Maurice Ravel

Ravel began music lessons when he was six.

Ravel was very close to his mother; he lived with her until her death.

Ravel's father, Joseph, was an inventor.

Ravel was one of the greatest orchestrators of all time.

A man of impeccable manners, Ravel was meticulous about his appearance and attire.

A man of impeccable manners, Ravel was meticulous about his appearance and attire.

Although nearly 40, Ravel served in the motor corps during WWI after being rejected from serving in the French Army.

Ravel's Bolero was famously skated to by Torvill and Dean at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984.

After he suffered a blow to his head in a taxi accident, Ravel was frequently absent-minded.

In the backyard of his home, Ravel had a Japanese garden.

Ravel admired the jazz he heard while touring the United States; he would go on to include some jazz elements in his later compositions.

During his last years, Ravel suffered from Pick's disease, a brain ailment that affects speech and movement.

Because Ravel was so meticulous, it took him a very long time to finish his compositions.

Ravel never married; his private life remains mostly a mystery.