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Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) 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. His music virtually defines
the transition from late-Romantic music to 20th 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.
SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO
Spurred on by nationalism in the time of World War I, and the desire
to revive the forms and spirit of his great French predecessors,
Rameau and Couperin, Debussy set to work on a cycle of six sonatas
for different instrument combinations. Tragically, three years
after having begun, he succumbed to cancer having only completed
three, (for cello & piano, for flute, viola & harp, and
his final work, this violin & piano sonata). The first performance
was in Paris with the composer at the piano.
Despite the emphasis on French traditions in Debussy's late
works, there are undoubtedly influences from other cultures and nations,
among them: Spanish, Asian and gypsy music. While the opening "Allegro
vivo" movement has a loosely organized sonata form, this sonata
has a rhapsodic feel to it, with its multiple juxtapositions of tempos,
articulations, characters, and harmonies; particularly in the middle
movement, "Intermède. Fantasque et léger".
This movement is a strong reminder of the corresponding section in
the cello sonata. Ironic echos, unstable stilted phrase give it a
Harlequinesque feel. As for the "Finale: Très animé",
after a brief reference to the opening of the first movement, he
bursts into a vibrant rondo theme. This eventually descends into
a winding motive referenced by the composer:
"Don't trust any piece that appears to hover in flight
from heaven - it could have been brooded in the dark depths of a
sick man's brain! For instance, the finale of my sonata: the
simple play on a thought that twists itself like a snake biting its
own tail..." |
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