Louise Alvar was a Swedish soprano, tall and blonde, who married the Englishman Charles Copely Harding. On his visits to London in the 20s and 30s, Ravel often stayed with the Hardings at their home at 14 Holland Park, W11. There he met various artists including Joseph Conrad, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Paul Valéry.
(Louise Alvar was a friend of Joseph Conrad whom she accompanied to Hyères when he was writing "Le Frère de la Côte" [The Rover], and wanted to get information about the "presqu'île de Giens" and that area of the coast. ( Chalupt, [1956], p.196).)
Louise Alvar was a frequent performer of Ravel's works, and in 1926 she undertook a tour of Scandinavia with him. Ravel paid a tribute to her in an interview on their arrival in Copenhagen: "Je ne parle pas ici de sa voix, mais de son talent pour les langues. Il est incroyable de voyager avec quelqu'un comme elle: où que nous allions elle peut communiquer avec autrui. Elle sait toutes les langues, outre celle de la musique." (Berlingske Tidende 30.i.1926, (in Danish). Reprinted in translation in (Orenstein [1989], p.350).
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