17+ Maurice Ravel Quotes (Elegant, Impressionistic And Innovative)

Maurice Ravel was a French composer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his works such as Bolero and Pavane pour une infante défunte. His music is known for its unique blend of classical and modern elements, and his compositions are still performed and studied today.

The only love affair I have ever had was with music. — Maurice Ravel

Why become a second-rate Ravel when you're already a first-rate Gershwin? — Maurice Ravel

For Debussy the musician and the man I have had profound admiration, but by nature I'm different from him. I think I have always personally followed a direction opposed to that of the symbolism of Debussy. — Maurice Ravel

If he'd been making shell-cases during the war it might have been better for music. — Maurice Ravel

You might lose your spontaneity and, instead of composing first-rate Gershwin, end up with second rate Ravel. — Maurice Ravel

To George Gershwin, on refusinghim as a pupil: You would only lose the spontaneous quality of your melody, and end by writing bad Ravel. — Maurice Ravel

My intention here is to make it clear that not a single cell of my composition, here in regard to The Raven, is found by chance or intuition, that the composition moved towards perfection with the precision and inevitability of a mathematical equation. — Maurice Ravel

I am not one of the great composers. All the great have produced enormously. There is everything in their work - the best and the worst, but there is always quantity. But I have written relatively little. — Maurice Ravel

I begin by considering an effect. — Maurice Ravel

Music, I feel, must be emotional first and intellectual second. — Maurice Ravel

In fact, the influence of Schoenberg may be overwhelming on his followers, but the significance of his art is to be identified with influences of a more subtle kind - not the system, but the aesthetic, of his art. I am quite conscious of the fact that my Chansons madécasses are in no way Schoenbergian, but I do not know whether I ever should have been able to write them had Schoenberg never written. — Maurice Ravel

We should always remember that sensitiveness and emotion constitute the real content of a work of art. — Maurice Ravel

Remember that I wrote a pavane for a dead princess, and not a dead pavane for a princess! — Maurice Ravel

I did my work slowly, drop by drop. I tore it out of me by pieces. — Maurice Ravel

Does it not occur to people that I might be artificial by nature? — Maurice Ravel

I do not ask for my music to be interpreted, but only for it to be played. — Maurice Ravel

Tell me that not everything I wrote was bad. — Maurice Ravel

Life Lessons by Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel was a master of orchestration, and his works demonstrate the importance of carefully considering the individual instruments and the way they interact with each other. He also explored a wide range of musical styles, from classical to jazz, showing the importance of experimentation and pushing boundaries. Finally, his works demonstrate the power of subtlety and restraint, with many of his pieces being delicate and nuanced.