Claude Debussy

French composer, whose innovations in harmony gave rise to enormous changes in 20th-century music. He was also a leading representative of musical Impressionism. Born in 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, he was discovered by a former student of Chopin, Manté de Fleurville, who encouraged his family to enroll the eleven-year-old in the Paris Conservatory. There, he was taught by artists such as Lavignac, Marmontel, and Guiraud.
In the summer of 1880, he became a pianist and teacher for the wealthy patron Nadjezdya von Meck (who was supporting Tchaikovsky at the time), which allowed him to meet Wagner and travel to Moscow, where he could immerse himself in the music of the 'Mighty Handful'.
At the conservatory, he was known as a revolutionary musician, yet in 1884 he won the 'Prix de Rome' for the cantata 'L'Enfant prodigue', a piece in which the young artist still shows a musical sensibility typical of Massenet. In Rome, Debussy felt somewhat out of place, not fond of Roman classicism, longing for the modern and restless Paris.
In the years 1887-1888, he created another cantata to Rossetti's text, following the typical sentimentalism of the 19th century, situated somewhere between Tchaikovsky and Massenet. Seeking new paths in music, he became interested in Wagnerism.
Debussy's liberation in music came with the literary and visual artists he befriended. The Parnassians, Symbolists, and Impressionists made his works very original. In 1893, he composed the string quartet in G minor, and the following year, the Prelude 'Afternoon of a Faun', his first orchestral work based on the Symbolist poem by Stéphane Mallarmé. The opera 'Pelléas et Mélisande', which brought immense fame and recognition to the artist, was based on the theatrical work of the symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. The way in which this work emphasized abstraction and the illusion of an original piece is incredible. Critics believe it is the perfect combination of music and drama.
From 1902 to 1920, Debussy devoted himself almost entirely to compositions for the piano. During this time, he created the etude 'Estampes', piano miniatures 'L'isle joyeuse' and 'Images', as well as many preludes. He stopped treating the piano in a traditional way, emphasizing its expressiveness.
In 1909, the artist was diagnosed with cancer, and he passed away 9 years later in Paris. In his final years, he focused mainly on chamber music. He wrote sonatas (for violin and piano, cello and piano, flute, viola, and harp), whose structure is similar to neoclassical works.