Claude Achille Debussy
St. Germain-en-Laye, France, on August 22, 1862
In Paris, France on March 25, 1918
A gifted pianist and composer, he entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of ten. He won the Prix de Rome and was awarded a scholarship to study in Italy. He traveled a great deal, met Franz Liszt, and was influenced by music as diverse as Wagner and Javanese gamelan music.
Debussy gradually developed his own musical language and wrote smaller pieces, partly as a reaction against the large Romantic forms of composers like Wagner and Mahler. His orchestral piece "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" established his reputation as one of the leading components of Impressionist music.
Bringing Impressionism to music, especially music for the piano.
Arabesques, Ballade, The Children's Corner Suite, Estampes, Etudes, Images, Nocturnes, Pour le Piano (suite), Two Books of Préludes, and the Suite Bergamasque.
