Born: August 22, 1862; Saint-Germain-en-Laye,
France
Died: March 25, 1918; Paris, France
Nationality: French
Occupation: Composer
Claude
Debussy, one of the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, was a French composer who was born on August 22, 1862 and died on
March 25, 1918. He is regarded as the first impressionist composer, but he strongly
rejected the term.
Rue au Pain, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, street of Debussy's birthplace
Born in a middle-class family with little cultural
involvement, Debussy was a figure who had a great musical talent enough to be
admitted to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris, at the
age of ten. He originally studied piano, but despite the disapproval of the
Conservatoire's professors, he decided to pursue his career as an innovative
composer, not as a pianist. Debussy, who took many years to develop his mature style,
gained international fame for the first time at the age of 40 in 1902, with the
only opera he completed, “Pelléas et Mélisande."
Debussy's
orchestra works include “Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894)”, “Nocturnes
(1897–1899)” and “Images pour orchestra (1905–1912)”. Much of his music was a
reaction against Wagner and the German musical tradition. He considered the classical
symphony as obsolete and tried to find an alternative in his symphonic sketches,
“La mer (1903-1905).” His piano works include two books of “Préludes” and “12 Études.”
Throughout his career, Debussy wrote melodies based on various poems.
Debussy's last home
He was
also greatly influenced by the Symbolist poetic movement in the late 19th century.
A small number of works, including “La Damoiselle élue” and “Le Martyre de
saint Sébastien,” have important parts for chorus. He focused on chamber music,
completing three of the six planned sonatas for different combinations of
instruments, in his final years.
His
works have greatly influenced composers in a wide range of music, including Béla
Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin and the jazz pianist and composer Bill
Evans.
Debussy, who had been composing music for a little more than 30 years,
died of cancer at his home in Paris at the age of 55.
Debussy's grave, Passy Cemetery, Paris
Thank you.
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