Debussy preludes book 1 program notes for cpect

Two excerpts from the emperor concerto, showing beethovens use of uneven groups of notes. Among the most important 20th century composers, and the most influential. The first more youthful and still imbued with a certain romanticism in some aspects, and then from the peak of his maturity as debussy reached the apex of his artistic and compositional mastery. Sep 29, 2009 claude debussy s painterly preludes the subtle, elusive quality of debussy s twentyfour preludes is captured perfectly by pianist paul jacobs, who plays them with a tolling, belllike sound. Topclassicalmusic music history channel 22,720,297 views. Playing debussys piano works an amateurs thoughts about. Claude debussys preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Traditional diatonic harmonies have little driving force in these pieces, replaced by modal melodies and harmonic constructions based on wholetone scales that elicit less hierarchical aural expectations in the listener. Douze etudes by claude debussy a pianists view helda. It is not necessary to be a virtuoso in order to play the notes of many of the pieces, but formidable technique and vision are required to create the colours and capture the changing moods. Debussy dover music for piano by debussy, claude isbn.

Given the glittering age it celebrates, one would expect the work to be as. Often dubbed a musical impressionist, but his music always has a strong sense of form. Maybe debussy, who distrusted prolixity and technical brilliance, was saying. Program notes by phillip huscher claude debussy born august 22, 1862, saintgermainenlaye, france. After sonatas by beethoven and chopin, a disc of schumann and magisterial accounts of the two brahms piano concertos comes this recital of debussy centred on the first book of preludes. P ierrelaurent aimards muchpublicised recent claim in an interview with a german newspaper that debussy is a greater composer than wagner is by no. In these pages ill try to summarize what references i have on the performance of. Buy debussy preludes by claude debussy, pascal roge from amazons classical music store.

Debussy preludes, book 1 by claude debussy 18621918. His second book of preludes published in 19 consists of twelve generous vignettes painted in a pastel kaleidoscope of pianistic colors. Soyoung choe performs excerpts from debussys preludes, book 1. Three years exist between the publication of the first and second book, with the former appearing in 1910. Along with maurice ravel, he is considered one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to. Pucks aerial acrobatics are first interrupted by and then blended with trumpet and horn calls. Preludes book 2 debussy preludes, opus 32 rachmaninoff by lawrence budmen while an entire concert of preludes may seem repetitive at first glance, the term had a very different meaning to various composers. Ivan moravec fell short of sheer apollonian distance and control in his debussy, and yet that is still marvelous.

These works have been central to stevens repertoire for many years and he brings them to the. Claude debussy h18621918 by the time he began writing the first book of preludes, claude debussy had established himself as an important and prolific composer having already produced most of the works that history would label masterpieces. The paperback of the complete preludes, books 1 and 2. Achilleclaude debussy august 22, 1862 march 25, 1918 was a french composer. As part of an ma dissertation scott presented his own logicodeductive form of analysis based on hattens theories of music and gesture. Chapter 4 debussys use of the pedals in the welte mignon piano rolls. But where bach and chopin used their preludes as something of a technical exercise, composing one for each musical key, debussys were freeform and full of his signature expressive indulgences. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. Sep 29, 2006 claudio arrau considered it to be one of debussys greatest preludes and said its miraculous that he created, in so few notes, this kind of depth. These compositions, while endearing themselves to both pianist and listener, also occupy an important place in musical.

The two final preludes of book i are more lighthearted. That this was general we can to some extent see from the sales figures quoted by roy howat. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as chopins op. Canope preludes, book ii, 19 playing debussys piano works. Here in his first debussy recording for hyperion he presents the two books of images. This paper also includes a brief history of preludes as well as possible influences upon debussy and his compositions. Claudio arrau considered it to be one of debussys greatest preludes and said its miraculous that he created, in so few notes, this kind of depth. 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. His readings of the first book of preludes, and the first set of images is going to be much, much, much more than soothing pastel background music listening. These beautiful french works are a must for all pianists. Debussy and schoenberg jmu scholarly commons james. Debussys piano pieces require deep thought and understanding.

Nature was central to debussy s artistic aesthetic. Debussys most dramatic contribution to music history was his disregard for traditional chord structures and tonality. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection. For 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, contrabassoon, 2 horns arr. Well, debussy obviously agreed but that didnt stop him putting his own stamp on the genre. To debussy, preludes were the musical equivalent of impressionistic painting. Here he reaches between those two to tackle one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoiredebussys two books of preludes. I can do just as good a water nymph as you in fewer notes.

See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Both books 1 and 2 of debussys popular piano preludes are contained in this one sturdy volume. A descriptive analysis of the preludes book 1 of claude debussy. He was one of the most important figures in music at the turn of the 20th century. Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. Breiner for orchestra debussy completed his two books of preludes in 1910 and 19 respectively, and they contain some of his most visionary and poetic writing for piano. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snowcovered landscapes. Also recorded here is the second book of preludes, in a poetic and evocative performance. Debussy was the composer who freed western music from the claustrophobic confines of functional harmony, the set of rules that for 300 years had governed which chords fit best with which others according. They require attention to myriad details, yet an air of often skittish improvisation. Steven osborne has already made a name for himself in french music with a disc of alkan and a profoundly moving performance of messiaens vingt regards.

Unlike some notable collectio ns of pre ludes from prior times, su ch as ch opins op. A new album from marcandre hamelin is always cause for celebration. The beams on even the 32nd notes are very easy to distinguish many printers do not get such a high resolution and the spaces between 2 or 3 beams are often poorly defined resulting in fat black patches instead of distinct lines. Publication date 1910 topics preludes, for piano, scores featuring the piano, for 1 player collection imslp. Im only an amateur pianist, but have been playing debussys piano works since the late 70s. Scotts analysis a similar study to my own regarding gestural analysis has been conducted by douglas scott on mozarts flute quartet in d, k285. The late mary antonietti, a pianist and cousin of gustav holst who met debussy when he came to london in 1909, remembered that book ii of the preludes was greeted in britain with slight disappointment.

Complete preludes, books 1 and 2 dover music for piano. Puck is shakespeares elf, in all likelihood found by debussy, as roy howat has suggested, in an edition of 1908 with illustrations by arthur rackham. Achilleclaude debussy 22nd august 1862 25th march 1918 was a french composer. Jan 22, 2009 after sonatas by beethoven and chopin, a disc of schumann and magisterial accounts of the two brahms piano concertos comes this recital of debussy centred on the first book of preludes.

My concert programme notes on debussys etudes began to grow and finally took the. Debussy rather admired english sangfroid those were the days, but was not beyond giving it the occasional dig in the ribs, as here in his quotation of god save the king. Sep 20, 2009 michelangeli debussy preludes book 1 dvd. Example 12 debussy, prelude from pour le piano, mm. The three sonic pictures that debussy published in 1905 as the first book of his images are remarkably different in tone, but each stands at a distinct distance from the musical practice of its time. Ta sdrdnade interrompue from preludes book 1, bars 1931. Pascal roge recorded debussys preludes book 1 for decca some time ago, and he has remade them, together with book 2, marking the start of a complete cycle of this composers piano works. While in an opera or ballet, a prelude may be a mood setting introduction to.

Along with maurice ravel, he is considered one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. This blog is dedicated to discussion of the performance of the piano pieces of claude debussy. Recorded live during the marion rubin berman 31 piano honors concert april 12, 2012 in necs jordan hall in boston. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. Debussy preludes, bk 1 alfred masterwork edition paperback march 1, 1986. As he plays debussys book 1 preludes, you notice how effortlessly his arms, hands, and fingers are choreographed to the music. Debussys colouristic masterpiece, a bewitching compendium of scents, colours and sounds.

Prelude to the afternoon of a faun is that it is one of the foundational works of. Some pedaling marks at the bottom if these pages were cut off. One pleasure of staying with friends is to explore their collections of books and recordings. The next two preludes take us abroad for the last time. Like vladimir horowitz and glenn gould, michelangeli employs a relatively flatfingered technique for sustained legato passages and certain rotary arpeggios such as those in ce qua vu le vent douest. Claude debussy s preludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into tw o book s of 12 prelu des each. But where bach and chopin used their preludes as something of a technical exercise, composing one for each musical key, debussy s were freeform and full of his signature expressive indulgences. As for his piano compositions, after he completed the second book of preludes the only. Dovers book of debussy preludes is made of extremely high quality print on heavier paper than usual.