Debussy-French composer and critic. Debussy's music is often associated with the contemporary impressionist movement in painting

"The primary aim of French music," Claude Debussy wrote in 1904, "is to give pleasure." Debussy, more than anything, was interested in the sensuous quality of music. Even as a student he let his concept of sound override many of the rules he was so assiduously taught by his teachers (much to their consternation). From this he developed a style that was wholly his own, but that also owed much to a wide variety of disparate influences. He also was a passionate champion of a purely French style, and he proudly referred to himself as "Claude Debussy, musicien français." Debussy was educated at the Paris Conservatory, and in 1885 he won the coveted Prix de Rome. His period in Rome, however, was not pleasant for Debussy and he longed to return to Paris. His early works show his desire to break the constraints of Western harmony and form (he especially disliked sonata-allegro form, which he came to see as overly Germanic and not fitting for a French composer). His Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun departs from any sense of development, relying instead on a series of free repetitions and variations of the basic themes. As a student and a young composer, Debussy was also an ardent Wagnerite, seeing in the German composer the future of music, specifically musical drama. He later turned away from Wagner, describing him as "a beautiful sunset mistaken for a dawn." Yet his one completed opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, owes much of its conception to this influence, even if the musical language is markedly different. The other strong influences on Debussy at this time were the symbolist and decadent movements in poetry, with their concern for sound and abstract meaning. While Pelléas was his only opera, he worked on various subjects by Edgar Allan Poe, one of his favorite writers and a strong influence on the symbolist writers. Debussy's interest in the exquisite and sensual also led him to an appreciation of the music of other cultures, and his use of various scales beyond the traditional major and minor ones shows the influence of Oriental and Russian music. A decisive influence was the Paris Exhibition of 1889, where he first encountered the music of the Indonesian gamelan orchestra. The different scales, as well as the floating qualities of form and rhythm, would find their way into his work, especially his piano music. Late in his life, Debussy turned his interests to abstract forms, producing three remarkable sonatas (he had originally conceived of six for various instruments, with the final one planned for all the instruments of the previous five). In these works, Debussy's rich melodic and harmonic language found a new and intriguing expression. Sadly, this endeavor was cut short by the composer's death at the height of World War I. The conflict of German and French civilization was for him a violent reflection of the musical conflict he dealt with his entire life

Frederic Chopin

Born:

March 1, 1810 - Zelazowa Wola (near Warsaw)

Died:

October 17, 1849 - Paris

Chopin Quick Facts:

• Chopin's unique style and genre's (Etude, Mazurka, Nocturne, and Waltz) were clearly established before he left Warsaw.
• Chopin preferred to give private, more intimate concerts to smaller crowds of high class "socialites".

• Chopin was able to charge lofty fees for private piano lessons. His tutorship was highly demanded.

Chopin's Family Background:

Chopin's father, Mikolaj, tutored the son of Countess Justyna Skarbek at the Countess's estate in Zelazowa Wola. Chopin's mother, Tekla Justyna Kryzanowska, had also been employed there, but at a much younger age. She was the Countess's companion and housekeeper. In 1806, Chopin's parents married. Frederic Chopin was only seven months old when they moved out of the estate to Warsaw. Mikolaj secured a post at the Lyceum and lived in the right wing of the Saxon Palace. Chopin had three siblings.

Childhood:

Given the current living circumstances, Chopin met and associated with three different classes of people: professors of academia, middle gentry (most of the students attending Lyceum), and the wealthy aristocrats. In 1817, the Lyceum, along with the Chopins, moved to the Kazimierzowski Palace next to the University of Warsaw. Chopin quickly gained several lasting friendships with the boys attending the school long before he enrolled in the university. He was home-schooled until 4th grade.

Teenage Years:

Chopin received several years of private lessons from Józef Elsner before attending the High School of Music in 1826. He also took organ lessons in 1823 from Wilhelm Würfel. However, these lessons did not contibute to Chopin's extradordinary keyboard ability; he taught himself. Chopin did learn rules of composition, though, while attending high school. After graduation, he traveled and performed. Back in Warsaw at the age of 20, he performed the F minor Concerto to a crowd of 900.

Early Adult Years:

Chopin, depressed by the uncertainty of his future (should he be a public performer or not)and by his secret love of Konstancja Gadkowska, set off to Vienna in November of 1830. During his short stay in Vienna, Chopin managed to compose his first nine mazurkas. Chopin departed Vienna in 1831, and headed toward Paris. While in Paris, Chopin gave a concerts and earned the friendships of other great pianists such as Liszt and Berlioz. He became the "premiere" piano instructor.

Mid Adult Years:

In 1837, Chopin met a novelist by the name of George Sand. She came from a social class Chopin would consider "bohemian." He once said, "What an unattractive person La Sand is. Is she really a woman?" Nevertheless, a year later they met again and instantly fell in love. Chopin became very ill while staying in Majorca with Sand. However, he was still able to write. He mailed several preludes to his friend, Pleyel. Upon his recovery, Chopin moved to Sand's manor in Nohant.

Late Adult Years:

Many of Chopin's greatest works were composed during his summer stays in Nohant. Although Chopin's works were blossoming, his relationship with Sand was slowly deteriorating. Many family feuds broke out between Sand's children and Chopin. Tensions between Sand and Chopin also increased; apparent in her later writings, "...a strange conclusion to nine years of exclusive friendship." Chopin never fully recovered from the break up. Chopin died of consumption in 1849.

Selected Works by Chopin:

Piano

Mazurka

• Op. 68/2 - a minor - 1827
• Op. 68/3 - F Major - 1830
• Op. 68/1 - C Major - 1830
• Op. 67/1 - G Major - 1835
• Op. 67/3 - C Major - 1835
• Op. 41/1 - e minor - 1838
• Op. 68/4 - f minor - 1846
• Op. 67/4 - a minor - 1846
• Op. 67/2 - g minor - 1848

Nocturne

• Op. 72/1 - e minor - 1829
• Op. 15/3 - g minor - 1832
• Op. 27/1 - c sharp minor - 1835
• Op. 27/2 - D Major - 1835
• Op. 37/1 - g minor - 1838
• Op. 37/2 - G Major - 1839

Polonaise

• Op. 71/1 - d minor - 1828
• Op. 71/2 - B flat Major - 1828
• Op. 71/3 - f minor - 1828
• Op. 40/1 - A Major - 1838
• Op. 40/2 - C Major - 1839
• Op. 44 - f sharp minor - 1841
• Op. 53 - A flat Major - 1843