Maurice Ravel

Joseph-Maurice Ravel (Ciboure, 7 March 1875 – Paris, 28 December 1937) was a French composer. He is regarded as one of the foremost composers of the 20th century and, alongside his older compatriot Claude Debussy, as the most important impressionist in classical music (although he rejected that label), and as a precursor/initiator of expressionism.

Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, a village near Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the coast of French Basque Country. He was of Basque descent on his mother's side. His father was an engineer who was born in Switzerland, but held French nationality. Still in Ravel's birth year, the family moved to Paris, where his brother Édouard was born in 1878. Ravel received his first piano lessons at age seven and was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire in 1889. He did not complete his piano studies. After his premature departure from the conservatoire, he returned in 1897 to study composition with Gabriel Fauré. During his composition studies, Ravel made several unsuccessful attempts to win the Prix de Rome.

Nevertheless, Ravel began to gain recognition as a composer, initially with piano music and songs and later also with orchestral music. His earlier works include the short opera L'Heure espagnole (1907) and the Rhapsodie espagnole for orchestra (1907/8), both revealing Ravel's fondness for Spain, and the famous Pavane pour une infante défunte (1909).