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  • Musician
· French · 1875–1937

Maurice Ravel

The French composer who set Colette’s libretto for L’Enfant et les sortilèges, premiered in 1925.

Details

Lived
1875–1937
Born
1875
Died
1937
Nationality
French
Roles
Musician

People Maurice Ravel Knew

Relationships with other people, with sources for each connection.

Illustrated portrait of Colette

Colette

  • Author
  • Journalist
  • Actor
  • +1

Collaborated with · 1917–1925

Colette wrote the libretto and Maurice Ravel composed the music for L’Enfant et les sortilèges, first performed in Monte Carlo in 1925.

— Paris Opera — L’Enfant et les sortilèges

Illustrated portrait of Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy

  • Musician
  • Critic

Met

Younger contemporary, admirer, occasional friend and eventual rival. Ravel enthusiastically supported Pelléas, but their relationship cooled as critics compared them and personal tensions accumulated.

— Alex Ross, The Velvet Revolution of Claude Debussy (2018)

Who Inspired Maurice Ravel

People whose work inspired Maurice Ravel. They did not necessarily meet or know one another.

Illustrated portrait of Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy

The influence was complicated and in some respects mutual, but Debussy's harmonic vocabulary and new approach to piano and orchestral color formed part of the environment in which Ravel developed. Ravel deeply admired Debussy even while insisting that their artistic personalities were fundamentally different.

— Claude Debussy: Biographie

Illustrated portrait of Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky

Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Ravel to orchestrate Pictures at an Exhibition, and conducted the premiere at the Paris Opera in October 1922. Ravel's version turned a piano suite that was never performed in Mussorgsky's lifetime into one of the most played works in the orchestral repertory.

— Pictures at an Exhibition

Connections and Sources

Maurice Ravel’s connections to people, places, and works, with the sources behind each one.

Collaborated with · 1917–1925

Colette

Colette wrote the libretto and Maurice Ravel composed the music for L’Enfant et les sortilèges, first performed in Monte Carlo in 1925.

— Paris Opera — L’Enfant et les sortilèges

Influenced by

Claude Debussy

The influence was complicated and in some respects mutual, but Debussy's harmonic vocabulary and new approach to piano and orchestral color formed part of the environment in which Ravel developed. Ravel deeply admired Debussy even while insisting that their artistic personalities were fundamentally different.

— Claude Debussy: Biographie

Met

Claude Debussy

Younger contemporary, admirer, occasional friend and eventual rival. Ravel enthusiastically supported Pelléas, but their relationship cooled as critics compared them and personal tensions accumulated.

— Alex Ross, The Velvet Revolution of Claude Debussy (2018)

Influenced by · 1922

Modest Mussorgsky

Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Ravel to orchestrate Pictures at an Exhibition, and conducted the premiere at the Paris Opera in October 1922. Ravel's version turned a piano suite that was never performed in Mussorgsky's lifetime into one of the most played works in the orchestral repertory.

— Pictures at an Exhibition

References

References

The sources below include biographies, scholarly essays, interviews, and primary materials that informed this page. They reflect both the historical record and ongoing critical conversations about Maurice Ravel and their work.

  1. 1Paris Opera — L’Enfant et les sortilèges

    Website
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Maurice Ravel page.

    View source

  2. 2Claude Debussy: Biographie

    Website
    IRCAM–Centre Pompidou
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Maurice Ravel page.

    View source

  1. 3The Velvet Revolution of Claude Debussy

    Periodical
    The New Yorker, 2018
    Used for

    Contemporary reporting or criticism used to document the historical reception and context of Maurice Ravel.

    View source

  2. 4Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)

    Website
    Philharmonie de Paris
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Maurice Ravel page.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

These references anchor the page in the documented record and in the scholarly conversations around Maurice Ravel. Every claim on this page traces back to one or more of the works listed here.

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