In the preface, Monnard illuminates Ravel's sound aesthetic against the background of concert reception and historical recordings. In addition, the editor offers insights into Ravel's ideas about tempo: "I must confess that Bolero is rarely conducted as I believe it should be. Mengelberg speeds up and slows down excessively. Toscanini conducts it twice faster than it should be and widens the tempo at the end, which is not written anywhere. No: the Bolero must be played in a single tempo from beginning to end, in the plaintive and monotonous style of the Arabic-Spanish melodies."
The performance material for Ravel's Bolero is available for purchase in its entirety for the first time with the publication of this new edition.

"Moreover, musical practice is once again treated to a razor-sharp score that leaves nothing to be desired. More than just a supplement is the preface written by Jean-François Monnard." (Michael Kube, Schweizer Musikzeitung)

"The editor also consults handwritten sources - and that is what is really interesting. Thus he is able to correct errors and inconsistencies of the Durand editions and, in addition, to document, for example, early stages of the compositional process." (Andreas Friesenhagen, FonoForum)