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Debussy

A Painter in Sound
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( 295 ratings, 53 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Debussy by Professor Stephen Walsh explores the life and work of Claude Debussy, a composer who transformed the musical landscape by prioritising beauty of sound over traditional spiritual aims. The biography weaves together the critical analysis of Debussy's music with key moments from his life, shedding light on how he became the beloved modernist who reshaped early twentieth-century music.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in classical music, modernist composers, and cultural history within the arts.

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An accessible and thought-provoking biographical study of Claude Debussy (1862-1918), arguably one of the three or four most influential composers of the early twentieth century.

An accessible and thought-provoking biographical study of Claude Debussy (1862-1918), arguably one of the three or four most influential composers of the early twentieth century.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Claude Debussy was that rare creature, a composer who reinvented the language of music without alienating the majority of music lovers. He is the modernist everyone loves. How did he manage this? Was it through the association of his music with visual images, or was it simply that, by throwing out the rule book of the Paris Conservatoire where he studied, his music put beauty of sound above the spiritual ambitions of the German tradition from which those rules derived.

Debussy by Professor Stephen Walsh is a thought-provoking biography, told partly through the events of Debussy's life, and partly through a critical discussion of his music. Walsh addresses these and other questions about one of the most influential composers of the early twentieth century.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571330171

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 April 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 233.0mm

Weight: 475g

Pages: 368

About the Author

Stephen Walsh is a Professor of Music at Cardiff University, and the author of several books on music, including Musorgsky and His Circle (Faber, 2013) which was shortlisted for the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize in 2014. The first volume of his major biography of Stravinsky - Stravinsky: A Creative Spring - won the Royal Philharmonic Society prize in 2000. Volume Two - Stravinsky: The Second Exile - was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the ten best books of 2006.

He was deputy music critic of The Observer from 1966 to 1985. He now reviews for theartsdesk.com website and broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 3.

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