Maurice Ravel

Part of the 20th Century Composers series.

From the "Pavane pour une Infante defunte" to "Bolero", much of the music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) is among the most accessible of any written during the last hundred years. The man, however, was notoriously difficult to get to know, partly because of his inherent reserve and partly because he concealed aspects of his character even from his closest friends. The author aims to trace the development of the composer's personality not only through events in his life and in the society around him but also through his music, which is more revealing in this respect that is generally believed.

Ravel tended to reveal most of himself at times of crisis, such as the outbreak of World War I, and the death of his adored mother in 1917. "Adversity", the chapter devoted to those years, is a central feature in a book which begins by evaluating the importance of Ravel's mixed Basque and Swiss heredity and then pursues the first part of his life through his childhood in Bohemian Montmartre, his controversial activities as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, and the establishment of his career as a composer fascinatingly interlinked with that of his older contemporary Claude Debussy. A moving description of his war service as a truck driver is followed by an account of the slow recovery from the failure in his health and morale after his mother's death, the period of conflict and reconciliation with the post-war movement represented by Erik Satie and Les Six, and a last decade of international celebrity coinciding with the gradual onset of the illness which silenced him four years before his death.

In this beautifully crafted book Gerald Larner offers many fresh insights into the life and work of this most enigmatic composer.

Includes black-and-white illustrations.