Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Composer of operas (L’Heure espagnole), orchestral pieces (Boléro), and chamber music, Maurice Ravel’s career was cut short by an automobile accident in 1932 that left him permanently brain-damaged and unable to concentrate. When he died five years later, Ravel was famous not only for his own works but also for his superb orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.