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Claude Debussy

(Achille) Claude Debussy (French: [aʃil klod dəbysi]; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) 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.

Born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement, Debussy showed enough musical talent to be admitted at the age of ten to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied the piano, but found his vocation in innovative composition, despite the disapproval of the Conservatoire's conservative professors. He took many years to develop his mature style, and was nearly 40 when he achieved international fame in 1902 with the only opera he completed, Pelléas et Mélisande.

Debussy's orchestral works include Prélude à l'après-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 Préludes and 12 Études. Throughout his career he wrote mélodies based on a wide variety of poetry, including his own. He was greatly influenced by the Symbolist poetic movement of the later 19th century. A small number of works, including the early La Damoiselle élue and the late Le Martyre de saint Sébastien have important parts for chorus. In his final years, he focused on chamber music, completing three of six planned sonatas for different combinations of instruments.

With early influences including Russian and Far Eastern music and works by Chopin, Debussy developed his own style of harmony and orchestral colouring, derided – and unsuccessfully resisted – by much of the musical establishment of the day. His works have strongly influenced a wide range of composers including Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin, and the jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans. Debussy died from cancer at his home in Paris at the age of 55 after a composing career of a little more than 30 years.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 22, 1862 (Saint-Germain-en-Laye), Died March 25, 1918 (Paris)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1909 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, orchestrator

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 151-175 of 361 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor CS-028872 12-in. 12/1/1938 La mer Boston Symphony Orchestra ; Serge Koussevitzky Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-030489 10-in. 12/28/1938 Mi reverie Marimba Pan-Americana Marimba band composer  
Victor BS-031212 10-in. 1/3/1939 Mi ensueno Boricuas ; Chevevo ; Augusto Coén Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor CS-035854 12-in. 5/5/1939 Clair de lune Charles O'Connell ; Victor Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-041518 10-in. 8/9/1939 Nocturne in D flat major, part 1 Jesús María Sanromá Piano solo composer  
Victor BS-041519 10-in. 8/9/1939 Nocturne in D flat major, part 2 Jesús María Sanromá Piano solo composer  
Victor BS-043281 10-in. 11/2/1939 Dormez-vous (Are you sleeping?) Lucy Monroe Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BS-051214 10-in. 6/3/1940 Il pleure dans mon coeur Lily Pons Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BS-051215 10-in. 6/3/1940 Air de l'enfant Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor CS-056577 12-in. 10/20/1940 Recitative and air de Lia Dorothy Maynor ; Eugene Ormandy ; Philadelphia Orchestra Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BS-064661 10-in. 8/4/1941 Afternoon of a faun Jan Savitt ; Top Hatters Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-064662 10-in. 8/4/1941 Afternoon of a faun Jan Savitt ; Top Hatters Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor E0RC-1966 12-in. 12/18/1950 Serenade to a doll William Kapell Piano solo composer  
Victor E0RC-1967 12-in. 12/18/1950 Jumbo's lullaby William Kapell Piano solo composer  
Victor E0RC-1968 12-in. 12/20/1950 The little shepherd William Kapell Piano solo composer  
Victor D4RC-0495 10-in. 12/26/1944 La fille aus cheveux de lin Adolph Baller ; Yehudi Menuhin Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor D7RC-7164 12-in. 1/24/1947 Soirée dans Grenade E. Robert Schmitz PIano solo composer  
Victor CVE-Test-199 12-in. 3/27/1930 Jardins sous la pluie Louise Anita O'Connell Piano solo composer  
Victor CVE-Test-1269 12-in. 3/17/1931 Danses sacres Philadelphia Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski String orchestra composer  
Victor CVE-Test-1270 12-in. 3/17/1931 Danses profanes Philadelphia Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski String orchestra composer  
Victor [Trial 1913-04-28-05] Not documented 4/28/1913 Azael Lucy Call Female vocal solo composer  
Victor [Trial 1915-02-25-06] Not documented 2/25/1915 Arabesque no. 1 Julius L. Schendel Piano solo composer  
Victor [Trial 1929-02-18-02] Not documented 2/18/1929 Quartet Pro Arte Quartet String quartet composer  
Columbia 81323 10-in. 10/31/1923 Golliwogg's cake walk Percy Grainger Piano solo composer  
Columbia 81680 10-in. 4/9/1924 La fille aux cheveux de lin Mischa Levitzki Piano solo composer  
(Results 151-175 of 361 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Debussy, Claude," accessed October 9, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102597.

Debussy, Claude. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102597.

"Debussy, Claude." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102597

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