49. He was proud of his ‘faux Monticello’ painting; when his friend teased him ‘Ravel, it’s disgraceful of you to hang that horror on the wall!’ he responded indignantly, ‘But I know it’s fake and it amuses me’. #Ravel150
51. When Ravel toured America in 1928, his hosts were startled to discover that he had brought with him twenty pairs of pyjamas and fifty-seven ties. #Ravel150
52. A standing ovation from a 3000-strong crowd after a Boston Symphony performance moved Ravel to tears: ‘This would never happen to me in Europe’. #Ravel150
53. From the US Ravel kept a close eye on things at home, sending a letter to his brother, from somewhere along the Mississippi, to ask whether he’d done anything about getting a new vacuum cleaner for Montfort. #Ravel150
54. In Texas, Ravel's 1928 tour produced the memorable headline ‘Reporters Mourn Lack of French as Maurice Ravel Talks about Jazz and US in Native Tongue’. #Ravel150
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