Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer. Quotes "Then M. Ravel discussed another idea. That was that in these days of cacophony it might be quite an original idea for the orchestra to start, say, in C major, and then, through a series of discords the instruments should divide, some going up a semitone at every three or four bars, while others went down in the same way, eventually ending in perfect harmony in C major two octaves apart. He said: 'It is just an idea but it might be rather fun working it out and certainly a novel way of resolving harmony from discord.'" Maurice Ravel and unattributed. "Finding Tunes in Factories", Evening Standard, London, 24 February 1932. Also printed in: Orenstein, Arbie, ed. (1990). A Ravel Reader: Correspondence, Articles, Interviews, p.490-91. New York: Columbia University Press. "Mais est-ce qu'il ne vient jamais à l'idée de ces gens-là que je peux être 'artificiel' par nature?" "But do these people never come up with the idea that I might be artificial by nature?" Answering M. D. Calvocoressi on a question insinuating that many people thought Ravel's music rather "artificial" than "natural". quoted in Calvocoressi's Musicians gallery, London, Faber, 1933 "I have the intention to dedicate Le Gibet to you. It is not because I think you merit a rope to hang yourself, but because it is the least difficult of the three pieces." Ravel to pianist Jean Marnold about Le Gibet from Gaspard de la Nuit External links Category:Composers from France Category:Pianists from France Category:Atheists from France Category:1875 births Category:1937 deaths