Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was born near Paris, France where he began studies at the Paris Conservatoire when he was ten years old. At the conservatoire he studied both piano and composition. In his early 20’s, he traveled to Russia where he encountered the music of Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1884, he won the Prix de Rome, a prestigious scholarship that allowed him to study in Italy for two years before returning to Paris in 1887.

After returning to Paris, Debussy lived in the Montmartre neighborhood that had become a central neighborhood for artists. It was in this setting that he composed the opera Pelléas et Mélisande which premiered in 1902 and gained Debussy instant fame.

Debussy’s music is commonly referred to as impressionist music in an analogy to impressionist painters. His works include piano music (twenty-four Preludes among others), orchestral music (Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun” among others), one opera, a number of songs and incidental music for ballet and plays.