Born in 1875 in Ciboure, in the French Basque Country, Maurice Ravel grew up in Paris and entered the Conservatoire at fourteen. While still a student there he wrote the Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899). Then came Jeux d'eau (1901), the Sonatine, Miroirs, Gaspard de la nuit (1908), Mother Goose, the two piano concertos and Boléro (1928). He also orchestrated Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. He died in Paris in 1937.
The Pavane is the Ravel piece to start with: slow and singing, it asks above all for an even sound and chords held without harshness. The tune often lies above an accompaniment in eighth notes in the same hand: play the melody alone first, then add the other notes, keeping them softer.
