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Claude Debussy

French classical composer (1862-1918) · France · Musicians · Died at 55

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He hated being called an Impressionist, but the label stuck anyway. Debussy dismantled the harmonic rules that had governed Western music for centuries, built something new from Russian scales and Far Eastern color, and left a trail that runs through Stravinsky, Bartók, Gershwin, and jazz.

MusiciansSinger / MusicianClassicalFranceEurope19th Century

A life in dates

1918Died25 March 19181911“The worship of Adonis is united with that of Christ.”In their wordsOn the tale of Saint Sebastian, as told by Gabriele d'Annunzio in the play Le martyre de St. Sébastien (1911), for which he wrote the

“Do you really think that my music is devoid of religious antecedents? Do you wish to put an artist's soul under restraint?”In their wordsOn his music for Le martyre de St. Sébastien (1911), in a 1911 interview, as quoted in Dancing in the Vortex : The Story of Ida Rubinstein

1910“Every sound perceived by the acute ear in the rhythm of the world about us can be represented musically.”In their wordsStatement of 1910, as quoted in Debussy on Music (1977) edited and translated by Françoise Lesure and Richard Langham Smith, p. 243

1906“Collect impressions. Don’t be in a hurry to write them down.”In their wordsDebussy in a letter to his pupil Raoul Bardac (1906)

1903Knight of the Legion of HonourAward1894“The colour of my soul is iron-grey and sad bats wheel about the steeple of my dreams.”In their wordsLetter to Ernest Chausson (1894)

1884Prix de RomeAward1862Born22 August 1862

Also in Deutsch

Photos 5

Claude Debussy by Atelier NadarClaude Debussy by Atelier NadarClaude Debussy - btv1b531188424Claude Debussy - btv1b531188424Claude Debussy - D'après le tableau de Jacques-Emile Blanche - btv1b84170364Claude Debussy - D'après le tableau de Jacques-Emile Blanche - btv1b84170364Claude Debussy - Nadar - btv1b8417039cClaude Debussy - Nadar - btv1b8417039cClaude Debussy - Nadar - btv1b84170401Claude Debussy - Nadar - btv1b84170401

In their own words 10

,
Claude Debussy
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. The worship of Adonis is united with that of Christ.

    1911, On the tale of Saint Sebastian, as told by Gabriele d'Annunzio in the play Le martyre de St. Sébastien (1911), for which he wrote the, Own words

  2. Do you really think that my music is devoid of religious antecedents? Do you wish to put an artist's soul under restraint?

    1911, On his music for Le martyre de St. Sébastien (1911), in a 1911 interview, as quoted in Dancing in the Vortex : The Story of Ida Rubinstein, Own words

  3. Every sound perceived by the acute ear in the rhythm of the world about us can be represented musically.

    1910, Statement of 1910, as quoted in Debussy on Music (1977) edited and translated by Françoise Lesure and Richard Langham Smith, p. 243, Own words

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Albums 24

IJImages I/II • Estampes • L'île Joyeuse1975
ÉC12 Études (Complete)1975
PSPrélude a l'après-midi dún faune / Printemps / Petite suite / Danse / Sarabande1974
RLRavel: Gaspard de la nuit / Debussy: Three Preludes & La plus qua lente1974
DDDebussy: Sláčikové kvarteto g-mol, op. 10 / Ravel: Sláčikové kvarteto F-dur1974
AIAfternoon of a Faun / Nocturnes / Iberia1974
MDMartinů / Ceremuga / Stravinskij / Debussy1974
QUQuartets1974
FMFrench Piano Music1974
FOFantasy for Piano and Orchestra / Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra / Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra1973
IJImages / Deux arabesques / L'Isle joyeuse1973
DHDebussy: Sonata no. 2 for Flute, Viola and Harp / Dances for Harp and Orchestra / Ravel: Introduction and Allegro for Harp1973
PRPrelúdios1973
MHMartinu / Debussy / Honegger1973
SBSuite bergamasque1973
MÉMélodies1972
SNSuite beramasque / Nocturne / Ballade / Arabesques / Danse / Danse bohémienne / Mazurka / Valse romantique / Rêverie / Petit nègre1972
LSLe martyre de Saint-Sebastien / Deux rhapsodies pour clarinette, pour saxophone1972
DDDaniel Adni Plays Debussy1972
LILa Mer / Fêtes / Iberia1972
SDSongs of Debussy1972
MDMy Favorite Debussy1972
PIPour le piano / Estampes / Images1972
LLLa boite à Joujoux / Children's Corner / Hommage à Haydn / Berceuse héroïque / La plus que lente1972

Awards

Knight of the Legion of Honour1903
Prix de Rome1884

Family

Claude Debussy

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About this person

Born in 1862 to a family with no cultural footprint, Debussy had enough talent to enter the Conservatoire de Paris at ten. He studied piano but turned to composition, where his ideas ran straight into the school's conservative professors. It took years to find his voice - he was nearly 40 when Pelléas et Mélisande brought him international attention in 1902. He rejected Wagner and the German tradition, dismissed the classical symphony as dead weight, and answered with works like La mer and Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Drawing on Chopin, Liszt, Russian music, and Far Eastern modes, he built his own harmonic language; the establishment derided it and tried to resist, but failed. In his last years he turned to chamber music, finishing three of six planned sonatas before cancer killed him at home in Paris in 1918, at 55.

Country
France
Category
Musicians
Type
Singer / Musician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1862 to 1918 · aged 55

Musicians from France 6

Camille77.1MB1477.1Kavinsky77.2Jean-Michel Jarre80.1Charles Aznavour78.1Kendji Girac77.7

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