Skip to content


 Select a Chapter |       RSS  Today in Music History |             Online Listening Lab


"I did my work slowly, drop by drop. I tore it out of me by pieces."

Key Points

  • The music of French composer Maurice Ravel is Impressionistic in its inspiration and Neoclassical (looking back to the Classic era) in its structures.
  • Ravel was attracted to many styles of world music, including the dance rhythms of Spain, in his last masterwork, the song cycle Don Quixote to Dulcinea.
  • Ravel's music is characterized by rhythmic drive, dissonant harmony, and brilliant orchestration set in Classical forms.

Section Menu

Norton Gradebook

Instructors now have an easy way to collect students’ online quizzes with the Norton Gradebook without flooding their inboxes with e-mails.

Students can track their online quiz scores by setting up their own Student Gradebook.