Why is Bolero so popular?

Everyone knows it. All musicians (some probably just avoid mass shaming and ridicule) claim they hate it. The composer who wrote it is widely known to dislike the piece. But audiences? Audiences love Bolero. I’m not talking about that polite, “small-talk” usage of the word love - “Oh, don’t you just love the way that Adam Driver looks in that new Star Wars?” - I’m talking about the way loud, belligerent football fans will use it to talk about their favorite players on the field - “YES! I LOVE J.T. Barrett and we should totally be best friends, toss the pigskin around, talk about politics, and eventually we’ll move in together.” People freakin’ LOVE Bolero.

A brief history of Bolero: It first came about as a request for Ravel to orchestrate some piano pieces for a ballet production. Ravel decided instead to write a brand new piece instead, and Bolero was premiered in 1928 at the Paris Opera with a small ballet staged to the piece. Initially, Ravel did not expect Bolero to be played often; he thought the piece was not worth much and good orchestras would not spend their time on it. Fast forward a couple years, Bolero has already been recorded a number of times. Toscanini gives the American premiere with the New York Philharmonic to raucous applause, pushing Bolero into the classical mainstream. Fast forward to modern day, and Bolero is one of the most well-known classical compositions today. Burger King even used Bolero in a commercial of theirs*, which might be one of the greatest crowning achievements a composer can have on their resume. You finally made it, Maurice. Even the King digs your stuff.

So why is this piece so beloved by classical audiences? If I were to do Bolero a complete injustice and reduce it down to one sentence, it would be this one: Bolero is the same melody 18 times, played over one rhythm that sometimes gets asked on percussion auditions**.

As I was mulling this over, I randomly thought about something I heard on a comedy podcast. Whoever was speaking at the time was talking about Dave Chappelle - in my opinion, the greatest comedian alive today - and why he is so good at what he does. The quote I remember most: “there’s no fat in his jokes. Every word is necessary and contributes to the entirety of the bit.”

And that’s kind of the way I feel about Bolero. The whole piece is basically one long crescendo to the end. Classical music, or at least symphonic music, lives in the dramatic. Consider Mahler, Beethoven, Strauss, Stravinsky.. their pieces we remember the most have that energy and the drama that I often associate with those unpredictable teenage years. (e.g. the opening of Rite of Spring - “Becky and I are best friends. Becky said what? Becky is DEAD TO ME! Cindy and I are best friends.”)

Ravel pulled off what we love in classical music - the build, tension, release - with no fat. And he didn’t even do it on purpose! I think part of the reason musicians hate it is because we come from playing the Mahlers, the Stravinskys, all those pieces with flashy twists and turns that are so satisfying and so much fun to play. But Bolero? No flash, nothing extra. As musicians, we hate how effective this piece is compared to some of the more “extra” pieces in the repertoire.

Bolero is like the Tim Duncan of classical music. Crossovers? Nah. Highlight-reel dunks that get replayed on ESPN for the next week? Nope. Boxing out for rebounds, subtle but effective help defense, and consistent buckets off the backboard all while making a dopey face that makes it looks like he could accidentally fall asleep at any moment? All day.

But also shout-out to Ravel - dude accepts a commission to write music for a ballet and he has the absolute confidence in himself to give them a piece that is literally one melody 18 times?! Accidentally creates one of the most popular compositions ever??? Endorsed and used by THE Burger King himself?

At the end of the day, the game is, and always will be about buckets. Bolero gets buckets. It’s repetitive, but within the repetition are some really beautiful moments and colors that my man Maurice gets out of the orchestra. Using the backboard never looks as good as a clean swish, but it’s still two points. It gets the job done, and if you let it, can be a very satisfying journey to the end. I don’t want to play Bolero every weekend, but every now and then I’ll get into it.

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*The first time I saw that Burger King commercial, it confused me to the point that I think about it at least once a month to this day.

**To the people putting these audition lists together, I ask: Why.