Pavane for a Dead Princess (in French: Pavane pour une Infante Defunte) is a luxurious ceremonial dance for piano by French impressionist composer Maurice Ravel. Later it was also transcribed to become an orchestral work.
Ravel’s goal was to evoke a Spanish princess from the Renaissance – and he does it superbly.
The Pavane’s haunting subtlety and expressive melodies have made it hugely popular.
Ravel composed the piece for a commission in 1899, when he was 24. Three years later his good friend, the Spanish pianist Ricardo Vines, premiered it. It was a smash hit in Paris, and made Ravel a famous composer.
Ravel dedicated the little piece to the Princesse de Polignac, who held regular avant-garde musical events in her stately Paris mansion.
Maurice Ravel died on December 28, 1937. Here he is in an old recording playing his own music.
