Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937, French composer, b. in the Pyrenees. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889, where he was later a student of Fauré. Ravel became a leading exponent of
impressionism. Along with Debussy, with whom he had an affinity of style, he led French music away from Wagnerian romanticism. He composed highly original, fluid music within the outlines of classical forms. Ravel excelled at piano composition and orchestration, often scoring his own piano pieces and works by other composers. Among his piano compositions are
Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899),
Jeux d'eau (1901),
Gaspard de la nuit (1908),
Valses nobles et sentimentales (1911),
Le Tombeau de Couperin (1917), and Concerto in D Major, for left hand (1931). His orchestral works include
Rhapsodie Espagnole (1908) and
Bolero (1928); he is also known for his orchestration of Modest Moussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition (1922). Other works are the song cycle
Shéhérazade (1903), two operas, the chamber piece
Tzigane, and ballets such as
Daphnis et Chloé (1912),
Ma Mère l'Oye (1912), and
La Valse (1920).
See biographies by M. Goss (1940), V. I. Seroff (1953), H. H. Stuckenschmidt (tr. 1968), A. Orenstein (1975), and B. Ivry (2000); study by R. Nichols (1977).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
