Keeping the rhythm for twenty or so minutes in Ravel's Boléro can be an arduous and excruciatingly tedious task for the orchestra's unsung hero: the drummer.
To some, Ravel's Boléro is considered to be an exquisite piece of music, while on the other hand, to others, it is nothing more than an excruciatingly tedious musical ordeal. Nevertheless, has anyone ever spared a moment to contemplate on the arduous task of keeping the rhythm for twenty or so minutes the orchestra's unsung hero, the Boléro drummer, has to endure?—Nick Riganas
Probably no one in the public listening to the orchestra's rendition of Ravel's Bolero notices him but the drummer is a regular hero. For, although his mind is assailed by loads of unsettling thoughts and worries, he tries to keep the rhythm at any cost. He knows all too well that he falls out of time only once all the magic of the piece will vanish. Will the drummer hold on till the end...?—Guy Bellinger