Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Ravel’s famous orchestral work, Bolero was composed in 1928 for the dancer, Ida Rubinstein for ballet performances at the Paris Opera.   After Ravel created the now famous melody, he felt that it had an “insistent quality” to where it could be repeated over and over again.  He put that idea to the test and the rest is history!

Bolero may be the most popular piece of classical music ever composed.  It was Ravel’s most well-known work, much to the composer’s surprise.  Bolero opens with an unchanging rhythm played by the snare drum that is repeated 169 times.  Two melodies are heard that are 18 measures long each and these melodies along with the snare drum rhythm are repeated with virtually no harmonic or melodic development for the entire length of a piece. What makes their repetitions different are the many solo instruments that play the melody and over period of time the entire orchestra gradually joins to create a grand yet sudden finish.  The name, Bolero comes from a form of 18th Century Spanish dance that is intended to be slow and romantic. The hypnotic quality of the continually repeated melodies and rhythms creates a work that is totally unique