Ravel - Softcover

Nichols, Roger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300187769 ISBN 13: 9780300187762

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2013

Synopsis

This new biography of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), by one of the leading scholars of nineteenth- and twentieth-century French music, is based on a wealth of written and oral evidence, some newly translated and some derived from interviews with the composer’s friends and associates. As well as describing the circumstances in which Ravel composed, the book explores new evidence to present radical views of the composer’s background and upbringing, his notorious failure in the Prix de Rome, his incisive and often combative character, his sexual preferences, and his long final illness. It also contains the most detailed account so far published of his hugely successful American tour of 1928. The world of Maurice Ravel—including friendships (and some fallings-out) with Debussy, Fauré, Diaghilev, Gershwin, and Toscanini—is deftly uncovered in this sensitive portrait.

About this title

About the Author

Roger Nichols is the author of The Life of Debussy and The Harlequin Years: Music in Paris 1917–1929. He has edited most of Ravel’s piano music for Peters Edition of London.

Review

"An excellent new biography of Ravel by Roger Nichols makes clear his ambiguous and fluctuating relation to full-fledged avant-garde modernism. The book is the most nearly complete and inclusive account of his life and work."--Charles Rosen, "The New York Review of Books"--Charles Rosen "The New York Review of Books "

"Mr. Nichols writes perceptively about Ravel's personality and how it shaped his music, and about the earlier works' influence on later compositions. . . . One leaves Mr. Nichols's "Ravel" with a sense of the author's deep insight as well as Ravel's."--James Penrose, "The New Criterion"--James Penrose "The New Criterion "

"[An] insightful biography."--Michael Downes, "Times Literary Supplement"--Michael Downes"Times Literary Supplement" (11/11/2011)

"[A] landmark work."--Chester Lane, "SymphonyNOW"--Chester Lane "SymphonyNOW "

"A quite superb book, simply entitled "Ravel", written by the Englishmen who knows his work better than any other, Roger Nichols."--Simon Heffer, "The Sunday Telegraph"--Simon Heffer"The Sunday Telegraph" (04/10/2011)

"Includes exhaustive notes, a ten-page bibliography, a superb chronology of Ravel's life, and a complete catalog of his works. Highly recommended."--R./i>--R. Pitts "Choice "

"reliable and agreeably readable."--Norman Lebrecht, "New Statesman"--Norman Lebrecht"New Statesman" (01/31/2011)

"To anyone with a special interest in Ravel, this book will be essential reading...Surely the composer's most comprehensive and authoritative English-language biography."--Daniel Snowman, "Literary Review"--Daniel Snowman"Literary Review" (01/01/2011)

"A compelling new biography unravels the mysteries surrounding Ravel.....Mysterious to the end, the fascination of its subject remains fresh throughout this thorough and sympathetic account."--Robert Maycock, "BBC Music Magazine"--Robert Maycock"BBC Music Magazine" (05/01/2011)

"Roger Nichols' volume on Ravel in the Master Musicians series dates from 1977, but this new book is far more than a mere reworking. The availability of much new material has led to a threefold expansion of the original, beautifully produced and very reasonably priced.....One could hardly wish for a more authoritative guide to Ravel."--Philip Borg-Wheeler, "Classical Music"--Philip Borg-Wheeler"Classical Music" (04/23/2011)

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0300187769
• ISBN 13: 9780300187762
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448