In 1899 Ravel composed his first piece to become widely known, though it made little impact initially: "Pavane pour une infante défunte" ("Pavane for a dead princess"). It was originally a solo piano work, commissioned by the Princesse de Polignac. In 1897 he conducted the first performance of the "Shéhérazade" overture, which had a mixed reception, with boos mingling with applause from the audience, and unflattering reviews from the critics. One described the piece as "a jolting debut: a clumsy plagiarism of the Russian School" and called Ravel a "mediocrely gifted debutant... who will perhaps become something if not someone in about ten years, if he works hard". Another critic, Pierre Lalo, thought that Ravel showed talent, but was too indebted to Debussy and should instead emulate Beethoven. Over the succeeding decades Lalo became Ravel's most implacable critic.