Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel entered the world on the 7th of March 1875 in Ciboure, a small town near Biarritz. His father Pierre-Joseph was an engineer and inventor who built machines like the Whirlwind of Death circus loop-the-loop. His mother Marie Delouart grew up in Madrid and spoke Basque at home. The family moved to Paris three months after his birth. Young Maurice heard folk songs sung by his mother that would echo through his later compositions. He received no formal schooling as a child but learned music from his father. At age seven he began piano lessons with Henri Ghys. Five years later Charles-René taught him harmony and counterpoint. By fourteen he performed publicly alongside Reynaldo Hahn and Alfred Cortot.
Ravel applied to the Paris Conservatoire in November 1889 playing Chopin. He won first prize in piano competitions in 1891 yet failed to win composition prizes. The conservative faculty viewed his progressive musical outlook with suspicion. Director Théodore Dubois actively opposed the young composer. In 1895 Ravel was expelled for winning no more prizes despite solid progress under teachers like Gabriel Fauré. He returned in 1897 studying composition with Fauré and counterpoint with André Gedalge. Dubois remained hostile throughout this period. A fellow student named Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi described Ravel as marked man against whom all weapons were good. The director ensured Ravel won no prizes during his second tenure. He was expelled again in 1900 after five attempts to win the prestigious Prix de Rome. Critics called his submissions academic parodies designed to mock the judges. The scandal known as L'affaire Ravel erupted when senior professor Charles Lenepveu appeared on the jury. Only Lenepveu's students reached the final round of competition. Public outrage forced Dubois into early retirement and led to Fauré taking over the institution.
Around 1900 Ravel joined an informal group of artists and musicians called Les Apaches or The Hooligans. Pianist Ricardo Viñes coined the name to represent their status as artistic outcasts. Members included Igor Stravinsky Manuel de Falla and French friends who met regularly until World War One began. They stimulated one another through intellectual argument and performances of their own works. The group loudly supported Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande despite conservative opposition. Director Dubois forbade Conservatoire students from attending but Ravel attended all fourteen performances. Their admiration for Debussy remained strong even as personal tensions grew between the two composers. Disputes arose about chronology and influence that led to public estrangement by 1905. Ravel stated it was better to be on frigid terms for illogical reasons. He maintained friendships with Misia Edwards and Lucienne Bréval while supporting Debussy's wife financially after her husband left. The Apaches continued meeting until war interrupted their activities in 1914.
Germany invaded France in 1914 and Ravel attempted to join the Air Force. His small stature and minor heart complaint prevented him from becoming a pilot. He joined the Thirteenth Artillery Regiment as a lorry driver in March 1915 at age forty. Driving munitions under heavy German bombardment put his life in mortal danger. His peace of mind suffered further when his mother fell ill. She died in January 1917 leaving him in horrible despair. During these years he composed few works including the Piano Trio which neared completion before conflict began. Le tombeau de Couperin emerged between 1914 and 1917 as his most substantial wartime piece. Each movement dedicated to friends who died fighting. Stravinsky admired his friend's courage noting he could have had an easier place or done nothing. Ravel declined joining the Ligue Nationale pour la Defense de la Musique Française because it banned foreign music. The league responded by banning his compositions from its concerts. His own health deteriorated with insomnia digestive problems and frostbite in winter 1916-1917.
After World War One Ravel moved to Le Belvédère house near Montfort-l'Amaury west of Paris. He lived there for the rest of his life looking after gardens while composing. His output averaged one composition per year yet included some finest works like La valse completed in 1920. Diaghilev rejected the ballet claiming it was a portrait not a dance but Ravel heard no protest. Boléro became his most famous work commissioned for Ida Rubinstein's company. It lasted seventeen minutes consisting wholly of orchestral tissue without traditional development. An elderly audience member shouted rubbish at the premiere which Ravel said got the message. Arturo Toscanini popularized the piece through recordings made several hundred times. Critics called it a masterpiece lacking music inside. Ravel told Arthur Honegger I've written only one masterpiece unfortunately there is no music in it. A four-month North American tour in 1928 brought him twenty-five cities including New York where audiences stood spontaneously. He remarked this does not happen to me in Paris despite critics calling him insensitive earlier.
In October 1932 Ravel suffered a blow to the head during a taxi accident. Friends noticed growing absent-mindedness as early as 1927 before symptoms worsened within a year. Neurologist R.A. Henson later concluded the injury may have exacerbated existing cerebral conditions suggesting frontotemporal dementia or Alzheimer's disease. He could no longer write music yet preserved auditory imagery hearing sounds in his head. Jacques Ibert wrote most of the film score Don Quixote since Ravel missed production deadlines. Three songs intended for the film were published separately as Don Quichotte à Dulcinée. In 1937 pain from his condition led neurosurgeon Clovis Vincent to recommend surgery. His brother Édouard accepted advice though the patient remained unable to express considered views. Improvement proved short-lived before coma set in. He died on the 28th of December 1937 at age sixty-two. No religious ceremony occurred since he was an atheist. Interment took place next to parents at Levallois-Perret cemetery on the 30th of December 1937.
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Common questions
When and where was Maurice Ravel born?
Joseph Maurice Ravel entered the world on the 7th of March 1875 in Ciboure, a small town near Biarritz. His family moved to Paris three months after his birth.
Why did Maurice Ravel get expelled from the Paris Conservatoire?
Maurice Ravel was expelled twice because he failed to win composition prizes despite solid progress under teachers like Gabriel Fauré. Director Théodore Dubois actively opposed the young composer and ensured Ravel won no prizes during his second tenure before he was expelled again in 1900 after five attempts to win the prestigious Prix de Rome.
What happened to Maurice Ravel during World War One?
Germany invaded France in 1914 and Maurice Ravel joined the Thirteenth Artillery Regiment as a lorry driver in March 1915 at age forty. He composed few works including Le tombeau de Couperin which emerged between 1914 and 1917 as his most substantial wartime piece while his mother died in January 1917 leaving him in horrible despair.
Which work is considered Maurice Ravel's most famous composition?
Boléro became his most famous work commissioned for Ida Rubinstein's company and lasted seventeen minutes consisting wholly of orchestral tissue without traditional development. Arturo Toscanini popularized the piece through recordings made several hundred times even though critics called it a masterpiece lacking music inside.
How did Maurice Ravel die and when did his health decline begin?
Maurice Ravel suffered a blow to the head during a taxi accident in October 1932 which may have exacerbated existing cerebral conditions suggesting frontotemporal dementia or Alzheimer's disease. He died on the 28th of December 1937 at age sixty-two after neurosurgeon Clovis Vincent recommended surgery that proved short-lived before coma set in.