In each of his compositions Ravel strives towards perfection without ever settling for his past success. In the 1920’s he is even ready to give up what made the splendor of his previous masterpieces, la Rapsodie espagnole, Daphnis et chloé, la Valse… Choosing to analyse the young Ravel’s musical language through his strings quartet allows us to consider a fruitfull approach : How does the brilliant composer’s uniqueness emerge ?

Ravel is both classical, romantic as well as modern. Classical b...