My Interview with Maurice Ravel by Pierre Sovony

Bon jour and welcome to the Sovony show. I am Pierre Sovony and on the show today we have Mr. Maurice Ravel. Mr. Maurice Ravel is a French Pianist.

Ravel: Bon jour, Mr. Sovony.

Sovony: Mr. Ravel, how did you get interested in music?

Ravel: Well Mr. Sovony, my mother was Swiss. She would sing me songs in Spanish and I began to love the sound of music. I would begin to listen to the melody of the song.

Sovony: What kinds of things or people made you want to get started in piano?

Ravel: As I said before, my mother.   But then I started to hear other piano players. Hearing them made me interested.

Sovony: How was the time period of music for you?

Ravel: The time was good. Every child wanted to play some sort of instrument. It came to be the time for a war. Most performers had to take a break and go into the army.

Sovony: In your time of work was it hard to become known?

Ravel: There were a few struggles. It was a challenge but I got through it.

Sovony: How did the major cultural, economic, and political situations of the time impact your work?

Ravel: There were always small problems with money but when I became known it was no problems. I had my mother and father there to help me.

Sovony: What accomplishments have you made that you are proud of? What methods of learning and playing the piano did you use?

Ravel: One of the pieces I am most proud of is Boleˊro, played by Harpist Denise Herbecht.  

Sovony: What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life?

Ravel: Well I had the opportunity to serve my country. I had many great pianists come before me.

Sovony: What kind of things did you have to give up to become successful?

Ravel: I had to give up the idea of a family. I could not have a wife and kids.

Sovony: Why couldn’t you have kids? Was it just a life choice?

Ravel: It was a life choice because I traveled a lot. I was always going place to place. I moved back and forth a lot. I would not have a stable family if I did have one.

Sovony: What kinds of things slowed you down in your career?

Ravel: The war put a big break in my composing. The war put a break in a lot of people’s life and work.

Sovony: What limitation did you have as an artist and a person?

Ravel: I really didn’t have any. The only thing was that my family is not a musical family. They enjoyed music and the sound of it, but none of them played a instrument.

Sovony: What do you have to show for becoming a successful pianist?

Ravel: I have the title of one of the best pianists that came out of France.

Sovony: Thank you for joining me on the show.