Claude Debussy was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near
Paris, on August 22nd, 1862, the eldest of five children. His father
owned a shop selling china and crockery and his mother was a seamstress. In
1867, the family moved to Paris but when the Franco-Prussian war broke out a
few years later in 1870, his mother sought refuge with an in-law in Cannes.
While residing in Cannes, Debussy began to take piano lessons from a local elderly
Italian violinist. He progressed rapidly on the instrument and his talent for
music soon became quite evident. Two years later, in 1872, at the age of ten,
he was enrolled in the prestigious Paris Conservatoire.
Debussy spent eleven years at the Conservatoire and studied
with some of the leading musicians of France. Despite his talent, however,
Debussy was headstrong and showed a stubborn preference for the unusual and
experimental. His early compositions often drew the ire of his professors and
were heavily criticized for his apparent disregard of the Conservatoire's
teaching. Nevertheless, in 1884, Debussy won the Prix de Rome with his
composition L'enfant prodigue and the
following year he left for the Villa Medici in Rome to continue his studies.
According to letters written to Madame Vesnier, whom he had met a few years
prior, Debussy found the artistic and cultural atmosphere of Rome stifling and
unimpressive. He eventually composed four pieces, however, the most notable
among them being the cantata La
demoiselle élue. The work drew sharp criticism from the French Academy who
called it "bizarre." It is, however, the first piece to give a glimpse of
Debussy's emerging mature style.
During 1888-9, Debussy traveled to Bayreuth and was for the
first time exposed to Wagner's operas. Like many other young musicians of the
time, he was inspired by Wagner's overt emotionalism, striking harmonies and
handling of musical form. Around this time, he also found a like spirit in Eric
Satie, who shared Debussy's experimental approach to composition. By the 1890s,
the infatuation with Wagner's music had subsided and Debussy mature style began
to take a more definite form. This style was greatly influenced by the
Symbolist movement in the visual and literary arts, which began as a revolt
against realism and the heroic imagery of Romanticism. In fact, these art forms
likely were a greater influence on the composer than others in his field. Yet,
he did draw inspiration from other composers. Excluding Wagner, Debussy's
strongest influences came from Russia, particularly from members of "The
Five"—Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Mussorgsky.
In 1894, Prélude à
l'après-midi d'un faune, a symphonic poem based on a poem by Stéphane
Mallarmé, premiered in Paris. Considered controversial at the time, the piece
was later responsible for establishing Debussy as one of the leading composers
of the burgeoning Modern era. Later, in 1902, after ten years of work, he
produced his only opera, Pelléas et
Mélisande. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique in April of that year and was
an immediate success. With the success of these compositions and growing frame,
Debussy was engaged as a conductor throughout Europe mainly conducting his own
works, including his multi-movement work La
Mer.
Debussy died on March 25th, 1918 from cancer amidst
German aerial and artillery bombardment of Paris during World War I. Because of
the fighting, it was impossible to hold a public funeral for one of France's
leading artistic figures and consequently his funeral procession made its way
through abandoned streets as German artillery shells exploded throughout the
city. His music went on the inspire some the leading
composers of the 20th century, among theme Maurice Ravel, Igor
Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen, as well as musicians in jazz, such as George
Gershwin and Duke Ellington.
Claude Debussy
Biography
Claude Debussy was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, on August 22nd, 1862, the eldest of five children. His father owned a shop selling china and crockery and his mother was a seamstress. In 1867, the family moved to Paris but when the Franco-Prussian war broke out a few years later in 1870, his mother sought refuge with an in-law in Cannes. While residing in Cannes, Debussy began to take piano lessons from a local elderly Italian violinist. He progressed rapidly on the instrument and his talent for music soon became quite evident. Two years later, in 1872, at the age of ten, he was enrolled in the prestigious Paris Conservatoire.
Debussy spent eleven years at the Conservatoire and studied with some of the leading musicians of France. Despite his talent, however, Debussy was headstrong and showed a stubborn preference for the unusual and experimental. His early compositions often drew the ire of his professors and were heavily criticized for his apparent disregard of the Conservatoire's teaching. Nevertheless, in 1884, Debussy won the Prix de Rome with his composition L'enfant prodigue and the following year he left for the Villa Medici in Rome to continue his studies. According to letters written to Madame Vesnier, whom he had met a few years prior, Debussy found the artistic and cultural atmosphere of Rome stifling and unimpressive. He eventually composed four pieces, however, the most notable among them being the cantata La demoiselle élue. The work drew sharp criticism from the French Academy who called it "bizarre." It is, however, the first piece to give a glimpse of Debussy's emerging mature style.
During 1888-9, Debussy traveled to Bayreuth and was for the first time exposed to Wagner's operas. Like many other young musicians of the time, he was inspired by Wagner's overt emotionalism, striking harmonies and handling of musical form. Around this time, he also found a like spirit in Eric Satie, who shared Debussy's experimental approach to composition. By the 1890s, the infatuation with Wagner's music had subsided and Debussy mature style began to take a more definite form. This style was greatly influenced by the Symbolist movement in the visual and literary arts, which began as a revolt against realism and the heroic imagery of Romanticism. In fact, these art forms likely were a greater influence on the composer than others in his field. Yet, he did draw inspiration from other composers. Excluding Wagner, Debussy's strongest influences came from Russia, particularly from members of "The Five"—Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Mussorgsky.
In 1894, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, a symphonic poem based on a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, premiered in Paris. Considered controversial at the time, the piece was later responsible for establishing Debussy as one of the leading composers of the burgeoning Modern era. Later, in 1902, after ten years of work, he produced his only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique in April of that year and was an immediate success. With the success of these compositions and growing frame, Debussy was engaged as a conductor throughout Europe mainly conducting his own works, including his multi-movement work La Mer.
Debussy died on March 25th, 1918 from cancer amidst German aerial and artillery bombardment of Paris during World War I. Because of the fighting, it was impossible to hold a public funeral for one of France's leading artistic figures and consequently his funeral procession made its way through abandoned streets as German artillery shells exploded throughout the city. His music went on the inspire some the leading composers of the 20th century, among theme Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen, as well as musicians in jazz, such as George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.