*August 22nd 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye – † March 25, 1918, Paris

Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel he is considered the most prominent figure working within the style commonly referred to as Impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Debussy was not only among the most important of all French composers but also a central figure in all European music at the turn of the twentieth century.

Debussy’s music virtually defines the transition from late-Romantic music to twentieth century modernist music. In French literary circles, the style of this period was known as Symbolism, a movement that directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.

Claude Debussy is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. His harmonies, considered radical in his day, were influential to almost every major composer of the 20th century. He also influenced many important figures in Jazz, most notably Bill Evans,Thelonious Monk,Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jimmy Giuffre and Brad Mehldau.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debussy

Tags: achille, claude, composer, debussy, french, ota-berlin

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