Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Maurice
Ravel is often linked with his countryman Claude Debussy. Both used the rich
harmonies and new scales that are usually associated with musical impressionism,
and both had an interest in the exotic. But where Debussy was a sensualist,
influenced by the symbolist and decadent movements, Ravel was more of a
craftsman and traditionalist, creating a style that was almost neoclassical.
As with many French composers, Ravel received his training at the Paris Conservatory. He studied piano with Bériot and composition with Fauré. After a long period of study and five failed attempts to win the prestigious Prix de Rome, Ravel set off on his own. This was a time of great productivity for the composer in which he honed his craft and developed the meticulous qualities for which he is now known. One of these is his skill as an orchestrator. His most popular piece, Boléro, is in many ways a grand set of variations based purely on orchestration. A number of his pieces began as piano works, which he later orchestrated, and he is famous for a piece he did not write, his masterful orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. He was also drawn to the music of other cultures. While he showed some interest in oriental musical style, as in Sheherazade, his real love was the music of Spain, and he created a number of works that have a distinctly Spanish flavor for example Rapsodie espagnole.
While living in Paris in the 1910s and 1920s, Ravel was influenced by the Russian composer Stravinsky and the activities of the eBallets Russesf. This return to older principals resulted in what is now referred to as the neoclassical style. After World War I, Ravel traveled extensively as a conductor. He was especially appreciated in the United States, and, during his visits to this country he was exposed to American jazz. This too found its way into some of his later pieces, most notably the slow movement of his sonata for violin, which incorporates elements of the blues style.
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