Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, best known for his orchestral work, Boléro, and his famous 1922 orchestral arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. He himself had described Boléro as "a piece for orchestra without music". Ravel's orchestrations are notable for his effective use of tonal colour and variety of sound and instrumentation.