Maurice Ravel.

Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a Basque French composer and pianist of Impressionist and Expressionist music, known especially for the subtlety, richness and poignancy of his melodies and of his orchestral and instrumental textures and effects. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra The impressionist movement in music was a movement in European Classical music, mainly in France that began in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle Expressionism as a musical genre is notoriously difficult to exactly define His piano music, chamber music, vocal music and orchestral music have become staples of the concert repertoire. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber Vocal music is Music performed by one or more Singers with or without non-vocal instrumental accompaniment An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well

Ravel's piano compositions, such as Jeux d'eau, Miroirs and Gaspard de la Nuit, demand considerable virtuosity from the performer, and his orchestral music, including Daphnis et Chloé and his arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, uses tonal color and variety of sound and instrumentation very effectively. Jeux d’eau is a piece for solo Piano by the French Impressionistic Composer, Maurice Ravel. Miroirs ("Mirrors" is a solo Piano work by Maurice Ravel written from 1904&ndash1905 Gaspard de la Nuit Trois Poèmes pour Piano d'apres Aloysius Bertrand is a piece for solo Piano by Maurice Ravel. A virtuoso (from Italian virtuoso, late Latin virtuosus, Latin virtus meaning skill manliness excellence is an individual An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Daphnis et Chloé is a Ballet with music by Maurice Ravel. Ravel described it as a "symphonie choréographique" (choreographic symphony Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) ( March 21 March 9 1839 &ndash March Pictures at an Exhibition (Картинки с выставки &ndash Воспоминание о Викторе Гартмане Kartinki s vystavki &ndash Vospominaniye In Music, the word instrumentation is used to refer to the particular combination of Musical instruments employed in a composition and to the properties

To the general public, Ravel is probably best known for his orchestral work, Boléro, which he considered trivial and once described as "a piece for orchestra without music. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's "^[1]

According to SACEM, Ravel's estate earns more royalties than that of any other French musician. Société des auteurs compositeurs et éditeurs de musique ( SACEM) is a French Professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and Royalties (sometimes running royalties) are usage-based payments made by one party (the "licensee" to another (the "licensor" for ongoing use of an According to international copyright law, Ravel's works are public domain since January 1, 2008 in most countries, even though it has been stated that they will not enter the public domain until 2015. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[2]

Biography

Early life

Ravel was born in Ciboure, France, near Biarritz. Ciboure ( Basque: Ziburu, meaning 'end of bridge' is a commune of France, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département, across This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Biarritz ( French: Biarritz, bjaˈʀits Gascon Occitan: Biàrritz; Basque: Biarritz or Miarritze is a town His mother, Marie Delouart, was French, while his father, Joseph Ravel, was a Swiss inventor and industrialist. Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in Some of the father's inventions were quite important, including an early internal-combustion engine and a notorious circus machine, the "Whirlwind of Death," an automotive loop-the-loop that was quite a hit in the early 1900s. The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a After the family moved to Paris, Ravel's younger brother Édouard was born. At age seven, young Maurice began piano lessons and, five or six years later, began composing. His parents encouraged his musical pursuits and sent him to the Conservatoire de Paris, first as a preparatory student and eventually as a piano major. The Conservatoire de Paris is an institution of higher education that has played an important role in the development of Music in France and Western Europe During the first few years of the 1900s, Ravel joined with a number of innovative young artists who were referred to as the "Apaches" (hooligans). Les Apaches or ( Société des Apaches) was a group of French musicians writers and artists which formed around 1900

He studied composition at the Conservatoire under Gabriel Fauré for a remarkable fourteen years. Gabriel Urbain Fauré ( 12 May 1845 &ndash 4 November 1924) was a French Composer, Organist, Pianist During his years at the Conservatoire, Ravel tried numerous times to win the prestigious Prix de Rome, but to no avail. This article concerns the French government prize For similarly named prizes aimed at other countries' nationals see Prix de Rome (disambiguation. After a scandal involving his loss of the prize in 1905 (to Victor Gallois — Ravel had been considered the favorite to win), Ravel left the Conservatoire. The incident —named the "Ravel Affair" by the Parisian press — also led to the resignation of the Conservatoire's director, Théodore Dubois. François-Clément Théodore Dubois (August 24 1837 &ndash June 11 1924 was a French Composer, Organist and Music teacher

Work with Diaghilev

Ravel later worked with impresario Sergei Diaghilev who staged Ma Mère l'Oye and Daphnis et Chloé. Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев / Sergei Pavlovich Dyagilev) also referred to as Serge, ( March 31, Daphnis et Chloé is a Ballet with music by Maurice Ravel. Ravel described it as a "symphonie choréographique" (choreographic symphony The latter was commissioned by Diaghilev with the lead danced by the great Vaslav Nijinsky. Nijinsky redirects here For other uses of the name see Nijinsky (disambiguation. In 1920, the French government awarded him the Légion d'honneur, but Ravel refused. Soon, he retired to the French countryside where he continued to write music, albeit less prolifically.

Diaghilev commissioned Ravel to write La Valse (1920), originally named Wien (Vienna), and Ravel was hurt by the fact that Diaghilev never used the composition. La Valse, un poème choréographique (a choreographic poem is an orchestral work written by Maurice Ravel from February 1919 until 1920 and premiered When the two men met again in 1925, Ravel refused to shake Diaghilev's hand, and Diaghilev challenged Ravel to a duel (friends talked Diaghilev out of it). As practiced from the 11th to 20th centuries in Western societies a duel is an engagement in combat between two individuals with matched weapons in accordance with their combat The men never met again. ^[3]

In 1928, Ravel made a concert tour in America. In New York City, he received a moving standing ovation which he remarked was unlike any of his underwhelming premieres in Paris. The City of New York He traveled as far west as San Francisco, where he conducted a concert of his orchestral music. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city That same year, Oxford University awarded him an honorary doctorate. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the He also met George Gershwin and the two became friends. George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. Ravel's admiration of American jazz led him to include some jazz elements in a few of his later compositions, especially the two piano concertos. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States

Ravel is not known to have had any intimate relationships. Many of his friends have suggested that Ravel was known to frequent the bordellos of Paris, but the issue of his sexuality remains largely a mystery. For the 2008 film of this name see The Brothel. For the television series of this name see Cathouse The Series. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Rumors have surfaced from time to time that Ravel was homosexual, possibly because of his association with Diaghilev. No factual (or reliably anecdotal) evidence has ever been found to substantiate this rumor. Ravel made a remark at one time suggesting that because he was such a perfectionist composer, so devoted to his work, that he could never have a lasting intimate relationship with anyone.

Although he considered his small stature and light weight an advantage to becoming an aviator, during the First World War Ravel was not allowed to enlist as a pilot because of his age and weak health. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Instead, upon his enlistment, he became a truck driver. He named his truck "Adelaide". Most references to what he drove in the war indicate it was an artillery truck or generic truck. No primary source mentions him driving an ambulance. Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines In Historiography, a primary source (also called original source) is a Document, Recording

His few students included Maurice Delage, Manuel Rosenthal, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Vlado Perlemuter. Maurice Delage (1879&ndash1961 was a French Composer and Pianist. Manuel Rosenthal (born June 18, 1904, Paris, France; died June 5, 2003, Paris was a French Composer Ralph (reɪf Vaughan Williams OM (12 October 1872 &ndash 26 August 1958 was an English Composer of symphonies, Chamber music Vlado Perlemuter ( May 26, 1904 &ndash September 4, 2002) was a French pianist from a Polish Jewish family born in

Ravel made one of his few recordings when he conducted his Boléro with the Lamoureux Orchestra in 1930. Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's The Orchestre Lamoureux (officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once He also made a number of recordings of his piano music. Ravel reportedly conducted a group of Parisian musicians following the world premiere of his second piano concerto, the Concerto in G, with Marguerite Long, who had been the soloist in the premiere. Marguerite Long ( November 13, 1874 - February 13, 1966) was a French pianist EMI later reissued the 1932 recording on LP and CD. Although Ravel was listed as the conductor on the original 78-rpm discs, this is now disputed and it is possible he merely supervised the recording.

Illness and death

In 1932 Ravel sustained a blow to the head in a taxi accident. The injury was considered minor, but soon thereafter he began to complain of aphasia-like symptoms similar to Pick's disease. Pick’s disease, also known as Pick disease and PiD, is a rare Neurodegenerative disease. He had begun work on music for a film version of Don Quixote (1933) featuring the Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin and directed by G. W. Pabst. Adventures of Don Quixote (1933 is a film adaptation of the classic Miguel de Cervantes novel directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, starring the famous Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( Russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin; &ndash April 12, 1938) Georg Wilhelm Pabst ( August 25, 1885 - May 29, 1967) was an Austrian Film director. When Ravel became unable to compose, and could not write down the musical ideas he heard in his mind, Pabst hired Jacques Ibert. Jacques François Antoine Ibert ( August 15, 1890 &ndash February 5, 1962) was a French Composer of classical On 8 April 2008, the New York Times published an article saying Ravel may have been in the early stages of frontotemporal dementia in 1928, and this might account for the repetitive nature of Boléro. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Frontotemporal dementia (FTD is a clinical Syndrome caused by degeneration of the Frontal lobe of the Brain and may extend back to the Temporal lobe Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's ^[4] This is in line with an earlier article, published in a journal of neurology, that closely examines Ravel's clinical history and argues that his works Boléro and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand both indicate the impacts of neurological disease. Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major ( Concerto pour la main gauche en ré majeur) was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930 ^[5]

In late 1937 Ravel consented to experimental brain surgery. One hemisphere of his brain was re-inflated with serous fluid. In Physiology, the term serous fluid is used for various Bodily fluids that are typically pale yellow and transparent and of a Benign nature He awoke from the surgery, called for his brother Edouard, lapsed into a coma and died shortly afterwards. In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep is a profound state of Unconsciousness. He is buried in Levallois-Perret, a suburb of northwest Paris. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California.

Ravel at the piano, accompanied by Canadian singer Éva Gauthier, during his American tour, March 7, 1928. Éva Gauthier (September 20 1885 &ndash December 20 1958 was a Canadian Mezzo-soprano and voice teacher At far right is George Gershwin. George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. ^[6]

Musical style

Ravel considered himself in many ways a classicist. For the works or study of works from classical antiquity see Classics Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to He relied on traditional forms and structures as ways of presenting his new and innovative harmonies. In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. He often masked the sections of his structure with transitions that disguised the beginnings of the motif. This is apparent in his Valses nobles et sentimentales — inspired by Franz Schubert's collections, Valses nobles and Valses sentimentales — where the seven movements begin and end without pause, and in his chamber music where many movements are in sonata-allegro form, hiding the change from developmental sections to recapitulation. Sonata form is a Musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period.

Though Ravel's music has tonal centers, it was innovative for the time period. In keeping with the French school pioneered by Chabrier, Satie, and Debussy (to name a few), Ravel's melodies are almost exclusively modal. ( Alexis-) Emmanuel Chabrier ( January 18, 1841 – September 13, 1894) was a French Romantic Composer Alfred Éric Leslie Satie ( Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a French Composer and Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. In Music, a scale is an ordered series of Musical intervals which along with the key or tonic, define the pitches However mode Instead of using major or minor for his predominant harmonic language, he preferred modes with major or minor flavors – for example the Mixolydian, with its lowered leading tone, instead of major, and the Aeolian instead of harmonic minor. The Mixolydian mode is a Musical mode or Diatonic scale. It has the same series of tones and semitones as the Major scale, except The Aeolian mode is a Musical mode or Diatonic scale. An Aeolian mode formed part of the Music theory of Ancient Greece, based around As a result, there are virtually no leading tones in his output. In Music theory, a leading-tone (called the leading- note outside the US is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" Melodically, he tended to favor two modes: the Dorian and the Phrygian. Due to historical confusion Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to two very different Musical modes or Diatonic scales Greek The Phrygian mode can refer to two different Musical modes or Diatonic scales the ancient Greek Phrygian mode and the Mediaeval Phrygian mode He was in no way dependent on the modes exclusively; he used extended harmonies and intricate modulations outside the realm of traditional modal practices. Ravel was fond of chords of the ninth and eleventh, and the acidity of his harmonies is largely the result of a fondness for unresolved appoggiaturas (listen to the Valses nobles et sentimentales). In Music, ornaments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody (or harmony but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" His piano music, some of which is noted for its technical challenges (for example Gaspard de la nuit), was an extension of Lisztian virtuosity. Even his most difficult pieces, however, are marked by elegance and refinement. He was inspired by various dances, his favorite being the minuet. A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a Social dance of French origin for two persons usually in 3/4 time. Other forms from which Ravel drew material include the forlane, rigaudon, waltz, czardas, habanera, passacaglia, and the boléro. The forlane (from Italian furlana) a traditional Dance with a rapid rhythm originated in Friuli. The rigaudon (also rigadoon) is a French Baroque dance with a lively Duple metre. A waltz, or valse from the German term is a piece of music in triple meter most often 3/4 but sometimes 3/8 or 6/8 Csárdás (ˈt͡ʃaːrdaːʃ " char -dash" is a traditional Hungarian Folk dance. The habanera is a musical style or genre from Cuba with a characteristic "Habanera rhythm" it is one of the oldest mainstays of Cuban music and the first A passacaglia is a short usually slow and often grave musical work in any metre Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's

Ravel has almost always been considered one of the two great French impressionist composers, the other being Debussy. The impressionist movement in music was a movement in European Classical music, mainly in France that began in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle In reality Ravel is much more than an Impressionist (it is worth noting that both Ravel and Debussy rejected this description of their styles). For example, he made extensive use of rollicking jazz tunes in his Piano Concerto in G, even employing a whiplash for special effects in the first and second movements. Maurice Ravel 's Piano Concerto in G major was composed in the period of 1929&ndash1931 Ravel also imitates Pablo de Sarasate's late-Romantic virtuoso style in Tzigane. Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués ( March 10 1844 &ndash September 20 1908, pronounced Sah-ra-SAH-teh was a Spanish Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 "Tzigane" also means "gypsy" see Gypsy (disambiguation. In his A la maniere de. . . Borodine (In the manner of. . . Borodine), Ravel plays with the ability to both mimic and remain original. In a more complex situation, A la maniere de. . . Emmanuel Chabrier /Paraphrase sur un air de Gounod ("Faust IIème acte"), Ravel takes on a theme from Gounod's Faust and arranges it in the style of Emmanuel Chabrier. Biography Gounod was born in Paris, the son of a pianist mother and a draftsman father Faust is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play ( Alexis-) Emmanuel Chabrier ( January 18, 1841 – September 13, 1894) was a French Romantic Composer Even in writing in the style of others, Ravel's own voice as a composer remained distinct.

Ravel had very meticulously crafted manuscripts. Unfortunately, early printed editions of his works were prone to errors. Painstakingly, he worked with his publisher, Durand, in correcting them. In a letter, Ravel wrote that when proofing L'enfant et les sortilèges, after many other editors had proofread the opera, he could still find ten errors per page. Each piece was carefully crafted, although Ravel wished that, like the historical composers he admired, he could write a great quantity of works. Igor Stravinsky once referred to Ravel as the "Swiss Watchmaker", a reference to the intricacy and precision of Ravel's works. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to

A great example of the detail of Ravel's works can be found in "Une Barque Sur L'Ocean," one of his piano pieces from the set Miroirs; in the piece one finds harmonies representing waves in different quantities that are meticulously numbered. For example, one arpeggio in the left hand will appear three times the first time, and two times the next. Each time, the quantity of arpeggios is thought out and deliberate, with the general trend of reducing the number of arpeggios in subsequent repeats, perhaps with a consciousness that the listener will more quickly recognize the pattern the second time it appears.

Musical Influence

Active in a period of great artistic innovations and diversification, Ravel benefited from many influences, though his music defies any facile classification. As Vladimir Jankélévitch notes in his biography, "no influence can claim to have conquered him entirely […]. Vladimir Jankélévitch ( 31 August 1903 in Bourges – 6 June 1985 in Paris) was a French philosopher and musicologist Ravel remains ungraspable behind all these masks which the snobbery of the century has attempted to impose. "^[7] Ravel's musical language was ultimately highly original, neither absolutely modernist nor impressionist. Modernism describes an array of Cultural movements rooted in the changes in Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Impressionism was a 19th-century Art movement that began as a loose association of Paris -based Artists exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s Like Debussy, Ravel categorically refused this description which he believed was reserved exclusively for painting. ^[8]

Nonetheless, Ravel was very open to influences and was a remarkable synthesist of disparate styles. Certain aspects of his music can be considered to fall into the lineage of 18th century French classicism beginning with Couperin and Rameau as in Le tombeau de Couperin. French literature of the 17th century &mdashthe so-called Grand Siècle &mdashspans the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de Medici The Couperin family was a dynastic musical family of professional Composers and performers Jean-Philippe Rameau (ʒɑ̃filip ʀaˈmo in French (September 25 1683 – September 12 1764 was one of the most important French Composers and music theorists The uniquely 19th century French sensibilities of Fauré and Chabrier are reflected in Sérénade grotesque, Pavane pour une infante défunte, and Menuet antique, while pieces such as Jeux d’eau, and the String Quartet owe something to the innovations of Satie and Debussy. Gabriel Urbain Fauré ( 12 May 1845 &ndash 4 November 1924) was a French Composer, Organist, Pianist ( Alexis-) Emmanuel Chabrier ( January 18, 1841 – September 13, 1894) was a French Romantic Composer Alfred Éric Leslie Satie ( Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a French Composer and Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. The virtuosity and poetry of Gaspard de la nuit and Concerto pour la main gauche hint at Liszt and Chopin. His admiration and interest in American jazz is echoed in L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Sonate pour violon and the Piano Concerto in G, while the Russian school of music inspired homage in In the style of Borodin and the orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Maurice Ravel 's Piano Concerto in G major was composed in the period of 1929&ndash1931 Borodin (Бородин or Borodina (feminine Бородина is a Russian Last name and may refer to Alexander Borodin Pictures at an Exhibition (Картинки с выставки &ndash Воспоминание о Викторе Гартмане Kartinki s vystavki &ndash Vospominaniye He variously cited Mozart, Saint-Saëns, Schubert and Schönberg as inspirations for various pieces.

Ravel wrote, in 1928, that composers should be aware of both individual and national consciousness. That year, Ravel had toured the United States and Canada by train performing piano recitals in the great concert halls of twenty-five cities. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers In their reluctance to take jazz and blues as a nationalistic style of music, he stated American composers' "greatest fear is to find themselves confronted by mysterious urges to break academic rules rather than belie individual consciousness. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the Thereupon these musicians, good bourgeois as they are, compose their music according to the classical rules of the European epoch. "

There is a story that when American composer George Gershwin met Ravel, he mentioned that he would have liked to study with the French composer, if that were possible. George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance (Generally, Ravel did not take students. ) According to Gershwin, the Frenchman retorted, "Why do you want to become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?"^[9]The second part of the story has Ravel asking Gershwin how much money he made. Upon hearing Gershwin's reply, Ravel suggested that maybe he should study with Gershwin. (This tale may well be apocryphal: Gershwin seems also to have told a near-identical story about a conversation with Arnold Schoenberg, some have claimed it was with Igor Stravinsky; see the Wikipedia article for George Gershwin. Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. ) In any event, this had to have been before Ravel wrote Boléro which became financially very successful for him. Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's

He intended to write an earlier concerto, Zazpiak Bat, but it was never finished. The title reflects his Basque heritage: meaning 'The Seven Are One', it refers to the seven Basque regions, and was a motto often used in connection with the idea of a Basque nation. Surviving notes and fragments also confirm that this naturally was to be heavily influenced by Basque music. Instead, Ravel abandoned the piece, using its nationalistic themes and rhythms in some of his other pieces.

Ravel commented that André Gédalge, his professor of counterpoint, was very important in the development of his skill as a composer. André Gedalge ( 27 December 1856 - 5 February 1926) was an influential French composer and teacher In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony As an orchestrator, Ravel studied the ability of each instrument carefully in order to determine the possible effects. This may account for the success of his orchestral transcriptions, both of his own piano works and those of other composers, such as Mussorgsky, Debussy and Schumann. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) ( March 21 March 9 1839 &ndash March Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic

Notable compositions

Main article: List of compositions by Maurice Ravel

• Menuet antique (piano, 1895, orchestrated in 1929)
• Shéhérazade (ouverture de féerie) (1897)
• Pavane pour une infante défunte ("Pavane for a dead infanta") (piano 1899, orchestra 1910)
• Jeux d'eau (piano, 1901)
• String Quartet in F major (1903)
• Shéhérazade (orchestral song cycle, 1903) Setting poems by his friend Tristan Klingsor
• Sonatina (piano, 1903-1905)
• Introduction and allegro (pedal harp, flute, clarinet, string quartet, 1905)
• Miroirs ("Reflections"): Noctuelles ("Night moths"), Oiseaux tristes ("Sad birds"), Alborada del Gracioso ("Dawn song of the jester"), Une barque sur l'océan ("A boat on the ocean"), La vallée des cloches ("Valley of the bells") (piano 1905)
  • III. This is a list of compositions by Maurice Ravel. The compositions are arranged by the catalogue numbers which were assigned by the musicologist Maurice Marnat according to their Menuet antique is a piece for solo piano composed by Maurice Ravel. Shéhérazade is the title of two works by the French composer Maurice Ravel. Pavane pour une infante défunte ( Pavane for a Dead Infanta) is a now well-known piece written for solo Piano by the French The pavane, pavan paven pavin pavian pavine or pavyn (It pavana, padovana; Ger Jeux d’eau is a piece for solo Piano by the French Impressionistic Composer, Maurice Ravel. Shéhérazade is the title of two works by the French composer Maurice Ravel. Tristan Klingsor, birth name ( Arthur Justin) Léon Leclère (born Lachapelle-aux-Pots Oise department, 8 August 1874 died Paris, Sonatine is a piano piece written by Maurice Ravel. Although Ravel wrote in his autobiography that he wrote the Sonatine after Miroirs, it seems to have been written The pedal harp (also known as the concert harp) is a large and technically modern Harp, designed for Classical music and played either solo as part of Miroirs ("Mirrors" is a solo Piano work by Maurice Ravel written from 1904&ndash1905 Une barque sur l'océan (orchestra 1906)
  • IV. Alborada del gracioso (orchestra 1918)
• Histoires naturelles ("Tales from nature") (song cycle for voice and piano, text by Jules Renard, 1906)
• Rapsodie espagnole ("Spanish Rhapsody") (orchestra, 1907)
• L'heure espagnole ("The Spanish Hour") (opera, 1907–1909)
• Gaspard de la nuit ("Demons of the night") (piano, 1908)
• Ma Mère l'Oye ("Mother Goose") (piano duet 1908–1910, ballet 1911)
• Daphnis et Chloé ("Daphnis and Chloé") (ballet, 1909–1912)
• Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, (voice, piano, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet and string quartet, 1913)
• Valses nobles et sentimentales ("Noble and Sentimental Waltzes") (piano 1911, orchestra 1912)
• Piano Trio in A minor (1914)
• Le Tombeau de Couperin ("Tombeau for Couperin"): I. Rapsodie espagnole (alternatively spelt 'Rhapsodie' is an orchestral rhapsody written by Maurice Ravel. A rhapsody in Music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated free-flowing in structure featuring a range of highly contrasted moods colour and tonality L'heure espagnole is a one-act Opera, described as a comédie musicale, with music by Maurice Ravel to a French Libretto by Franc-Nohain Gaspard de la Nuit Trois Poèmes pour Piano d'apres Aloysius Bertrand is a piece for solo Piano by Maurice Ravel. Mother Goose is a well-known figure in the Literature of Fairy tales and Nursery rhymes Mother Goose is best known in the United States, in the Daphnis et Chloé is a Ballet with music by Maurice Ravel. Ravel described it as a "symphonie choréographique" (choreographic symphony Stéphane Mallarmé (malaʁ'me ( March 18, 1842 – September 9, 1898) whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French The waltz is a ballroom and folk Dance in time, performed primarily in Closed position. Maurice Ravel 's Trio for Piano, Violin and Violoncello is a chamber work composed in 1914 Le Tombeau de Couperin is a Suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917 In instrumental music tombeau signifies a musical "tombstone" (French le tombeau = tomb François Couperin (fʀɑ̃swa kuˈpʀɛ̃ (November 10 1668 &ndash September 11 1733 was a French Baroque composer organist and harpsichordist Prelude, II. Fugue, III. Forlane, IV. Rigaudon, V. Minuet, VI. Toccata (piano 1914–1917), (I, III, IV and V, orchestra 1919)
• Sonata for Violin and Cello
• Sonata for Violin and Piano
• La Valse (choreographic poem, 1906–1914 and 1919–1920)
• Chansons Madécasses ("Songs of Madagascar") (voice, flute, cello and piano, text by Evariste Parny, 1926)
• L'enfant et les sortilèges ("The Child and the Spells", lyric fantasy, 1920–1925, libretto by Colette 1917)
• Tzigane (violin and piano, 1924)
• Fanfare (1927; for the children's ballet L'Éventail de Jeanne, to which ten French composers each contributed a dance)
• Boléro (ballet, 1928)
• Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D (1929–1930) Composed for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in WWI. La Valse, un poème choréographique (a choreographic poem is an orchestral work written by Maurice Ravel from February 1919 until 1920 and premiered Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern L'enfant et les sortilèges Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties ( The Child and the Spells A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts) is an Opera in one act with music A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and Colette was the pen name of the French Novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette ( January 28 1873 &ndash August 3 "Tzigane" also means "gypsy" see Gypsy (disambiguation. L'Éventail de Jeanne (Jean's Fan is a children's Ballet choreographed in 1927 by Alice Bourgat and Yvonne Franck. Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major ( Concerto pour la main gauche en ré majeur) was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930 Paul Wittgenstein ( May 11, 1887 &ndash March 3, 1961) was an Austrian born Pianist. Wittgenstein was the brother of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.
• Piano Concerto in G (1929–1931)
• Don Quichotte à Dulcinée ("Serenade of Don Quixote to Dulcinea") (voice and piano, 1932–1933)

Media

Media Depictions

Canadian filmmaker Larry Weinstein has produced two documentaries about Ravel, Ravel (1987)^[10] and Ravel's Brain (2001)^[11]. The second of these two films dramatizes the musician's illness and death.

See also

• Category:Compositions by Maurice Ravel
• Expressionism
• Impressionist music
• Boléro

References

• The Cambridge Companion to Ravel (Cambridge Companions to Music) Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 24, 2000) ISBN 0-521-64856-4
• Maurice Ravel: a Life by Benjamin Ivry, Publisher: Welcome Rain (2000) ISBN 0-156-649152-5
• "Maurice Ravel. Expressionism is the tendency of an artist to distort reality for an Emotional effect it is a subjective art form The impressionist movement in music was a movement in European Classical music, mainly in France that began in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. Originally composed as a ballet, the piece which premiered in 1928 is considered Ravel's Benjamin Ivry is an American writer on the arts broadcaster and translator " Contemporary Musicians, Volume 25. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale. 2005.

• Maurice Ravel, Gerald Larner, Phaidon Press, London, 1996

Notes

External links

Free Scores

• Maurice Ravel free scores in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Free scores by Maurice Ravel in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• www.kreusch-sheet-music.net - Free Scores by Ravel

Miscalleneous

• http://www.maurice-ravel.net/
• Epitonic.com: Maurice Ravel featuring a track from Miroirs and Gaspard De La Nuit
• Biography of Maurice Ravel
• Analysis of Ravel's Trio
• Classic Cat - Ravel - Free Ravel music. The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL is a Sheet music archive which focuses on choral and vocal Music in the Public domain. The Werner Icking Music Archive, often abbreviated WIMA, is a web archive of Public domain Sheet music.
• TheGuardian: Poor Ravel Where Ravel's Copyright profits are going. Until 2015.
• Works by or about Maurice Ravel in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Maurice Ravel at Find A Grave