Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer, best known for his orchestral work, Bolero and his famous 1922 orchestral arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
He was born in Ciboure, France (near Biarritz, part of the French Basque region, bordering on Spain). His mother was Basque while his father was a Swiss inventor and industrialist. His parents encouraged his musical pursuits and sent him to the Conservatoire de Paris. During his schooling in Paris Ravel joined with a number of innovative young composers who referred to themselves as the "Apaches" because of their wild abandon. The group was well known for its drunken revelry.
He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris in Paris, under Gabriel Fauré for a remarkable fourteen years. During his years at the conservatory, Ravel tried numerous times to win the prestigious Prix de Rome, but to no avail. After a scandal involving his loss of the prize, even though he was considered the favorite to win that year, Ravel left the conservatory. Ravel was heavily influenced by composer Debussy's impressionist style. Ravel was also highly influenced by music from around the world including American Jazz, Asian music, and traditional folk songs from across Europe. Ravel was not religious and was probably an atheist. He disliked the overtly religious themes of other composers, such as Wagner, and instead preferred to look to classical mythology for inspiration.
Ravel never married, but he did have several long-running relationships. He was also known to frequent the bordellos of Paris.
During the First World War Ravel was not allowed to enlist because of his age and weak health and instead he became an ambulance driver.
In 1932 Ravel was involved in an automobile accident that severely undermined his health. His output dropped dramatically. In 1937 he had an operation that he hoped would restore much of his health, but the operation was a failure and he died soon afterwards.
When American composer George Gershwin met Ravel, he mentioned that he would have liked to study with the French composer if that were possible. The Frenchman retorted, "Why should you be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?"
Stravinsky once referred to Ravel as the "Swiss Watchmaker", a reference to the intricacy and precision of Ravel's works.
Notable compositions
- Jeux d'eau (piano, 1901)
- String Quartet in F major (1903)
- Shéhérazade (ouverture de feerie) ("Scheherazade") (song cycle, 1903)
- Une barque sur l'océan (piano 1905, orchestra 1906)
- Histoires naturelles ("Natural Histories") (song cycle, 1906)
- Rapsodie espagnole ("Spanish Rhapsody") (orchestra, 1907)
- L'Heure espagnole ("The Spanish Hour") (opera, 1907-9)
- Gaspard de la nuit ("Phantom of the Night") (piano, 1908)
- Pavane pour une infante defunte ("Pavane for a Dead Princess") (piano 1899, orchestra 1910)
- Ma mère L'Oye ("Mother Goose") (piano 1908-10, ballet 1911)
- Daphnis et Chloé ("Daphne and Chloé") (ballet, 1909-12)
- Valses nobles et sentimentales ("Noble and Sentimental Waltzes") (piano 1911, orchestra 1912)
- Piano Trio in a minor (1914)
- Alborada del gracioso ("Aubade of the Clown") (piano 1905, orchestra 1918)
- Le Tombeau de Couperin ("The Tomb of Couperin") (piano 1914-17, orchestra 1919)
- La Valse ("choreographic poem," 1906-14 and 1919-20)
- L'Enfant et les sortilèges ("The Child and the Spells") ("lyric fantasy," 1920-25)
- Tzigane (violin and piano, 1924)
- Boléro (ballet, 1928)
- Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Only in D major (1929-30)
- Piano Concerto in G major (1929-31)
- Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (songs, 1932-33)
External links
- Epitonic.com: Maurice Ravel (http://www.epitonic.com/artists/mauriceravel.html) featuring a track from Miroirs and Gaspard De La Nuit
- Piano Society - Ravel (http://www.pianosociety.com/index.php?id=7) - A short biography and various recordings.
- Biography of Maurice Ravel (http://www.classicalarchives.com/bios/codm/ravel_hl2.html?bool=AND&terms=Ravel%20Bolero#label_1)
- http://www.maurice-ravel.net/
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