The outward circumstances of Ravel's life—of no influence whatsoever upon his work—may be very rapidly summed up. He was born at Ciboure, near St. Jean de Luz, on Mar 7, 1875, and lived all his life in Paris. His father was an engineer, native of Versoix, the small port founded by Voltaire on the shores of Lake Leman. His mother was Biscayan. As to Ravel he remained a Frenchman of the De de France.
His early formation gives us no particular indication. His tutors, even though they recognized in him, at the age of twelve, an astonishing personality, a strong artistic turn and an extraordinary harmonic sensibility, could do nothing but guide him.
Is any one ever likely to speak of his having been influenced by H. Ghis, who gave him his first piano lessons, by Anthiome or even by de Heriot? Is one likely to find in his works the faintest trace of the lessons given him by such composers as: Charles Rene, and at the Academy of Music, the sympathetic and harmless E. Pessard and even Andre Gedalge This does not mean, however, that. the young Ravel lacked assiduity and followed their teaching without submitting with a willing eagerness to their rigid discipline, stern methods and close practice of precision. He had understood that in Art, and musical Art, in particular, freedom comes but after the thorough assimilation and complete mastery of "technique".
Temptations nevertheless to throw off the yoke were strong. At sixteen he met that incomparable pianist, Ricardo Vines, through whom he discovered Spain, and the maestro, Emmanuel Chabrier, whose colourful, witty and innovating musical spirit is unfortunately rather di regarded. At the same time he associated with Erik Satie that infant terrible of French music and marvelled at the savoury neologisms and the new, as yet unexplored world of harmony which he cognized in his works.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.