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Henri Manuel, c. 1925, Bibliotheque nationale de France (Gallica), public domain · Photograph of Maurice Ravel by Henri Manuel (1874-1947), dated 1925, positive print 16.5 x 11.5 cm, Bibliotheque nationale de France, departement Musique, Est. Ravel M. 018 (Gallica ark:/12148/btv1b8423961b); the Gallica OAI record names Henri Manuel as creator and states 'domaine public / public domain'. Obtained from Wikimedia Commons 'Ravel 1925 (2).jpg' (uploaded 2011-07-08 by Kokin, tagged PD-old-auto-expired 1947), original 421 x 616 pixels, SHA-1 cf9d38c6f5637f2364b63768883e9167061b5502 (matches the downloaded file); saved unchanged, never resized or upscaled. Rights basis: creator died in 1947 (life plus 70 years expired in 2017, the EU/France term) and the photograph was made in 1925 (before 1931, so public domain in the United States if published); BnF's own record states public domain, so there is no conflicting institutional notice. The wikidata P18 file 'Maurice Ravel 1925.jpg' (2880 x 3840) was examined and NOT used: its Commons page names no photographer ('author unknown'), gives the date as 'assumed published in 1925' and carries a to-be-checked Gallica tag, i.e. a generic basis only. The higher-resolution Gallica download itself was blocked to automated access (403), so the 421 x 616 Commons copy of the same Gallica item is used. · Public domain (photograph by Henri Manuel, 1925, d. 1947; BnF Gallica states public domain; Commons tag PD-old-auto-expired 1947)
composer · 20th Century
Maurice Ravel
1875–1937
Known For
artisticcultural
Not yet included in personality matching — the documented evidence doesn't yet cover enough of the personality model. Everything else on this page is fully available.
Trait Constellation
Key Achievements
Developed an original musical idiom very early; Jeux d'eau (1901) was credited with opening a new world of piano sound, and the ballet Daphnis et Chloe is counted among the major French symphonic works of the century.
Ranked by scholars among the century's best orchestrators; in 1922 he orchestrated Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition on a commission from conductor Serge Koussevitzky.
Wrote Bolero for dancer Ida Rubinstein, a single repeated theme built up by an orchestral crescendo, which premiered in Paris in 1928 and became one of his most widely performed works.
Moments That Reveal Them
Ravel entered the Prix de Rome competition repeatedly between 1901 and 1905 and was eliminated in the first round in 1905; the resulting press outcry led to the Conservatoire director's resignation, while Ravel stayed publicly silent and never applied again.
This is consistent with persistence in seeking official recognition, though the sources give differing attempt counts and no reasons of his own. Persistence
At the 1928 premiere of Bolero a woman reportedly shouted that the composer was mad, and Ravel is said to have replied that she had understood the piece; he himself described it as uniform in melody, harmony and rhythm, its only variety the orchestral crescendo.
This is consistent with a composer deliberately testing an extreme, single-idea form, though the anecdote comes from a secondary synthesis. Creative Originality
Turning Points
After the 1905 Prix de Rome affair, Ravel was famous; in 1909 he co-founded the Societe Musicale Independante as an alternative to the conservative Societe Nationale and, in 1920, declined the Legion d'honneur.
This is consistent with a pattern of positioning himself outside the musical establishment, although his reasons are not recorded in the sources read. Independent Thinking
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Sources
- Maurice Ravel (Q1178) -- verified live via the Wikidata API (2026-10-23): English label 'Maurice Ravel', description 'French composer (1875-1937)', born 1875-03-07, died 1937-12-28, citizenship France, P18 image 'Maurice Ravel 1925.jpg'. Orientation only; not used as support for any row.
- Encyclopedia.com, 'Maurice Ravel' (encyclopedia.com), page read in full as raw text; it reproduces three reference entries: a Contemporary Musicians profile (Carol Brennan), an Oxford Dictionary of Music entry and the Encyclopedia of Modern Europe entry. Together they say Ravel was one of the most original figures in early twentieth-century French music who created his own musical idiom very early; that scholars deem him one of the century's best orchestrators; that his Jeux d'eau opened a new world of piano sonorities (a quoted essay in Composers Since 1900); his four or five Prix de Rome attempts, the 1905 'Ravel affair' and the resignation of Dubois; his co-founding of the Societe Musicale Independante in 1909 and of the Apaches circle; his Diaghilev ballet Daphnis et Chloe; his 1913 work with Stravinsky on a Mussorgsky orchestration; his 1920 refusal of the Legion d'honneur, described as the act of an 'independent spirit'; Stravinsky's 'Swiss clock-maker' remark and the later rejection of his formal perfection by the younger generation; Pierre Lalo's 1907 plagiarism charge; and the Ida Rubinstein commission of Bolero (1928). CANONICAL SIGNIFICANCE SOURCE. Reference compilation; the entries disagree on the number of Prix de Rome attempts (four versus a fifth) and contain colour about private habits that was not used.
- Mark Cartwright, 'Maurice Ravel', World History Encyclopedia (worldhistory.org, 26 February 2024), read via two page extractions: Ravel entered the Prix de Rome four times without winning and was eliminated in 1905; the Conservatoire director resigned; the Societe Musicale Independante was founded in 1909; Bolero was written at Ida Rubinstein's request and premiered in 1928; Stravinsky called him a 'Swiss watchmaker' and Griffiths wrote that Ravel's imagination 'had to be confirmed by calculation'; he wrote 'relatively very little' and said 'I did my work slowly, drop by drop'; he orchestrated Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition; Diaghilev never staged La valse and in 1925 Ravel refused to shake his hand, provoking a challenge to a duel; the Ravel-Debussy rivalry was largely a press invention; and Ravel's remark that a woman who called Bolero mad 'obviously understood the piece'. Secondary popular-history synthesis; Diaghilev's link to Daphnis is not stated here.
- Classiquenews, 'Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) biographie' (classiquenews.com), read via a page extraction: began piano at six; entered the Conservatoire at thirteen and befriended the pianist Ricardo Vines; lessons with Faure from 1897; four unsuccessful Prix de Rome attempts (1901, 1902, 1903, 1905) causing controversy between modernists and conservatives; Daphnis et Chloe with Michel Fokine received a mixed reception in 1912 and the audience's indifference hurt him; La Valse written for Diaghilev; the 1922 re-orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; Ida Rubinstein's Bolero commission premiered on 22 December 1928; he reportedly called it 'empty of music'; after the war he composed roughly one work a year; he declined the Legion d'honneur in 1920; critics called L'heure espagnole 'pornographie', received Daphnis lukewarmly and L'enfant et les sortileges coldly. NOTE: the source's date of the Bolero premiere (22 December) conflicts with other accounts (November), so it is not used for dates. Music-press biography; its health passages were excluded.
- Siri Livingston, 'Maurice Ravel at the Turn of the Century', Interlude (interlude.hk, 20 June 2025), read via a detailed page extraction: Ravel's 1905 Prix de Rome exclusion, the possible role of his contrarian handling of the cantata Myrrha (citing biographer David Burnett James) and of a reputation Cortot described as sarcastic and aloof; protests in Le Temps, Le Matin and Le Mercure de France; Romain Rolland's letter defending him as an established composer; Dubois's resignation and Faure's appointment; Ravel's public silence and never applying again; the Apaches (Vines, Calvocoressi, Falla) as his supporters; Pierre Lalo attacking and then defending him; Debussy's reported praise of his quartet; his own remark that the quartet's structure was imperfect. Independent music-journalism account with several named critics.
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, 'Koussevitzky and French Composers' (bso.org), read via a page extraction: in 1922 Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Ravel to orchestrate Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; a few years later the BSO trustees sought a piano concerto for the 1930-31 anniversary season, which did not arrive in time, and Ravel finished the Piano Concerto in G, premiered in the US on 22 April 1932; the original programme notes record that Ravel was dissatisfied with the work; Koussevitzky conducted La Valse over sixty times and admired Ravel personally and professionally. Orchestra-institution page, promotional but specific on commissions and dates.
- Bibliotheque nationale de France, Gallica OAI record for 'Maurice Ravel / Henri Manuel' (gallica.bnf.fr, ark:/12148/btv1b8423961b), read via the OAI record service: creator 'Manuel, Henri (1874-1947). Photographe', date 1925, positive photograph 16.5 x 11.5 cm, Bibliotheque nationale de France, departement Musique, Est. Ravel M. 018, rights statement 'domaine public / public domain'. Used only for the portrait's rights, not for scoring.
- Wikimedia Commons file page 'Ravel 1925 (2).jpg' (wikitext and API record): portrait of Maurice Ravel by Henri Manuel around 1925 from the Bibliotheque nationale de France (ark btv1b8423961b), uploaded by Kokin on 8 July 2011, tagged PD-old-auto-expired (1947); original 421 x 616 pixels. Used only for the portrait record.