1885

Debussy's revolutionary style and technical skill made him the most remarkable and important composer of the 19th and 20th centuries. The music of Claude-Achille Debussy is shockingly unorthodox, amazingly complex, and wondrously beautiful. His originality came from his natural gift for improvisation, a wide array of influences, immense talent for creating new scales and chord progressions to create innovative harmonies and his boldness at experimentating with instrumental arrangement. Debussy's music which is just as complex is seen in the small nuances in his playing techniques, the precise, difficult rhythmic patterns, and the specific methods for pedaling. Most importantly, the influence of his development of imagery in music served as a turning point in music history and began the musical transition into Impressionism. His unique musical compositions have inspired passionate love and admiration as well as equally intensive hatred and criticism.

1867

Claude-Achille Debussy was born on December 22, 1862 in St. Germain-en-Laye to Mr. and Mrs. Maniel-Achille Debussyas the fourth of five children. Debussy received little formal education. In 1871, at the age of nine, he was given his first piano lessons under Mme. Mautet de Fleurville, mother-in-law to famous French poet Paul Verlaine. She was impressed with his ability for improvisation and helped him to enter the Conservatory in Paris in 1873 by furthering his education which enabled him to pass the entrance exam. Later, Mme. Mautet would introduce him to her son-in-law Paul Verlaine, whose works were the inspiration for Debussy's Trois melodies de Paul Verlaine.