Active during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Maurice Ravel was a musical composer whose work was known as groundbreaking on many frontiers, and whose influences can still be felt today. Some of his work remains extremely well known, and most Maurice Ravel trivia will mention that Bolero was his most well known work, but what most won’t mention is that he often referred to it as one of his works least deserving of attention.
A Maurice Ravel quiz needs to examine his education and beginnings, as it is during this period that most musicians become exposed to the formative influences which will directly impact their own development as both a player and a composer. Ravel was raised in Paris, and began taking piano lessons while only seven years old. He showed talent for not only the piano, but also for composition, which led to his parents arranging for him to study piano at the Convervatoire de Paris. He was interestingly enough expelled from the school eventually, despite far outstripping most of the other students currently attending in terms of long term contributions to the musical world.
A Maurice Ravel quiz would also likely mention that he was close friends with Claude Debussy. There is a strong case throughout musical history showing how those who are among the most talented in any generation or in any geographic location become drawn to each other in one way or another, and often the true greats in any artistic disciplines have been close friends with their closest competition, due to the similarity in their pursuits and achievements. These two frequently had their music played for each other, and were seen often together going to concerts and musical performances that they both had interest in . Notably among other famous musical personalities whom Ravel was close with includes George Gershwin, whom Ravel met while traveling in America.
Maurice Ravel trivia will reveal that Bolero was written in later years, and was really his only truly large financial success. He only viewed the piece as a technical experiment and was never really thought to understand why it had become so successful.
Ravel died due to an injury of some kind to the brain. Some anecdotes believe it to have been a brain tumor, but the better evidence points to his death being caused due to long lasting effects which were created as a result of an accident he was involved in while riding in a taxi cab several years earlier.