Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)

Born in Ciboure, in the Basque Country, in 1875, Maurice Ravel grew up in Paris. He entered the Conservatoire young and studied composition with Gabriel Fauré. His repeated failures at the Prix de Rome, despite works already noticed, caused a scandal in 1905.

From the start he wrote piano pieces that renewed the instrument: Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), Jeux d’eau (1901), the Sonatine, Miroirs, then Gaspard de la nuit (1908), reputed to be among the hardest pieces in the repertoire.

During the First World War he served as a driver. Le Tombeau de Couperin pays homage to 18th-century French music, each piece dedicated to a friend killed in the war. Then came La Valse, Boléro (1928) and two piano concertos, one of them for the left hand alone.

He is often paired with Debussy, but his style is sharper: classical forms, precise rhythm, rich harmony (ninths, elevenths), a taste for Spain and jazz. For pianists, Ravel demands jeweller-like articulation and complete control of soft dynamics.