Ravel

39 Posts
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Ravel’s Trois Poèmes de Mallarmé – Fragile and Beautiful
It was in the summer of 1912 when hot off the heels of the sumptuous ballet score Daphnis et Chloé – his biggest creative undertaking to date – Ravel took some time off composing to recover and wait for inspiration
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Maurice Ravel and His Circle of Friends II
Let’s continue to look at Ravel’s relationships with his fellow artists and musicians. In 1907 Ralph Vaughan Williams went to Paris to take lessons with Maurice Ravel. The student was three years older than the teacher, but Ravel’s sinuous, detailed,
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Maurice Ravel and His Circle of Friends
How private was Maurice Ravel’s private life? Well, to this day nobody has uncovered conclusive evidence that he ever had a sexual relationship. While his music is passionate and distinctive, Ravel’s personality remains mysterious. His friend and biographer Alexis Roland-Manuel
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The Dead Are Sad Enough
Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin
The Great War, as World War I was known at the time, inspired many works of music, often set to poetry. Maurice Ravel took inspiration from his many dead friends to create a piano work, Le tombeau de Couperin (1914-1917),
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On This Day
8 May: Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales Was Premiered
On 21 September 1927, Anton Webern penned an extended letter to Maurice Ravel. “Although we have never met, I write on behalf of my mentor Arnold Schoenberg to express his thanks for all your efforts to facilitate his upcoming appearance
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On This Day
7 March: Maurice Ravel Was Born
Maurice Ravel was born on 7 March 1875 in the Basque town Ciboure, Basses-Pyrénées located in France, situated close to the Spanish border near Biarritz. It was the village where his Basque mother, Marie Ravel, née Delouart, was born and
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On This Day
5 January: Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand Was Premiered
The promising career of pianist Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), older brother of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was seemingly cut short by events of World War I. Paul had given his debut recital in December of 1913, an event that was enthusiastically
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On This Day
28 December: Maurice Ravel Died
In the early morning hours of 28 December 1937, Maurice Ravel lapsed into a coma and died aged 62. The composer had entered a clinic on rue Boileau in Paris for neurological tests. In the event, exploratory brain surgery—apparently without
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