COMPOSER Of The Week

August Composer

Claude Debussy
(August 22, 1862 - March 25, 1918)

IMPORTANT FACTS:
Dates: 1862 - 1918
Country of Birth: France
Period of Music: Impressionist classical
Instruments Played: piano
Major Compositions: "Prelude a L'apres-midi d'un faune"; "Clair de Lune"; "Children's Corner"
Interesting Facts: Debussy had a nick-name for his daughter -- 'Chou-Chou'. In French, it means 'Little Cabbage'.

NAME: Claude Debussy

Debussy used his music to stir the imagination, much like the Impressionist painters Monet and Renoir did with their paintings.

From age 10 on, Debussy was a brilliant student at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique, where he won the highest prizes for composition.

He would often alarm his professors by sitting at the piano and playing chords that broke every textbook rule. What he didn't realize yet, was that he was searching for a new musical language, that he slowly but surely found.

Debussy's influence on the music of the 20th century has been immense. His finest works, including the orchestral masterpiece La mer and many of his piano pieces, sound as original and effective today as they did a century ago.