Ten Things You Probably Did Not Know About Ravel
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• David Hackett
Known for his razor-sharp orchestration and dapper suits, the French composer Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) was one of the most distinctive figures of early twentieth century music.
But how much do we really know about this enigmatic genius? Here are ten weird and wonderful facts about the man who gave us Boléro, Daphnis et Chloe and countless other sumptuously scored masterpieces:
1. He was Tiny but Mighty. Ravel was only around 160cm in height, making him one of the smallest of classical composers. Only one or two others, such as Haydn (157cm) and Schubert (154cm), were even more diminutive.
2. He was an Unlikely Fashion Icon. Whatever his stature, Ravel always dressed very stylishly, particularly in middle age where he looked like a silver fox Rudolph Valentino. Yet his high sartorial standards could also create logistical problems. Whenever traveling, he would have to drag along endless suitcases filled with expensive outfits. It’s said that he once filled out an entire train compartment with his extensive collection of luggage.
3. A Piano Virtuoso... In Theory Anyway. Despite composing some of the most difficult piano music ever written (such as Miroirs and Gaspard de la Nuit), Ravel couldn’t actually perform most of it. Not that it ever stopped him trying, and in the process leaving countless audiences less than impressed.
4. An Academic Duffer. He had several stints studying at the Paris Conservatoire and was twice expelled for the poor quality of his work. Then he entered the prestigious Prix de Rome competition on five separate occasions... and failed to win a prize at any of them.
5. Drove Like a Maniac. During the First World War, Ravel volunteered as a lorry driver close to the front line and often had to ferry soldiers through danger areas at speed. This might well have contributed to his subsequent daredevil approach to driving cars, with friends often too terrified to ride with him. Just to compound matters, he also had a poor sense of direction and could get easily lost, even in places he had been many times before.
6. Wanted to Become a Pilot. Before driving lorries, Ravel was very taken with the idea of flying planes for the French Air Force. The assumption was that his light frame would be considered an advantage for the role. It was certainly an intriguing idea, although one that was eventually abandoned after he failed a medical.
7. Not a Morning Person. Ravel was a confirmed night owl and generally unable to function before midday. When a sculptor was working on a bust of him, he asked if the composer could drop by the next day so he could fine-tune some details. Ravel told him he would be free between 10pm and 3am.
8. Cat Whisperer Extraordinaire. Ravel was a huge cat lover, sharing his Paris home with a collection of Siamese cats, while also regularly giving shelter to stray moggies who needed a warm place to stay. The cats were then allowed to roam freely around his house, even regularly climbing onto his piano and worktable – not that the composer ever minded. According to a friend, Ravel “not only understood cats – he could speak their language.” Apparently he talked to them in Basque, his mother’s native tongue, although it’s not known how the cats responded.
9. Woeful at Dealing with Correspondence. Ravel was a terrible procrastinator when it came to writing letters, a task he found almost unendurable. Sometimes it could take him up to eight months just to answer a routine enquiry. With colleagues and publishers regularly left tearing their hair out at the composer's unbusiness-like habits, it’s a wonder he managed to sustain a livelihood at all.
10. Had a Love-Hate Relationship with his Most Famous Work – Boléro. Ravel wrote the 1928 score partly as a joke and was amazed when it became a smash hit. Before its first performance, he even issued a warning that the seventeen-minute piece consisted of "orchestral tissue without music" and “of one very long, gradual crescendo.” Otherwise, the work had "no form, properly speaking, no development, no or almost no modulation.” When one woman, having heard the piece, commented that the composer was evidently mad, Ravel replied that at least someone had understood the work.