Claude Debussy was born on Aug. 22, 1862, in France. He began his piano training at the age of 9, and was quickly recognized as an amazing player. He was educated at the Paris Conservatory and won a very large contest that let him also study in Italy. After his education, he returned to Paris and started composing the works that would make him famous.
Debussy was most famous for his work in impressionist music. When he was attending school at the Paris Conservatory, he was known for his talent on the piano, but he was also known for making strange new music. He was inspired by the popular painting styles of the time: impressionism and symbolism. These styles focus on the change of light, bold colors and strokes, and instead of being realistic, the paintings are bold. Debussy took his music and followed the same principles. It was meant to express deep and bold emotions instead of creating a detailed picture. He also used a lot of contrasting sounds, like the painters used contrasting colors.
• His parents were very poor, but he was supported by a rich Russian woman named Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck at an early age.
• He had a daughter named Claude-Emma.
• He wrote a piano suite called “Children’s Corner” for her.
• His style was drastically different from any other composer at the time.
• He was known for talking to himself under the name Monsieur Croche.
• He died of cancer on March 25, 1918.
• He is buried in Passy Cemetery in Paris.
• His music is often described as like being inside a dream and very light
• He did not just compose for the piano, though that was his favorite.
• Some of his most popular works are “Claire de Lune” (Moonlight) and the opera “Pelleas es Melisande.”
• Some of his operas were inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s stories.
• Much of his work was also inspired by impressionist painters and poems.
• He tried to show the spirit and essence of paintings and poems without telling specific stories.
