Maurice Ravel

Books about Maurice Ravel and his music

Deborah Mawer and Jonathan Cross The Cambridge Companion to Ravel (Cambridge Companions to Music) Cambridge University Press, 2000; ISBN 0521648564; 312 pages This Companion provides a comprehensive introduction to the life, music and compositional aesthetic of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875SH1937). Leading international scholars offer a powerful reassessment of this most private and elusive musician, examining his work in detail within its cultural context. Marking the 125th anniversary of Ravel's birth, the volume explores the full range of his work--piano repertory, chamber works, orchestral music, ballets, songs and operas--and concludes by analyzing the performance and reception of his music, including previously untranslated reviews. Price indication: $ 29.99

Gerald Larner Maurice Ravel (20th-Century Composers) Phaidon Press, 1996; ISBN 0714832707; 240 pages From the "Pavane pour une Infante defunte" to "Bolero", much of the music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) is among the most accessible of any written during the last 100 years. The man himself, on the other hand, was notoriously difficult to get to know, partly because of his natural modesty and inherent reserve, but partly also because there were aspects of his character which he preferred to conceal even from his closest friends. It is Gerlad Larner's aim in this biography to trace the development of the composer's personality not only through events in his life and in the society around him, but also through his music, which is more revealing in this respect than is generally believed. Ravel tended to reveal most of himself at times of crisis, such as the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the death of the mother he worshipped in 1917. "Adversity", the chapter devoted to those years, is a central feature in a book which begins by evaluating the importance of Ravel's mixed Basque and Swiss heredity and which then pursues the first part of his life through his childhood in Bohemian Montmatre, his controversial activities as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, and the establishment of his career as a composer fascinatingly interlinked with that of his older contemporary Claude Debussy. A moving description of his war service as a truck driver is followed by an account of the slow recovery from the failure in his health and morale after the death of his mother, the period of conflict and reconciliation with the new post-war movement represented by Erik Satie and Les Six, and a last decade of international celebrity which coincided with the gradual onset of illness which silenced him for four years before his death in 1937. This text is part of the 20th-century composers series, examining composers in a biographical context, and offering a comprehensive study of key figures in the creation of 20th-century music. None of the books in the series presume a knowledge of specialized terms or musical notation. Each book in the series features a list of works, a bibliography, and a discography. Price indication: $ 16.47

Vlado Perlemuter and Helene Jourdan-Morhange Ravel According to Ravel Kahn & Averill Publishers, 2005; ISBN 1871082781; 104 pages Price indication: $ 13.09

Arbie Orenstein A Ravel Reader : Correspondence, Articles, Interviews Dover Publications, 2003; ISBN 0486430782; 704 pages Maurice Ravel played a decisive role in the history of modern French music. This reader captures the essence of this enigmatic man through his own words, both written and spoken. This compilation of articles by Ravel (who was a brilliant critic) features reviews, interviews, and some 350 letters from Cocteau, Colette, de Falla, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, and others. Price indication: $ 23.07

Arbie Orenstein Ravel : Man and Musician Dover Publications, 1991; ISBN 0486266338; 352 pages The standard Ravel biography by the world’s foremost authority—brilliantly detailed and documented, filled with quotations from letters, interviews with the composer’s friends, an illuminating analysis of each of his works, a study of his musical esthetics and language, a complete catalog of his works, and a discography. "Highly recommended"—Choice. 48 illustrations. Price indication: $ 11.53

Stephen Zank Maurice Ravel : A Guide to Research (Composer Resource Manuals) Routledge, 2001; ISBN 0815316186; 432 pages Price indication: $ 70.06

Burnett James and David Burnett-James Ravel (The Illustrated Lives of the Great Composers' Ser.) Omnibus Press, 1988; ISBN 0711909873; 144 pages Price indication: $ 13.57

Rollo H. Myers Ravel : His Life and Works Greenwood Press Reprint, 1973; ISBN 0837168414; 239 pages Price indication: $ 65.00

Benjamin Ivry Maurice Ravel : A Life Welcome Rain Publishers, 2000; ISBN 1566491525; 229 pages Price indication: $ 46.90

Manuel Rosenthal Satie, Ravel, Poulenc: An Intimate Memoir Hanuman Books, 1987; ISBN 0937815098; 81 pages Price indication: $ 5.95

Roland-Manuel Maurice Ravel Dover Publications, 1972; ISBN 0486206955; 150 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 6.00

Roger Nichols Ravel remembered Norton, 1988; ISBN 039302573X; 203 pages Price indication: $ 9.90

Madeleine Goss Bolero;: The life of Maurice Ravel, Tudor Publ. co, 1945; 303 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 7.75

Ravel Maurice Lettres, Ecrits, entretiens Flammarion, 1993; ISBN 2080661035 Price indication: $ 110.62

Burnett James Ravel, his life and times Hippocrene Books, 1983; ISBN 0882546651; 144 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 4.75

Victor Ilyitch Seroff Maurice Ravel, (Biography index reprint series) Books for Libraries Press, 1970; 310 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 10.00

Victor Ilyitch Seroff Maurice Ravel;: Illustrated with photos Holt, 1953; 310 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 4.97

Sheet music, libretti, etc.

Daphnis and Chloe in Full Score - Dover Publications

Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2 (Dover Miniature Scores) - Dover Publications

L'Heure Espagnole in Full Score - Dover Publications

La Valse : in Full Score (Dover Miniature Scores) - Dover Publications

La Valse for Two Pianos : The Composer's Original Version - Dover Publications

Le Tombeau de Couperin and Other Works for Solo Piano - Dover Publications

Le Tombeau de Couperin and Valses Nobles et Sentimentales in Full Score - Dover Publications

Maurice Ravel - Collected Songs - Durand

Maurice Ravel: Album for Piano (Kalmus Classic Library) - Warner Bros Pubns

Miroirs (Piano Solos) (Kalmus Classic Edition) - Warner Brothers Publications

Piano Masterpieces of Maurice Ravel - Dover Publications

Piano Trio, Mallarme Poems and Other Chamber Works - Dover Publications

Rapsodie Espagnole, Mother Goose Suite, and Pavane for a Dead Princess in Full S - Dover Publications

Ravel Noctuelles - Warner Bros Pubns

Ravel: Gaspard De LA Nuit - Alfred Pub Co

Songs, 1896-1914 - Dover Publications