To this end, upon his return to New York, Gershwin joined the efforts of Ravel's friend Robert Schmitz, a pianist Ravel had met during the war, to urge Ravel to tour the U.S. Schmitz was the head of Pro Musica, promoting Franco-American musical relations, and was able to offer Ravel a $10,000 fee for the tour, an enticement Gershwin knew would be important to Ravel.
tə ðɪs ˈɛnd, əpˌɑːn hɪz ɹᵻtˈɜːn tə nˈuː jˈɔːɹk, dʒˈɜːʃwɪn dʒˈɔɪnd ðɪ ˈɛfɚts ʌv ɹˈævəlz fɹˈɛnd ɹˈɑːbɚt ʃmˈɪts, ɐ pˈiənɪst ɹˈævəl hæd mˈɛt dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ðə wˈɔːɹ, tʊ ˈɜːdʒ ɹˈævəl tə tˈʊɹ ðə jˈuː.ˈɛs. ʃmˈɪts wʌzðə hˈɛd ʌv pɹˈoʊ mjˈuːzɪkə, pɹəmˈoʊɾɪŋ fɹˈæŋkoʊɐmˈɛɹɪkən mjˈuːzɪkəl ɹᵻlˈeɪʃənz, ænd wʌz ˈeɪbəl tʊ ˈɔfɚ ɹˈævəl ɐ dˈɑːlɚ tˈɛn,zˈiəɹoʊzˈiəɹoʊ zˈiəɹoʊ fˈiː fɚðə tˈʊɹ, ɐn ɛntˈaɪsmənt dʒˈɜːʃwɪn nˈuː wʊd biː ɪmpˈoːɹtənt tə ɹˈævəl.