Maurice Ravel

It's a new month, which means it's time for a new composer of the month! This month we're highlighting Maurice Ravel. Ravel was born on March 7, 1875 in France who grew up and became a well-known and very accomplished pianist, composer, and conductor.

Here are 10 fun facts you may not know about Ravel.

1. The closest personal attachment Ravel had was with mom. He lived with her until 1917 when she passed away.

2. Le Tombeau de Couperin was dedicated to all of his friends lost in WW1.

3. In 1921 he bought a home just south of Paris and lived there until he died on December 28, 1937.

4. At age 14, Ravel was accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris which was a very prestigious music/dance school.

5. During WW1 Ravel attempted to enlist in the Air Force but due to his small size he ended up driving ambulances around instead.

6. On average, Ravel only composed one piece per year. However, his pieces were said to be very meticulously crafted.

7. Ravel is most known for his piece Boléro. This piece only has one long movement.

8. During 1928, he went on a North American tour for four months. In that amount of time he was able to visit 25 states.

9. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel started off being good friends, but as time went on rivalry between the two "impressionist" composers developed.

10. Ravel only accepted awards from foreign countries.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about our composer of the month! Let us know of other cool facts you know or learn about Maurice Ravel!