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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 176-200 of 361 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 30657 12-in. 2/2/1911 Mandoline Lillian Nordica Soprano vocal solo, with harp and piano composer  
Columbia 49494 12-in. 9/7/1918 En bateau Columbia Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 49638 12-in. 6/16/1919 Toccata in C-sharp minor Percy Grainger Piano solo composer  
Columbia 98018 12-in. 3/13/1922 Andantino London String Quartet String quartet composer  
Columbia 98034 12-in. 8/7/1922 Jardins sous la pluie Percy Grainger Piano solo composer  
Columbia W141727 10-in. 2/25/1926 Minstrels Georges Enesco Violin solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W148609 10-in. 5/21/1929 Menuet Felix Salmond Cello solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W149673 10-in. 12/4/1929 Minuet Josef Adler ; Horace Britt Cello solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W152106 10-in. 2/5/1932 Arabesque no. 1 Bernard Zighera Harp solo composer  
Columbia W98246 12-in. 3/31/1926 Claire de lune Percy Grainger Piano solo composer  
Columbia W98248 12-in. 3/31/1926 Toccata, C-sharp minor Percy Grainger Piano solo composer  
Columbia W98466 12-in. 2/17/1928 Poissons d'or Dame Myra Hess Piano solo composer  
Columbia W98467 12-in. 2/17/1928 La fille aux cheveux de lin Dame Myra Hess Piano solo composer  
Columbia 6397 12-in. approximately 1914 Quartet in G minor London String Quartet String quartet composer  
Columbia 6491 12-in. approximately 1915 Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Band of the Grenadier Guards [U.K] ; Lt. A. Williams Band composer  
Columbia 74226 12-in. 12/13/1920 Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 75870 12-in. approximately 1917 La cathédrale engloutie William Murdoch Piano solo composer  
Columbia 75871 12-in. approximately 1917 Golliwog's cake walk William Murdoch Piano solo composer  
Columbia 76225 12-in. approximately August 1918 Petite suite : En bateau Beecham Symphony Orchestra ; Thomas Beecham Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76226 12-in. approximately August 1918 Petite suite : Ballet Beecham Symphony Orchestra ; Thomas Beecham Orchestra composer  
OKeh 8911 10-in. Jan. 1925 Reflets dans l'eau Agnes F. Roach Piano solo composer  
Brunswick B64 12-in. 8/5/1924 Feux d’artifice Elly Ney Piano solo composer  
Brunswick XB77-XB78 12-in. 8/6/1924 Feux d’artifice Elly Ney Piano solo composer  
Brunswick 13997-13998 10-in. 10/22/1924 Feux d’artifice Elly Ney Piano solo composer  
Brunswick XE15731 12-in. 5/14/1925 Quartet in G minor : 3rd movement (Andantino) New York String Quartet String quartet composer  
(Results 176-200 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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