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Maurice Ravel, French pianist and
composer, and known for the subtlety and richness of his music, is of
mixed Swiss-Basque descent – Swiss on his father´s side, Basque on his
mother´s. Born in Ciboure in the department Pyrenees-Atlantique on 7.
March 1875, he was brought up in Paris, where he entered the Paris
Conservatory at the age of fourteen (1889-1895). While still a student
he published some songs, a “Menuet antique” for piano and the “Pavane
pour une infante defunte” (Pavane for a Dead Princess) for piano which
established his reputation almost overnight. Altogether he studied
music at the conservatory under Gabriel Faure for a remarkable fourteen
years. During those years he tried several times to win the prestigious
“Prix de Rome”, but to no avail. His failure after three attempts
caused a scandal – the works he had admitted were judged as being too
advanced by a conservative jury. Liberal musicians and writers
supported Ravel, protests were published in the daily papers and as a
result the director of the conservatory had to resign. He was replaced
by Gabriel Faure with whom Ravel had studied since 1898.
Ravel himself claimed he was influenced
by Mozart and Couperin, rather than by Claude Debussy as some critics
claimed. But he was also influenced by jazz, Asian music and
traditional folk song from across Europe. Not being religious, probably
even an atheist, Ravel disliked religious themes of other composers
such as Wagner, but preferred to look to mythology for inspiration.
By the time Ravel was thirty he had
published a “String Quartet” (1903), the orchestral song-cycle
“Sheherazade” (1903) and a “Sonatine” for piano. His 1907 song-cycle
“Histoires naturelles » (Natural Histories) was greeted with outcries
of plagiarism, but criticism was quickly silenced – his “Rhapsody
Espagnole” (1907) was received with critical acclaim. With this
symphonic work, the ballet “Daphnis et Chloe” (1912) and the “Bolero”
(1927) Ravel reached his musical zenith. His Bolero is probably the
most popular orchestral work of the 20th century. He himself considered
it to be a trivial work, “a piece for orchestra without music”.
Regarding opera, Ravel composed two little masterpieces of wit
und fantasy – “L´Heure Espagnole” (1907) and “Lénfant et les
sortileges” (1925).
Ravel considered himself as a classicist. He relied on traditional
forms and structures to present his new and innovative harmonies. In
everything he wrote he was an exquisite artist striving for poignancy
and perfection of style.
In 1932 Ravel was involved in an
automobile accident that severely undermined his health; his musical
output dropped considerably. An operation in 1937 did not restore his
health as he had hoped; he died soon afterwards on 28. December 1937.
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