Roland-Manuel (Roland Alexis Manuel Lévy) (1891 – 1966)

Belgian by birth, and the stepson of Mme Fernand Dreyfus, Roland-Manuel was introduced to Ravel by Erik Satie in 1911, and went on to become his pupil and close friend. He worked as a musicologist and composer, and became Professeur d’esthétique at the Conservatoire (1947-1961).

He wrote several books about Ravel (Roland-Manuel [1914; 1928; 1938; 1948]). Many of Ravel’s surviving letters are addressed to him (Ravel [1986]).