainly stood the test of time. That isn't to say that Strauss might not have come up with something just as memorable if he'd been inclined to try though.


----------



## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

A tie.

...............


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

jdec said:


> A tie.
> 
> ...............


+ 1 ....................................


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I hear much more magic and variety in Ravel's orchestration. Of course, I much prefer Ravel's music in general to that of R.Strauss, one of my least admired composers. Sure, I _appreciate_ Strauss's skill, even his genius, but I just don't access his music very often for I find it rather dull and same-same, though I wouldn't want to be without his _Elektra_, which may have more to do with my love for Greek tragedy than for the music that supports it. Still, I remain a fan of that opera.

However, whatever orchestration skills Strauss provides, I find he has a "sound" that is rather recognizable from one piece to the next, but not necessarily one that promotes "magic" and "variety", two qualities that seem to ooze from Ravel compositions. Yet, my under-enjoyment of Strauss's music somewhat perplexes me, for I remain a great fan of Mahler, whom I find astoundingly intriguing and never tiring. And Mahler proves a great orchestrator, too.

I greatly prefer Rimsky-Korsakov, a grand orchestrator, to Strauss. I would be harder pressed to choose between Ravel and Rimsky, two composers who, interestingly or coincidentally, wrote music to Scheherazade. Perhaps if Strauss had composed a _Scheherazade_ I would like him better. Still, Rimsky's _Scheherazade_ was written the same year as Strauss's _Don Juan_ and Mahler's First Symphony. I cherish both the _Scheherazade_ and the Mahler, and I can barely stand to listen to _Don Juan_. In fact, recently I cued up a Don Juan disc just because I hadn't accessed it for so long and wanted to see if my opinion about the music had changed. I didn't make it through the entire work; I ended up switching it off the turntable for something more appealing. I just don't _get_ Strauss, I guess. My bad?

So, when the votes are counted, mark me down for Ravel. Though the reason behind my selection is purely irrationally subjective.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

They're both great. Strauss's real skill is shown in the operas. Salome, Elektra, Rosenkavalier are dazzling displays of orchestral wizardry. Ravel is so refined, careful and detailed - not a note too much or too little. An orchestra can perform Strauss and get away with missing instruments, wrong notes, etc. Not so with Ravel. They're so different. Like Sonnet, I don't care for Strauss as a composer very much. Some of the operas I like, but the symphonic poems leave me cold; there's something missing. It makes a great noise, but doesn't move or inspire me. Can't explain it.


----------



## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I like them both, but I prefer Ravel as an orchestrator. He could take not only his own pieces but those of others (including Erik Satie) and make them stand on their own apart from the originals. 

As a sax player, I prefer Ravel also. Though Strauss used a consort of saxophones in his Simphonia Domestica, he uses them cautiously and doubles them with other voices. Ravel had no problem putting them front and center.


----------



## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

Ravel was extremely modest! If asked, Ravel would say Strauss was the better orchestrator, and Strauss would wholly agree! :lol:


----------



## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Unquestionably Strauss!


----------



## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

I prefer Strauss as an orchestrator.


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

I prefer the orchestral music of Ravel, as music, but having heard Strauss' orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden play his orchestral music in concert, I'd have to say Strauss was the better orchestrator: since in all my years of concert going, I've never heard anything like the Staatskapelle Dresden playing the music of Strauss live. It was an unforgettable experience--mind blowing. Only Mahler gets close to using a full orchestra like that.


----------



## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

Hard question: in terms of lush and sumptuous effects, Strauss.
But in terms of sensuality, intimacy and dreamy evocations, would be Ravel.


----------



## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Barbebleu said:


> Unquestionably Strauss!





Lisztian said:


> I prefer Strauss as an orchestrator.


Exactly, though no comparison in musical terms between these two great composers. *Richard Strauss and Hector Berlioz are my favorite orchestrators followed by Anton Bruckner* (he has generally speaking more depth in his music and of course in his orchestra) and *J. Brahms.* _Mahler, William Wallace and Howard Hanson _are also great orchestrators and symphony teachers.


----------



## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Both great -- Strauss took more risks and Ravel was more perfect.

(Less recognized is that Puccini was a great orchestrator, though not as great as the above two.)


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Strauss was tremendously gifted... but self-consciously so, IMO, because it seems to me that he was overly trying to impress the listener with his ability as an orchestrator. On the other hand, Ravel was incredibly gifted as an orchestrator but always seemed to be at the service of the music without drawing undo attention to himself... For sheer musicality alone, the total effects of his abilities, I would offer the grand prize to Ravel though Strauss could be superb when he wasn't trying too hard to impress the audience.


----------



## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I prefer Ravel's orchestration. It's lighter, more transparent, and more "French".

Strauss' orchestration is too heavy ...


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Since it's 2018, and the French team won the world cup, and the Germans weren't near it...Strauss  I like it heavy!


----------

