RAVEL Maurice (1875-1937). Lot n° 242

3 L.A.S. and 2 L.S. "Maurice Ravel", Le Belvédère, Montfort l'Amaury (Seine-et-Oise) or 14, Holland Park, London 1924- 1929, to Mlle Marie GAUDIN, in Saint-Jean-de-Luz; 5 and a half pages in-4 or in-8, most of them in his own name, 2 envelopes, one address. Beautiful correspondence to his Basque friend Marie Gaudin. Le Belvédère 25 January 1924. "Everything is in turmoil: I no longer know exactly when I will go to see you; perhaps in April. London, Brussels and Barcelona seem to have conspired to make me lose what is left of my brain"... He evokes a "frantic work, interrupted moreover by a monster cockroach"... April 8, 1924. He does his "re-education with a pen" while preparing the cause of his trip: "a violin rhapsody which, in the absence of the Sonata, I promised to perform for the first time in London on April 26. And it is far from finished! I am beginning to be a little worried. You must believe that I'm putting on? From there, he will go to Madrid to conduct the orchestra at the Sociedad Nacional, on May 3; the Barcelona concert is scheduled for May 18... London 25 April 1924. "It is Monday the 28th, at 7.35 a.m., that I am coming to S t Jean. If you fell out of bed that morning, I hope to see you at the station. Excuse the hurry: I am still working - the day before the concert!"... The Belvedere February 14, 1929. He took his Spanish cold with him to England, "to Le Havre and to many nightclubs; he is all the better for it. I'm taking him to Vienna in a few days (Vienna-Geneva-Vienna-Paris). He will eventually get lost. [...] From March 5 or 6: Montfort, 2 years of arrest. Turbin intern. Write to me often. I won't answer you, but I'm happy to... 19 August 1929. He has forgotten his party, and that of Mrs. Bonnet, but "considering my condition, you must be indulgent: I am in the process of gestation of a Concerto (I am in the process of vomiting). You must know that we'll see each other soon: the Foujita posters must have announced the great MR festival in Biarritz (200fr a ticket: fortunately I'm going in with my eyes open). If my room and my piano are free, I'll come and settle down on the 8th or 9th for 8 days in St Jean, and - but I don't hope so - if I'm left alone, I'll stay there much longer. Hurry to Madame Galichet's feet and beg her to throw out the intruders"... L'intégrale, nos 1679 (extract), 1709 (extract), [the 3rd and 4th unpublished], 2255. Two L.A.S. from his brother Édouard RAVEL, to the same or to his sister, Jane Gaudin, in which Maurice is mentioned (Paris 17 May 1903 and Neuilly 18 March 1923).