With an independant and enigmatic personality, Maurice Ravel's legacy lies on the hinge line between the 19th and the 20th century, a time of strifes between modernists and traditionalists, between futur and past.
Maurice Ravel stays away from both the revolution lead by Schönberg and the academicism lead by the Schola Cantorum. His boldness as well as his admiration for Satie cause him a strong disapproval in those circles, which causes him successive failures to the Prix de Rome.
Often compared to Debussy, with whom he shares this use of harmony as a color, with unresolved dissonances, he is distinguished from him by a very innovative piano writing and an offbeat mastery of the orchestration.
Fauré, who was his composition teacher, and a dear friend, spoke about the "disarming honesty" of his work, which can also be qualified as eclectic, in view of the various sources of his inspiration: Couperin, Rameau, admirer of Mozart, Saint-Saëns. Ravel is also fascinated by afro-american music like jazz and blues, and soaked in hispanic music (his mother is of Spanish origin).
In a catalogue of 111 works, Maurice Ravel gave us a majority of masterpieces reknown worldwide which make of him one of the greatest French composers of the 20th century.
Some of his works:
Boléro (1928)
for orchestra
3(1flpic).3(1oboe d'amore, 1eng cor). 4(1clpic, 1clB). 3(1cbn) – 3sax(1saxsopranino, 1saxS, 1saxT) – 4.4.3.1 – str
Editions Durand - On Hire
Daphnis et Chloé / Suite d’orchestre n°2 (1909-1912)
for choir (S.A.T.B) ad libitum and orchestra
4(1flpic, 1flA). 3(1cor ang).4(1clpic.1clB).4(1cbn) – 4.4.3.1 – 6perc, 1timb, 2hp – str
Editions Durand - On Hire
Rapsodie espagnole (1907-1908)
I. Prélude à la nuit - II. Malaguena
III. Habanera - IV. Feria
for orchestra
4(2flpic).3(1cor ang).3(1clB).4(1sarrusophone) – 4.3.3.1 – 1perc, 1timb, 1cel, 2hp – str
Editions Durand - On Hire
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