Claude Debussy, the eldest of five children, was born Achille-Claude Debussy (he later reversed his forenames) on 22 August 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Seine-et-Oise. His father, Manuel-Achille Debussy, owned a china shop there; his mother, Victorine Manoury Debussy, was a seamstress. The family moved to Paris in 1867, but in 1870 Debussy's pregnant mother fled with Claude to his paternal aunt's home in Cannes to escape the Franco-Prussian War.
Education
At the age of seven, he began piano lessons with an Italian violinist in his early 40s named Jean Cerutti, and his aunt paid for his lessons. In 1871 he drew the attention of Marie Mauté de Fleurville, who claimed to have been a pupil of Frédéric Chopin. Debussy always believed her, although there is no independent evidence to support her claim. His talents soon became evident, and in 1872, at age ten, Debussy entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he spent the next 11 years. During his time there he studied composition with Ernest Guiraud, music history/theory with Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray, harmony with Émile Durand, piano with Antoine François Marmontel, organ with César Franck, and solfège with Albert Lavignac, as well as other significant figures of the era.
Career
About 1876 he wrote his first songs, based on poems of Theodore de Banville and Paul Bourget, and in 1880 entered the composition class of Ernest Guiraud. During the summer months of the years 1879 to 1882 he was engaged as a domestic pianist, first at the Chateau de Chenonceaux and later at the various residences of Tchaikovsky's patroness Nadezhda von Meck, in Switzerland, Italy, Vienna, and Russia. Many new musical horizons were opened up to him on these journeys, especially by the music of the Russian nationalist composers.
He moved to Rome on 28 January 1885. Initially, he found the atmosphere at Villa Médicis too stifling to be able to compose. Over the time, he started making friends and composing new pieces.
He also began to study Richard Wagner’s music, especially his opera ‘Tristan und Isolde’. He soon became a great admirer of Wagner’s music; but did not appreciate his extroverted emotionalism.
All along, he continued to return to Paris on leave of absence, finally leaving Rome for good on 2 March 1887. Back in Paris, he began living in his parents’ home, enjoying his brother, Emmanuel’s company.
Continuing to compose, Claude Debussy frequently visited cafes like chez Pousset, chez Thommen and café Vachette, where he could interact with other musicians. He also traveled abroad visiting Bayreuth, Rome, Brittany.
His visit to the Exposition Universelle in 1889 introduced him to the Javanese gamelan, a musical ensemble composed of a variety of bells, gongs, xylophone and metallophone, sometimes accompanied by vocals. He later incorporated it into his existing style to produce a new kind of music.
Some of his major works of this early period were "Ariettes oubliées" (1888), "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1892), the "String Quartet" (1893), "La Damoiselle élue" (1893). These works, though masterpieces, were less mature than his forthcoming works.
Continuing to compose, Claude Debussy frequently visited cafes like chez Pousset, chez Thommen and café Vachette, where he could interact with other musicians. He also traveled abroad visiting Bayreuth, Rome, Brittany.
His visit to the Exposition Universelle in 1889 introduced him to the Javanese gamelan, a musical ensemble composed of a variety of bells, gongs, xylophone and metallophone, sometimes accompanied by vocals. He later incorporated it into his existing style to produce a new kind of music.
Some of his major works of this early period were "Ariettes oubliées" (1888), "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1892), the "String Quartet" (1893), "La Damoiselle élue" (1893). These works, though masterpieces, were less mature than his forthcoming works.
In the spring of 1893, Debussy bought a copy of "Pelléas et Mélisande" and started reading it with the intention of making an opera on it. Although he completed the work in August 1895 he did not immediately publish it, but continued to improve on it, concurrently publishing other works.
In September 1895, Georges Hartmann, well-known music publisher and librettist, granted Debussy a monthly income of 500 Francs. In spite of that, he was compelled to return to the weekly Wagner musical events, held at the salon of Madame Godard-Decrais, in February 1896, just to improve his finances.
Hartmann died in April 1900 and with that his stipend was stopped. In April 1901, he joined Revue Blanche as a musical critic; but gave it up later in December. It is possible that he had already planned to have "Pelléas et Mélisande" performed.
The rehearsal for "Pelléas et Mélisande" started on January 13, 1902 with Debussy attending each of them. Finally on 30 April 1902, it was performed for the first time, creating a sensation. The initial run lasted for fourteen performances.
While he was already a popular musician, the success of ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ made Debussy internationally famous. For the next ten years, he remained the leading figure in French music, producing masterpieces like "La Mer" (The Sea), an orchestra and "Images" for piano in 1905.
Also in 1905, he published "Suite bergamasque". Originally written in 1890 at the age of 28, he had it extensively revised before its publication. It is comprised of four parts, "Prélude", "Menuet", "Clair de lune" and "Passepied". Today, "Clair de lune" is regarded as one of his best-known pieces.
Continuing to write, he published two other masterpieces in 1908; "Ibéria" for orchestra and "Children's Corner Suite" for solo piano. Unfortunately from the following year, his health began to deteriorate, showing the first sign of cancer.
In spite of illness, he continued to work, composing pieces and giving concerts till the end of 1917. His last major work, "Sonate pour violon et piano, L. 140", completed in April 1917, is notable for its brevity. A typical performance lasts about 13 minutes.
On 23 April 1893, Debussy was elected member of the Committee of the Société nationale de musique.
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
Mary Garden, who played the part of Melisande in the original production of Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902, was to write of him: "I honestly don’t know if Debussy ever loved anybody really. He loved his music - and perhaps himself. I think he was wrapped up in his genius... He was a very, very strange man."
Interests
Music & Bands
Couperin, Rameau
Connections
Debussy's private life was often turbulent. At the age of 18 he began an eight-year affair with Marie-Blanche Vasnier, the wife of Parisian civil servant Henri Vasnier.
On his permanent return to Paris and his parents' home on the rue de Berlin (now rue de Liège) he began a tempestuous relationship with Gabrielle ('Gaby') Dupont, a tailor's daughter from Lisieux, soon living with her on the rue de Londres, and later the rue Gustave Doré. During this time he also had an affair with the singer Thérèse Roger, to whom he was briefly engaged.
He ultimately left Dupont for her friend Rosalie ('Lilly') Texier, a fashion model whom he married in 1899, after threatening suicide if she refused him.
In June 1904, while still married to Lilly, Debussy met Emma Bardac, mother of one of his students. She was sophisticated, good conversationalist and accomplished singer. The two soon started an affair, traveling together to Jersey and London.
Eventually, he secured divorce from Lily on August 2, 1905 and set up his home with Emma in Paris. Their daughter, Claude-Emma, whom he affectionately called Chouchou, was born out of wedlock on 20 December 1905. Continuing to live together Debussy and Emma got married on 20 January 1908.