Ravel orchestrated his piano pieces Alborada del gracioso and\nPavane pour une infante défunte to great effect; the former gains\nin suggestive colour, and the latter evokes nostalgic pathos.\nAnother orchestrated work is the Menuet antique, which is redolent\nof old French dance forms Rapsodie espagnole, Ravel’s first major\norchestral work, shimmers with expectancy and bursts into Spanish\ndance rhythms, themes he pursued in Pièce en forme de habanera. His\nearliest orchestral work, the ‘fairy overture’ Shéhérazade, is all\nthat remains of a planned opera based on The Thousand and One\nNights. The famous Boléro, an ‘orchestrated crescendo’ of undimmed\npower, has proved one of the most popular works in all classical\nmusic.

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