Dexter Filkins on Tension, Tenderness, and Ravel

Dexter Filkins is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, former Iraq War correspondent for the New York Times, and author of the bestselling book, “The Forever War.” He’s currently a staff writer for The New Yorker. In this episode, Filkins recalls how Ravel’s music gave him respite during his “nightmare years” covering the war in Iraq. He explains how Ravel, who served as an ambulance driver during World War I, balances suffering and hope in the second movement of his Piano Concerto in G Major. The performance of Ravel’s "Adagio" from his Concerto for Piano in G Major featured on this episode comes from the 1998 Deutsche Grammophon album "Ravel: Piano Concertos; Valses nobles et sentimentales," featuring pianist Krystian Zimerman as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Pierre Boulez.

You can listen to Dexter Filkins on Tension, Tenderness, and Ravel online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Dexter Filkins on Tension, Tenderness, and Ravel is an episode from The Open Ears Project by WQXR & WNYC Studios.

This episode is 00:21:03 long.

This episode was published on Mar 25, 2024.

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