Customer Reviews

Claude Debussy (20th Century Composers)

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Paul Robert's biography of the great French composer Claude Debussy fits in well with the other composer biographies published by Phaidon Press. It is 240 pages, lavishly illustrated, and focuses more on the life of Debussy than on the details of his music. Roberts is mainly focused on Debussy's relationships with the people in his life. His teachers, his friends and rivals, and his numerous wives and mistresses are presented. Roberts is able to report a great deal of these interpersonal dynamics by citing correspondence, many examples of which have only recently come to light. Roberts builds up a picture of Debussy as something of a man-child, unable to hold down a steady income or build a family, but nonetheless someone who made great and influential music.

I found the book useful for getting a chronology of Debussy's music. However, anyone looking to know more about the music, where Debussy may have taken inspiration for his striking innovations, and how these works were received would do better to seek out other resources.

This book, CLAUDE DEBUSSY, is an excellent overview of Debussy's life. Because of the information and reading suggestions in the appendix, I am currently reading another one of the composer's life. This one, as mentioned by Paul Roberts, is excellent, also. Mr. Roberts' book is a welcome addition to my music history library and I am sure I will be referring to it in my opera history classes come September. It is a cut above the average bio. The comments are especially noteworthy!
Dr.Alan-Clarke Hudson

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) is the subject of this fairly brief, but very engaging and well-illustrated biography. Debussy's aesthetic was unique: "He wanted to create, he said later, music 'whose form was so free it would sound improvised.'"

The music of Debussy is given detailed, yet not too technical explanations. E.g., "One of Debussy's accomplishments in Pelleas et Melisande was the extraordinary balance that he achieved between orchestra and text, and the way in which he allowed the 'expressive force' of the words to control the dramatic action."

His relationships with other composers are also chronicled. "Erik Satie was a continual presence throughout Debussy's great creative maturing of the 1890s. He witnessed it, worshipped it, and to a large extent was involved in it..." Debussy was encouraging of the young Igor Stravinsky (twenty years younger than him), and "clearly found Le Sacre a deeply frightening challenge to his own hold on musical values."

Debussy's private life was sometimes chaotic and controversial. Concerning his "sudden" marriage in 1899, which was "An undoubted rebound from his depression, (that) was to end in disaster and led to the final withdrawing of Claude Debussy behind a screen of prickly taciturnity, from which he rarely emerged for the rest of his life." (Roberts notes that Debussy's first wife shot herself in the breast, attempting to kill herself after he left her.)

Overall, this is a fascinating biography for fans of Debussy and his music.

If you are looking for a book which tells you about the life of Debussy and how his music erupted and emerged from his life . . . . then this is the book!

I've been waiting for a book like this for a very long time and it seems like finally, the wait is over.
Paul Roberts' book on the French composer Claude Debussy is a well-researched and well-written document on this dynamic musical genius. Debussy's musical and personal life are discussed in detail without becoming overly pretentious. Roberts provides an inside look into Debussy's creativity as a composer as well as his life outside of music. It's almost like getting to meet Debussy in person and having a friend of his tell you his life story.
This book is definitely a must for the avid Debussy fan. Although I've been a fan of Debussy's music for well over 20 years, I have further appreciation for him and his music after reading this book. Because of this, it comes highly recommended. It's an excellent biography on a most excellent composer and musician. A Must-Read!!!