Great
Classical Music
Composers

Maurice RAVEL

7 March 1875 - 28 December 1937 (age 62)

Portrait by Paul Helm
click on image for more info

Ravel was a French Basque pianist and composer. His estate earns more royalties than any other French composer. Copyright on his works expires in 2015.

Family

Born: 7 March 1875 in Ciboure, near Biarritz, French Basque region.
Father: Joseph Ravel, Swiss, industrialist and inventor.
Mother: Marie Delouart, Basque.
Siblings: younger brother Edouard.
Partners: none
Children: none
Died: 28 December 1937
Grave: Cimetiere de Levallois-Perret, Paris, France

Works

Operas:
L'heure espagnole
L'enfant et les sortilèges
Ballets:
Ma mère l'oye
Daphnis et Chloé
La valse
Boléro
Orchestral music:
Rapsodie espagnole
Pavane pour une infante déunte
Valses nobles et sentimentales
Chamber music
Piano music
Songs

A Video Documentary

An interesting documentary on the life and music of Ravel by 'How Stuff Works'.

It lasts about 35 minutes and opens in a new window.

Click on the image.

Richter plays Ravel's 'Jeux d'eau'

Quotes

- "The only love affair I have ever had was with music."

- "I am not one of the great composers. All the great have produced enormously. There is everything in their work - the best and the worst, but there is always quantity. But I have written relatively little."

- "I did my work slowly, drop by drop. I tore it out of me by pieces."

- "I begin by considering an effect."

- "Music, I feel, must be emotional first and intellectual second."

- "For Debussy the musician and the man I have had profound admiration, but by nature I'm different from him. I think I have always personally followed a direction opposed to that of the symbolism of Debussy."

Ravel on eBay

You will find lots of Ravel related items on eBay, some new, some used, some common, some rare. Always good for a browse - you never know what you may find!