French court rules Maurice Ravel is sole author of classical music masterpiece 'Bolero'
A French court on Friday ruled that composer Maurice Ravel wrote his famous "Bolero" piece by himself. The heirs of stage designer Alexandre Benois, who worked on the original performance of the piece, argued that celebrated Russian set-dresser should have been credited as a co-author.
Ravel first performed "Bolero" at the Paris Opera in 1928 and it was an immediate sensation.
He died 10 years later and his heirs earned millions of dollars until the copyright ran out in 2016 and the piece passed into public domain.
In France, copyright runs for 70 years after a composer's death, though some extra years were added to make up for losses during World War II.
However, the heirs of Alexandre Benois, a celebrated stage designer who worked on the original performance of "Bolero", argued that he should have been credited as a co-author and demanded a share of the proceeds.
And because Benois died in 1960, that would put "Bolero" back under copyright until 2039.
"The music of the Bolero was created especially for the ballet" and should not be considered as a stand-alone piece of orchestra music, a lawyer for the Benois estate told a French court in February.
The claimants pointed to various documents that name Benois as a co-author of the music.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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