Canon
Where to start with Roussel
Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles-
OrchestralSymphony no. 3 in G minor, op. 42
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StageBacchus et Ariane, op. 43 — Ballet
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Keyboard3 Pieces, op. 49
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ChamberA Glorious Day, op. 48
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VocalCoeur en Péril
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OrchestralSuite in F major, op. 33
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OrchestralSymphony no. 4 in A major, op. 53
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StageAeneas, op. 54 — Ballet
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ChamberAndante and scherzo, for flute and piano, op. 51
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ChamberAria no. 2, for oboe and piano
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OrchestralBacchus et Ariane Suites
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OrchestralBacchus et Ariane, Suite no. 2, op. 43
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OrchestralConcerto for Small Orchestra, op. 34
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KeyboardConte a la poupee, for piano
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ChamberDivertissement for piano and wind quintet, op. 6
Listening guide
Hand-curated paths into Roussel's catalogueMost Popular
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Symphony No. 3 in G minor
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Bacchus et Ariane (ballet suite)
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Piano Suite Op. 14
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Padmâvatî (opera-ballet)
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Évocations (orchestral trilogy)
Most Acclaimed
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Symphony No. 3
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Évocations
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Concerto for Small Orchestra
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String Quartet in D major
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Divertissement for piano and wind quintet
Most Weird
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Le Festin de l’araignée (Spider’s Feast)ballet — a spider, a butterfly, insects; the spider catches them in her web; she is then killed; 1913
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Évocationsthree symphonic poems about India — written after Roussel served in the French navy and sailed to Pondicherry; actual Indian music influenced the harmonics
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Piano Suite Op. 14proto-Bartók in places — the most modernist thing he wrote for piano
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Padmâvatîopera-ballet set in 13th-century India — Jauhar (mass immolation) ending
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Sinfonietta for string orchestrahis most compressed large-scale work
Similar composers
Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinityWorks 45
- Orchestral
- ● Symphony no. 3 in G minor, op. 42
- Suite in F major, op. 33
- Symphony no. 4 in A major, op. 53
- Bacchus et Ariane Suites
- Bacchus et Ariane, Suite no. 2, op. 43
- Concerto for Small Orchestra, op. 34
- Le Marchand de sable qui passe, incidental music, op. 13
- Padmavati Suite no. 1
- Padmavati Suite no. 2
- Petite suite, op. 39
- Piano Concerto in G major, op. 36
- Pour une Fête de printemps, symphonic poem, op. 22
- Rapsodie flamande, symphonic poem, op. 56
- Sinfonietta, for strings, op. 52
- Symphony no. 1 in D minor, op. 7, "Le poème de la forêt"
- Symphony no. 2 in B flat major, op. 23
- Stage
- Bacchus et Ariane, op. 43 — Ballet
- Aeneas, op. 54 — Ballet
- Le Festin de l'araignée, op. 17 — Ballet
- Keyboard
- 3 Pieces, op. 49
- Conte a la poupee, for piano
- Doute, for piano
- L' Accueil des muses, for piano, "Tombeau de Claude Debussy"
- Petit canon perpetuel, for piano
- Piano Sonatine, op. 16
- Prelude and Fugue, op. 46
- Chamber
- A Glorious Day, op. 48
- Andante and scherzo, for flute and piano, op. 51
- Aria no. 2, for oboe and piano
- Divertissement for piano and wind quintet, op. 6
- Duo for Bassoon and Double Bass
- Fanfare pour un sacre païen, for 4 trumpets and 3 drums
- Impromptu for harp, op. 21
- Joueurs de flûte, for flute and piano, op. 27
- Pipe, for piccolo and piano in D
- Ségovia, for guitar, op. 29
- Sérénade, for flute, violin, viola, cello, and harp, op. 30
- Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello, op. 40
- Vocal
- Coeur en Péril
- Jazz dans la Nuit
- Le Bachelier de Salamanque
- Le Bardit des Francs, for male chorus, brass and ad lib. percussion, "Pharamond"
- Poems by Ronsard, for voice and flute, op. 26
- Psalm 80, for tenor, chorus and orchestra, op. 37
- Vocalise no. 2, for voice and piano