Thanks to John for his review of Ravel's "L'Enfant ..."

>Summary from the busy non-executive--whatever recording you choose, do NOT
>pass through this world without getting to know L'Enfant.  If this work
>doesn't move you--from the child's first sight of the princess, (one of the
>greatest moments in all of music), to the forest scene and on to the final
>choral apotheosis--than *you* are an iceberg.

My query is: Are we suppose to know what the composer's intention are in
works like "A Soldier's Tale" (Stravinsky) or "L'Enfant" (Ravel), i.e., to
intepret the works in a similar story line as the composer?

Furthermore, can we or should we guess what the works are all about without
knowing initially what the composers intended?

It's different for opera because you have the lyrics but what about
ballets? Do we need to get the background info before listening to any
of the composers' works?

Cheers
Kar Ming