Classical Music With Big Mike

Happy Birthday #161 to the great French Composer, Claude Debussy. Born in a town near Paris, on August 22, 1862, Debussy died of cancer at the age of 55 in Paris, France.

From Wikipedia: Claude Debussy: “[Claude Debussy] was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

“Debussy’s orchestral works include Prelude a L’apres-midi d’un Faune, (1894), Nocturnes (1897–1899) and Images (1905–1912). His music was to a considerable extent a reaction against Wagner and the German musical tradition. He regarded the classical symphony as obsolete and sought an alternative in his “symphonic sketches”, La Mer (1903–1905). His piano works include sets of 24 Preludes and 12 Etudes.”

“The application of the term “Impressionist” to Debussy and the music he influenced has been much debated, both during his lifetime and since. The analyst Richard Langham Smith writes that Impressionism was originally a term coined to describe a style of late 19th-Century French painting, typically scenes suffused with reflected light in which the emphasis is on the overall impression rather than outline or clarity of detail, as in works by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and others.”

“Debussy strongly objected to the use of the word “Impressionism” for his (or anybody else’s) music,but it has continually been attached to him since the assessors at the Conservatoire first applied it, opprobriously, to his early work Printemps.”

“Debussy’s most famous tune is Clair de Lune the wistful third movement of his ‘Suite Bergamasque’, composed in 1890.”

On this, what would be Claude Debussy’s 161st Birthday, please turn up the volume and listen to some of his beautiful music:

Clair de Lune:

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun:

Pagodes from “Estampes”:

Toccata – Pour le Piano:

La Mer:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLAUDE DEBUSSY!