Ravel’s fine attributes as a composer

On his tour to America in 1928, Ravel was highly praised by music critics.  In the New York Times, Olin Downeswrote:

Never to have composed in undue haste; never to have offered the public a piece of unfinished work; to have experienced life as an observant and keenly interested beholder, and to have fashioned certain of its elements into exquisite shapes of art that embody the essence of certain French traditions, is a goal worth gaining.  Mr Ravel has pursued his way as an artist quietly and very well.  He has disdained superficial or meretricious effects.  He has been his own most unsparing critic.

Cited in: James, Burnett (1983) Ravel: His Life and Times.  New York: Midas Books, p.119.

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