Ravel: Complete Works For Solo Piano – Hsiang Tu

The piano was Maurice Ravel’s primary instrument, and he left behind a body of works that has led him to be labeled one of the most important composers for piano and of 20th-century France. Born in 1875 in Ciboure, a coastal town close to the Spanish border, he would eventually spend most of his life living in or near Paris. Among friends, Ravel was well-known for his love of cats, his devotion to his friends (and especially to his mother), his engagement with his artistic milieu, and his sense of humor. Ravel passed away after an unsuccessful brain surgery in 1937, but his stature was firmly established by the time he completed his last solo piano work in 1917. This recording celebrates the 150th anniversary of his birth with music written during the most productive period of his life.