As a composer he defined the image of the iconoclastic avantgarde in. An extraordinary rendition of debussy s piano preludes, played not notebynote but shapebyshape, colourbycolour. The story of debussys nocturnes the story of debussys prelude a. Mar 02, 2018 although it was debussys orchestral work prelude a lapresmidi dun faune that pierre boulez described as the beginning of modern music, it was always at the piano where his. The nocturnes, if i had to choose, would probably rank as my favorite debussy orchestral piece. But i cant resist quoting from his description of the prelude a lapres midi dun faune. Pianist taka kigawa whose repertoire ranges from bach to boulez is an ideal artist for encompassing the beautifully concentrated sonic and emotional worlds within the brief preludes of chopin and debussy. The disc opens with claudio abbados fleet and unsentimental prelude to the afternoon of a faun, in which he emphasizes the works cool beauty. Debussy the cleveland orchestra pierre boulez images prelude a lapresmidi dun faune printemps.
Nocturnes begins in a similar fashion, but the brisk and breezy nuages, with clouds flying by as in timelapse photography, breaks the musics spell. As a survey of the music of perhaps of the greatest 20thcentury. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans lair du soir. Debussy disliked the term impressionism applied to his music, with justification. John adams on debussy, the first modernist the new york times. This largescale early work looks back on virtuosic romantic music, while at the same time exploring the new compositional styles that boulez would subsequently embrace. He developed a highly original system of harmony and musical structure that expressed in many respects the ideals to which the impressionist and symbolist painters and writers. There is more than two hours of lovely music on these two discs, which will satisfy any admirer of the music of debussy. Claude debussys painterly preludes the subtle, elusive quality of debussys twentyfour preludes is captured perfectly by pianist paul jacobs, who plays them with a tolling, belllike sound. Nov 19, 2018 debussy a painter in sound by stephen walsh illustrated. Claude debussy, pierre boulez, new philharmonia orchestra. He shares some thoughts on the works before performing them at le poisson rouge. Societe musicale independante, claude debussy piano 19110503 in paris, salle pleyel complete jane mortier piano first pub lication. Claude debussy, pierre boulez, the cleveland orchestra debussy.
Pierre boulez was born on 26 march 1925, in montbrison, a small town in the loire department of eastcentral france, to leon and marcelle nee calabre boulez. Debussy s reputation as a musical impressionist led most people to think of him as a sort of musical claude monetall blurry outlines and fuzzy imagesbut boulez changed this perception, bringing an analytical clarity and razorsharp definition to the composers musical mosaics. As a composer he defined the image of the iconoclastic avantgarde in his music of the. Formally, the piece divides into two approximately equal sections, a and a, from measure 115, and from 16 36. Adopting the major piano works including the preludes, bartok absorbed the liberated message as deeply as he absorbed the idiom of the hungarian peasant. The prelude, one of debussys best works, is one of the most popular pieces of music of all time and inspired many composers including leonard bernstein and boulez. The shelf of books about debussy is not large, and every scholar who. Claude debussy, in full achilleclaude debussy, born august 22, 1862, saintgermainenlaye, francedied march 25, 1918, paris, french composer whose works were a seminal force in the music of the 20th century. Having purchased boulez other debussy recording on dg with the cleveland orchestra which i enjoyed, i felt this cd was a safe bet, and i was not dissapointed. Provided to youtube by universal music group debussy. In the book, the prelude is one of his favorite recordings, and leads him to. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. John adams on debussy, the first modernist the new york.
Wqxr blog essential piano recordings with so many remarkable piano albums out there, it can be hard to know where to begin. Debussy the cleveland orchestra pierre boulez images. He is sometimes seen as the first impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. Pierre boulez considered the score to be the beginning of modern music. Fitting though it seemed to conclude with chopin, debussy, and boulez, it had actually. Claude debussy, pierre boulez, cleveland orchestra. Pierre boulez, the cleveland orchestra, debussy pierre boulez, the cleveland orchestra, debussy images prelude a lapresmidi dun faune printemps. Among the rarities is a posthumously discovered piano study by debussy, a reconstructed birdsong work by messiaen, and a tiny masterpiece by ravel found in a notebook. It is best to start where pierre boulez said modern music was born.
You have to turn to rattle on emi for an imaginative response to that. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. The attention to detail is painstaking notes seem to bend, individual. Jan 11, 2018 svhs pc pierre boulez new york philharmonic 1992. Debussy a painter in sound by stephen walsh illustrated. Debussys reputation as a musical impressionist led most people to think of him as a sort of musical claude monetall blurry outlines and fuzzy imagesbut boulez changed this perception, bringing an analytical clarity and razorsharp definition to the composers musical mosaics. He was one of the dominant figures of the postwar classical music world.
The purpose of this thesis is to discuss and give a descriptive analysis of twelve of the twentyfour preludes written by claude debussy. The 20 essential debussy recordings wqxr blog wqxr. Deutsche grammophon has reissued these handsome performances in a sixcd trimline box. Its impossible to imagine contemporary music, and in fact the entire musical world, without pierre boulez. The second disc opens with debussys best known work, prelude a lapresmidi dun faune, another entry into a world of fantastic, soothing images. Phrase distinctions are based on the noticeable changes and configurations in the motives as well as changes in mode and general bass harmonic region. And those who know boulezs 1960s and 1970s debussy recordings recently available in a cbs midprice twocd box, 690nla will not need me to point out that. Debussy may have contributed the last important evolution to the prelude. The sixth prelude proceeds through the proliferation and loose variation of melodies. The debussy recordings occupy a little more than two of the discs, while the majority of space is. Boulez once made the remark that the cleveland orchestra sounded more french than the french corchestras. Gerald larner explains how debussy, by defying the rules of.
Beginning at the threshold of the modern era, with the late romanticism of debussy and mahler, the author traces the new directions of music through composers such as alban berg and anton webern, charles ives, edgard varese and olivier messiaen, karlheinz stockhausen, pierre boulez, philip glass and. Boulezs debussy sounds much closer to szells than to ansermets. Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. He developed a highly original system of harmony and musical structure that expressed in many respects the ideals to which the impressionist and symbolist painters and writers of his time aspired. Claude debussy, pierre boulez, new philharmonia orchestra, cleveland orchestra debussy. A guide to pierre boulezs music music the guardian. May 18, 2020 claude debussy, french composer whose works were a seminal force in the music of the 20th century. The dawn that debussy speaks of in the first movement barely peeps through the darkness, and the music never makes any progress toward noon. Between 1991 and 1999, pierre boulez recorded the major orchestral works of claude debussy and maurice ravel with the cleveland orchestra, the berlin philharmonic, and the london symphony orchestra. But after world war ii the future was with boulez, whose creative interest in debussy was. After traveling in europe and russia, debussy settled down in paris in 1887 and devoted himself to composing for the rest of his life.
This prelude was debussys musical response to the poem of stephane. Pierre boulez made his early reputation as a debussy conductor, and with good reason. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. The most important early example of the prelude being exemplified in the forty eight preludes and fugues of books i and ii of the well tempered clavier of bach, where the prelude served to establish the tonal center of the fugue that followed it. Claude debussy, pierre boulez, the cleveland orchestra.
Pierre boulez, as well as the premiere recording of boulezs prelude, toccata. The dawn that debussy speaks of in the first movement barely peeps through the darkness, and. The most important early example of the prelude being exemplified in the forty eight preludes and fugues of books i and ii of the well tempered clavier of bach, where the prelude served to. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In three movements clouds, fetes, and sirens the odyssey kind the work is about new, beautiful harmonies and sonorities. Module 5 analysis of piano repertoire lessons 1 and 2 debussy preludes the student must look for the book the piano works of claude debsusy, by e. The velvet revolution of claude debussy the new yorker. Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. Images prelude a lapresmidi dun faune printemps music.
Claude debussy, pierre boulez, cleveland orchestra debussy. Billstuff has been selling antiques, records, books, postcards and other collectibles for. Rare french piano music van raat by pierre boulez, claude debussy. Jul 16, 2012 its impossible to imagine contemporary music, and in fact the entire musical world, without pierre boulez. Similarly, debussys reading of mallarme to write what pierre boulez. Feb 18, 2018 by charlotte gardner and jenny houser. The classical prelude is a genre bred from improvisation, as early 19 thcentury performers keyboardists, especially would extemporize a kind of rolling introduction to another, composed work. Boulez pretends not to notice and diverts attention by upgrading the accompaniment. Claude debussy pierre boulez philharmonia orchestra. List of books and articles about claude debussy online.
Although it was debussys orchestral work prelude a lapresmidi dun faune that pierre boulez described as the beginning of modern. The practice evolved as composers wrote formal sets of preludes in each of the major and minor keys, so that the pieces would be available as possible intros or. He was too good a composer to imitate debussy, although there are a few examples of direct influence it. To play the opening of reflets dans leau from images, book one feels as if the. Tonality and form in debussys prelude a lapresmidi dun. Pierre boulez, the cleveland orchestra, debussy images. Aug 19, 2016 the composer who benefited most from this liberation was bartok, who was introduced to debussys music by kodaly in 1907.