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Ravel

Maurice Ravel
Dates
1875–1937
Era
20th Century (1900–1945)
Recognition
essential popular
Wikipedia

Where to start with Ravel

Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles
  1. Stage
    Boléro — Ballet
  2. Orchestral
    La valse
  3. Keyboard
    Pavane pour une infante défunte
  4. Vocal
    Shéhérazade — Songs for soprano and orchestra
  5. Chamber
    String Quartet in F
  6. Orchestral
    Piano Concerto in G
  7. Stage
    Daphnis et Chloé — Ballet
  8. Keyboard
    Gaspard de la nuit
  9. Stage
    L'enfant et les sortilèges
  10. Keyboard
    Le tombeau de Couperin
  11. Keyboard
    Miroirs
  12. Orchestral
    Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
  13. Chamber
    Violin Sonata no. 2 in G
  14. Vocal
    2 Mélodies hébraïques — Song
  15. Vocal
    2 mélodies hébraïques

Listening guide

Hand-curated paths into Ravel's catalogue
  1. Boléro
  2. Pavane pour une infante défunte
  3. La Valse
  4. Daphnis et Chloé (ballet)
  5. String Quartet in F major

Most Acclaimed

  1. Gaspard de la nuit
  2. Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
  3. Piano Concerto in G major
  4. String Quartet in F
  5. Valses nobles et sentimentales

Most Weird

  1. Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
    written for Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm — sounds like two hands throughout
  2. La Valse
    Viennese waltz growing increasingly hysterical until it collapses — he called it a whirlpool of death
  3. Valses nobles et sentimentales
    8 waltzes — some ironic, some disturbing; premiered anonymously so audiences would judge the music not the name
  4. L’Enfant et les Sortilèges
    opera — a child\’s furniture and animals come to life and put him on trial
  5. Histoires naturelles
    songs — Jules Renard’s animal portraits; harmonically ahead of their time in 1906

Similar composers

Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinity

In your library

The Complete Solo Piano Works 2025 Classical played 46×

Works 78