one of the most famous compositions of french composer maurice ravel (1875-1937).

Just before departing on his American Tour in 1928, Ravel received a commission from Ida Rubinstein for a ballet, to be called 'Fandango'. His intention was to orchestrate some pieces from 'Iberia' by Albéniz, but as he was beginning to work on it in July, he discovered that the rights to the music were already assigned to the Spanish composer Enrique Arbós. Ravel was initially dismayed and at a loss how to fulfil his commission. However while continuing his holiday in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, he developed a Spanish-sounding theme.'Boléro', as the work was renamed, lasts approximately 15 minutes, and repeats each of the theme's two parts 9 times in the same key, using different orchestrations to vary the texture and to create a gradual crescendo. The piece has a very simple structure - it consists almost entirely of a single melody, repeated over and over again, orchestrated differently each time, but otherwise unchanging. Ravel was insistent that the work should be played at a steady and unvarying tempo (as his own recording demonstrates).

The work was a great success when it was premiered at the Paris Opéra on November 22, 1928. It has remained popular ever since, though is usually played as a purely orchestral work, only rarely being staged. 'Bolero' was one of the last pieces that Ravel composed before illness forced him into retirement.

The 'Bolero' accompanied ice skaters jayne torvill and christopher dean in their gold medal-winning performance at the 1984 Winter Olympics.