IMPRESSIONISM MUSICAL COMPOSERS

• Debussy was born in St. Germain-en-Laye inzz on August 22, 1862.

• He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1873. He gained a reputation as an erratic pianist and a rebel in theory and harmony.

• In 1884, he won the top prize at the Prix de Rome competition with his composition L’ Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son). This enabled him to study for two years in Rome, where he got exposed to the music of Richard Wagner, specifically his opera Tristan und Isolde

• Debussy’s mature creative period was represented by the following works:

• Ariettes Oubliees• Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun• String Quartet• Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—his

famous operatic work that drew mixed• extreme reactions for its innovative

harmonies and textural treatments.• La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative

and atmospheric symphonic work• for orchestra about the sea• Images, Suite Bergamasque, and

Estampes—his most popular piano• compositions; a set of lightly textured

pieces containing his signature work• Claire de Lune (Moonlight)

Claude Debussy _ Clair de Lune for Piano (Suite Bergamasque No. 3) L. 75_.mp4

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)

• Joseph Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, France to a Basque mother and a Swiss father. He entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 14 where he studied with the eminent French composer Gabriel Faure.

• His works involve a programmatic nature, wherein visual imagery is either suggested or portrayed. Many of his works deal with water in its flowing or stormy moods as well as with human characterizations.

• Ravel’s works include the following:• Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow but

lyrical requiem• Jeux d’Eau or Water Fountains (1901)• String Quartet (1903)• Sonatine for Piano (c.1904)• Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, a work for piano

known for its harmonic evolution• and imagination,• Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set of demonic-

inspired pieces based on the• poems of Aloysius Bertrand which is arguably

the most difficult piece in the• piano repertoire.• These were followed by a number of his other

significant works, including• Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911)• Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917), a

commemoration of the musical• advocacies of the early 18th century French

composer Francois Couperin,• Rhapsodie Espagnole• Bolero

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–1951)

• Arnold Schoenbergwas born in a working-class suburb of Vienna, Austria on September 13, 1874. He taught himself music theory, but took lessons in counterpoint. German

• composer Richard Wagner influenced his work as evidenced by his symphonic poem

• Pelleas et Melisande, Op 5 (1903), a counterpoint of Debussy’s opera of the same title.

• Schoenberg’s style was constantly undergoing development. From the early influences of Wagner,his tonal preference gradually turned to the dissonant and atonal, as he explored the use of chromatic harmonies.

• Although full of melodic and lyrical interest, his music is also extremely complex, creating heavy demands on the listener. His works were met with extreme reactions, either strong hostility from the general public or enthusiastic acclaim from his

supporters.

His works include the following:• Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for

Piano, op. 11• Pierrot Lunaire,• Gurreleider• Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night,

1899), one of his earliest successful• pieces, blen```` • ds the lyricism, instrumentation, and

melodic beauty of Brahms with the chromaticism and construction of Wagner.