Debussy, Duke Ellington, John Cage

The works of Claude Debussy represent a transition from the late Romantic era in music to music of the 20th century. His unique musical language veered away from the style of Wagner with its heavy emotion. Instead, Debussy wrote in much small and more accessible styles that included his bold exploration with harmony. He often worked in the Phrygian mode and in non-standard modes like the whole-tone scale that lent his work harmonies that seemed to be other-worldly in their lightness. Debussy's association with impressionism often overshadows the original contributions of his music. As one music historian notes, "No other single figure of his era did more to expand the possibilities of form, harmony, voice leading, and timbre" (Claude, p. 374).

Debussy's harmonic exploration and his new form of music provided the base on which countless other composers moved away from the dominance and style of Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner. Debussy avoided the symphony as a genre but did compose a number of orchestral pieces that are a staple

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Category: Arts - D