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. 2024 Jun 24:18:e20230108.
doi: 10.1590/1980-5764-DN-2023-0108. eCollection 2024.

Expressive amusia and aphasia: the story of Maurice Ravel

Sultan Darvesh  1   2   3 , Meghan Kirsten Cash  1 , Earl Martin  3 , Eliasz Engelhardt  4
Affiliations

Expressive amusia and aphasia: the story of Maurice Ravel

Sultan Darvesh et al. Dement Neuropsychol. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

The French composer, Maurice Ravel, at the peak of his career, showed signs of a progressive disorder that affected his ability to function with verbal and musical language, as noted by the neurologist Théophile Alajouanine. The worsening of the disease led to a craniotomy, performed in 1937, which failed to reveal the cause of his illness, and he died shortly thereafter. A lack of post-mortem neuropathological evidence precluded a definitive diagnosis of the illness, which remained enigmatic. Speculations about the precise diagnosis of Ravel's neurological disease have been largely based on Alajouanine's observations, which included aphasia and amusia, mostly expressive, and ideomotor apraxia, while musical judgement, taste, and memory remained relatively intact, implying different neuroanatomical substrates. A possible subform of frontotemporal lobar degeneration complex was the diagnostic suggestion of many authors. His untimely death deprived the world of this remarkable musician, and the music that remained trapped in his mind.

O compositor francês Maurice Ravel, no ápice de sua carreira, mostrou sinais de uma desordem progressiva que afetou sua capacidade de funcionar com linguagem verbal e musical, como notado pelo neurologista Théophile Alajouanine. O agravamento de sua condição levou a uma craniotomia, efetuada em 1937, que deixou de revelar a causa de sua doença, tendo ele falecido pouco depois. A ausência de evidência neuropatológica pós-morte impediu o diagnóstico definitivo da doença, que permaneceu enigmático. Especulações sobre o diagnóstico preciso da doença neurológica de Ravel foram baseadas sobretudo nas observações de Alajouanine, que compreendiam afasia e amusia, predominantemente expressiva, e também apraxia, enquanto o julgamento, gosto e memória musicais permaneceram relativamente intactos, implicando diferentes substratos neuroanatômicos. A possibilidade de uma subforma do complexo da degenearação lobar frontotemporal foi a sugestão diagnóstica de muitos autores. A sua morte prematura privou o mundo desse notável músico e da música que permaneceu presa em sua mente.

Keywords: Aphasia; Apraxia; Auditory Perceptual Disorders; Maurice Ravel.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Maurice Ravel (1925).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Timeline of the major milestones of the last ten years of Maurice Ravel's life ,,, .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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