#Ravel composer professional#

Several of his important late works, such as the Sonata for Violin and Piano and the Piano Concerto in G show the influence of that interest. Joseph Maurice Ravel was born on March 7, 1875, in Ciboure, near Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Basses-Pyrnes, in the Basque region of France just a short distance. In 1925, the Monte Carlo Opera presented the premiere of another large work, the 'lyric fantasy' L'enfant et les sortilèges, a collaboration with writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. American jazz and blues became increasingly intriguing to the composer. Following his service in the First World War as an ambulance driver, his output was temporarily diminished. He wrote a second ballet for Diaghilev, La Valse, which went on to become one of his most popular orchestral works. It was the composer's largest and most ambitious work and is widely considered his masterpiece. The two worked collaboratively on arrangements for Sergey Diaghilev and became familiar with each other's work during Stravinsky's time in Paris.īetween 19, Ravel composed Daphnis et Chloé for Diaghilev and Les Ballets Russes. Around the same time, he developed a friendship with Igor Stravinsky.

#Ravel composer professional#

Ravel continued to express admiration for Debussy's music throughout his life, but as his own reputation grew stronger during the first decade of the century, a mutual professional jealousy cooled their personal relationship. He had already established himself as a composer of prominence with works such as his String Quartet, and the piano pieces P avane pour une infante défunte, Jeux d'eaux, and the Sonatine, and his loss of the Prix de Rome in 1905 was considered such a scandal that the director of the Conservatory was forced to resign. The difficulty was transparently the conflict between the conservative administration of the Conservatory and Ravel's independent thinking, meaning his association with the French avant-garde (Debussy), and his interest in non-French traditions (Wagner, the Russian nationalists, Balinese gamelan). A major disappointment of his life was his failure to win the Prix de Rome in spite of numerous attempts. His primary composition teacher was Gabriel Fauré. At the age of 14, he entered the Paris Conservatory, where he was a student from 1889 to 1895 and from 1897 to 1903.