Joseph Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel (Known as "The Swiss Watchmaker of Music / Master of Boléro")

French Impressionist/Neoclassical Composer, Pianist, Master Orchestrator

Born 7 March 1875

Ciboure (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Basque Country), France

Passed Away 28 December 1937 Paris, France

Lifespan 62 years old

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Notice / Correction

"The only love affair I have ever had was with music. My objective is technical perfection; since I am always trying to reach it, each work is an experiment."

Archival Overview

French composer and supreme orchestral wizard celebrated for his precision craftsmanship, Basque-Spanish elegance, and dazzling sonic imagination in Boléro, Pavane pour une infante défunte, and Daphnis et Chloé.

Biographical Record

Joseph Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), born in the Basque town of Ciboure, was affectionately called 'a Swiss watchmaker' by Igor Stravinsky for the immaculate precision of his musical mechanisms. Studying under Gabriel Fauré at the Paris Conservatoire, Ravel developed an incandescent orchestral palette and virtuosic piano technique.

Ravel produced enduring masterpieces across every medium: the ballets Daphnis et Chloé and La Valse, the dazzling orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, the jazz-inflected Piano Concerto in G major, and his hypnotic, relentless orchestral crescendo Boléro (1928), which became the most famously recognizable orchestral piece in the world.

Key Life Milestones

8 June 1912 CE

Premiere of Daphnis et Chloé by Ballets Russes

Premiered his 'choreographic symphony' Daphnis et Chloé with Diaghilev and Nijinsky at the Théâtre du Châtelet.

22 November 1928 CE

World Premiere of Boléro at Paris Opéra

Premiered Boléro with dancer Ida Rubinstein at the Paris Opéra, igniting a worldwide musical sensation.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Levallois-Perret Cemetery (Ravel Family Grave)
Paris, France

                         GPS: 48.8953, 2.2908                    

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