Salvatore Sciarrino, the most popular Italian contemporary composer, takes inspiration from Maurice Ravel to compose a series of Notturni, pieces inspired by the night. Sciarrino's inspiration was Gaspard de la nuit, composed in 1908 and inspired by the poetry of Aloysius Bertrand. Ravel's purpose was to create a difficult piece, a parody of romanticism, which even now constitutes a real test of pianists. Sciarrino composed De la Nuit in 1971.