Maurice ravel composer biography worksheets

Classical Composer Biography: Maurice Ravel
by Betty Fry

The mere mention of his name brings ‘Bolero’ to mind, and of course I am playing it now as I begin to tell you about the man and his music.

With its relentless, pulsating rhythm, this bravura piece for orchestra is probably Maurice Ravel’s best known work.

‘Bolero’ was choreographed as a ballet by Bronislava Nijinska (the sister of Vaslav Nijinsky) and was first performed at the Paris Opera in 1928.

It was an overnight sensation.

Fifty years later ‘Bolero’ again fired the public imagination when Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean brought the dance to millions of viewers when they used it for their winning Olympic, World, and European ice dance titles in 1983-4.

In the original ballet production set in a Spanish tavern, a gypsy girl begins the dance on a trestle table with slow seductive movements.