<\/p>
Claude Debussy<\/a> <\/strong>was not only a genius composer, but also had a truly independent spirit, something he was remarked for from his earliest days at the Paris Conservatoire. Even in class, he would break the rules and be reprimanded by his teachers, although some of them admired his novel musical ideas.<\/p> A great improviser and sight-reader, Debussy spent years absorbing all types of music, accompanying singers, playing chamber music<\/a><\/strong> and performing piano reductions of operas for friends and patrons. At first, he composed music for the salon world, but he soon struck out on his own and fashioned his own unique musical language.<\/p> Although he inspired other composers, Debussy never built a school around his ideas. He was an orchestrator of genius. Even when composing for the piano, his expanded the palette of pianistic sounds, as can notably be heard in his remarkable two sets of twelve Pr\u00e9ludes<\/strong><\/a>, which I recorded and released on Orchid Classics. Debussy moves from beautiful, more traditional melodic song-like works (like The Girl with the Flaxen Hair<\/em><\/strong>) to near-abstract modernist works (like Fireworks<\/em><\/strong>).<\/p> To enter the world of Debussy requires focused listening. You may find yourself preferring his earlier, more descriptive works like the world-famous Clair de lune<\/em><\/strong>, or you may find yourself absorbed by his more mystical inspirations. Instead of giving you a chronological list, I chose to mix things up with this list of great Debussy for beginners.<\/p> George Lepauw (piano)<\/strong><\/p>
Debussy for beginners: George Lepauw’s choices<\/h2>
Pr\u00e9ludes: Feux d\u2019artifice<\/em> (1913)<\/strong><\/h3>