Claude Debussy

French composer often seen as the first Impressionist.

His most famous works include the opera Pelléas et Mélisande and the orchestral piece La mer.^[1] Claude Debussy came into the world on 22 August 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which is located in Seine-et-Oise, on the north-west fringes of Paris.^[2]

Quick Facts

Born

22 August 1862

Died

25 March 1918

Field

Composer

Nationality

French

Known for

Pelléas et Mélisande
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
La mer
24 Préludes
12 Études

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

In 1870, to escape the siege of Paris, Debussy's mother took him to Cannes.^[3] In 1872, aged ten, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris.^[4] In 1889 he first heard Javanese gamelan music at the Paris Exposition Universelle.^[5] He married Marie-Rosalie Texier in October 1899.^[6]

He underwent one of the earliest colostomy operations in 1915.^[7]

What the cited sources add

Parker also states that Debussy's quartet presented unprecedented challenges for performers.^[8] The Badke Quartet, recipients of the Leverhulme Junior Chamber Music Fellowship, has performed Debussy's quartet.^[8] Parker observes that Debussy's quartet influenced Bartók's first string quartet.^[8] Parker mentions that Debussy visited Russia a couple of times as a young man.^[8]

Parker describes Debussy's quartet as having a "typically Debussyan modal harmony".^[8] Parker notes that Debussy expressed a different conception of dramatic art, saying "there is too much singing in musical drama."^[8]

References

Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lesure & Howat, 2001; Newman, Ernest. "The Development of Debussy", The Musical Times, May 1918, pp. 119–203; Sackville-West and Shawe Taylor, p. 214; Newman, Ernest. "The Development of Debussy", The Musical Times, May 1918, pp. 119–203; Rolf, p. 29; Newman, Ernest. "The Development of Debussy", The Musical Times, May 1918, pp. 119–203; Lesure & Howat, 2001; Halford, p. 12 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lockspeiser, p. 6; and Trezise (2003), p. xiv (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lesure & Howat, 2001 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lockspeiser, p. 25; Prod'homme, J.-G. "Achille Debussy", The Musical Quarterly, October 1918, p. 556; Fulcher, p. 302 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cooke, pp. 258–260; "The Bohemian period" , Centre de documentation Claude Debussy, Bibliothèque nationale de France, retrieved 16 May 2018; Jones, p. 18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dietschy, p. 107; Holmes, p. 58; Orledge, p. 4; "The Consecration" , Centre de documentation Claude Debussy, Bibliothèque nationale de France, retrieved 18 May 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Claude Debussy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vallas, p. 269 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Parker, Roger. "Debussy Quartet in G minor Op 10" , Gresham College, 2008, retrieved 18 June 2018. facts only, no text reused. gresham.ac.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Claude Debussy (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.