Maurice Ravel

Ravel's most celebrated composition is 'Boléro,' an orchestral piece from 1928 that repeats a single melody in a gradual crescendo across roughly 15 minutes. It became one of the most performed and recognizable works in all of classical music.

Although widely associated with musical Impressionism alongside Claude Debussy, Ravel himself resisted the label and admired the clarity of classical forms. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was heavily influenced by composers like Erik Satie and Emmanuel Chabrier.

Ravel composed a rich catalog including the ballet 'Daphnis et Chloé,' the piano suite 'Gaspard de la nuit,' and the orchestral warhorse 'Rapsodie espagnole.' He also famously orchestrated Modest Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' in 1922, a version that remains the most performed today.

Ravel wrote two short operas: 'L'heure espagnole' (1907), a comic opéra comique set in Spain, and 'L'enfant et les sortilèges' (1925), a fantasy opera about a child interacting with enchanted objects. Neither achieved the lasting popularity of his orchestral works.