Claude Debussys Paris was factionalized, politicized, and litigious. It was against this background of ferment and changewhich characterized French society and music from the Franco-Prussian War to World War Ithat Debussy re-thought music. This book captures the complexity of the composers restless personal and artistic identity within the new picture emerging of the musical, social, and political world of fin-de-siècle Paris. Debussys setting did not simply mold his style. Rather, it challenged him to define a style and then to revamp it again and again as he situated himself simultaneously via the present and the past. These essays trace Debussys perpetual reinvention, both social and creative, from his earliest to his last works. They explore tensions and contradictions in his best-known compositions and examine lesser-known pieces that reveal new aspects of Debussys creative appropriation from poetry, painting, and non-Western music. The contributors reveal the extent to which Debussys personal and professional lives were intertwined and sometimes in conflict. Belonging to no one group or class, but crossing many, Debussy abjured the orthodox. A maverick who reviled all convention and searched for a music that authentically reflected experience, Debussy balked at entering any situationsalons, musical societies, or factionsthat would categorize and thus distort him. Because of this, music lovers still argue over the degree to which Debussys music is Impressionist, symbolist, or even French. Aptly, the volumes editor reads Debussys last works as a dialogue with himself that reflects his inherently pluralistic, paradoxical, negotiated, and ever-changing identity. William Austins description of Debussy as one of the most original and adventurous musicians who ever lived is often repeated. This book illustrates how right Austin was and shows why Debussys unclassifiable art continues to fascinate and perplex his historians even as it enthralls new listeners. The contributors are Leon Botstein, Christophe Charle, John Clevenger, Jane F. Fulcher, David Grayson, Brian Hart, Gail Hilson-Woldu, and Marie Rolf. .eText ISBN: 9781400831951
Debussy and His World Ebook
$25.00
eText ISBN: 9781400831951
Related products
$25.00
$25.00