Debussy the Impressionist?
Tom Service considers whether Claude Debussy was an impressionist or not, arguing that he was instead a modernist, an abstract composer and also a creator of nightmares.
Tom Service considers whether Claude Debussy was an impressionist or not. He is often said to have composed Impressionist music - in such popular works as Claire de Lune and La Mer. But Tom argues that Debussy's music has quite a different character to that of the Impressionist painters - and to prove it he discusses the techniques of those painters with art historian Anthea Callen. Debussy, Tom argues, was a modernist, an abstract composer and also (in his opera Pelléas et Melisande) a creator of nightmares.
Last on
More episodes
Music Played
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Clair de lune (Suite Bergamasque)
Performer: Sir Stephen Hough.- Hyperion.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
La Mer: 3rd movement
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pour les Quartes (Etudes)
Performer: Mitsuko Uchida.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Jeux
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande - Act 4 Quel est ce bruit?
Performer: François Le Roux. Performer: Maria Ewing. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
La Mer: 1st movement
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
La Mer: 2nd movement
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
La Mer: 3rd movement
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Ludwig van Bethoven
Symphony No.6: 5th movement - Allegretto
Performer: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Performer: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.- TELDEC.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
La Mer: 1st movement
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
La Mer: 3rd movement
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pour les Quartes (Etudes)
Performer: Mitsuko Uchida.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pour les degrés chromatiques (Etudes)
Performer: Mitsuko Uchida.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Jeux
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Igor Stravinsky
Rite of Spring: Auguries of Spring
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker. Performer: Sir Simon Rattle.- EMI.
-
![]()
Arnold Schoenberg
Erwartung
Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Sir Simon Rattle.- EMI.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Jeux
Performer: The Cleveland Orchestra. Performer: Pierre Boulez.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande - Act 3 Interlude
Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande - Act 4 Maintenant que le pere de Pelleas est sauvé
Performer: Jean-Philippe Courtis. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande - Act 1 opening
Performer: José van Dam. Performer: Maria Ewing. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande Act 3 - Prenez garde; par ici
Performer: José van Dam. Performer: François Le Roux. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande - Act 3 Interlude
Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
-
![]()
Claude Debussy
Pelleas et Melisande - Act 4 Quel est ce bruit?
Performer: Maria Ewing. Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Claudio Abbado.- DG.
Broadcasts
- Sun 18 Feb 2018 17:00BBC Radio 3
- Sun 11 Jul 2021 17:00BBC Radio 3
- Fri 16 Jul 2021 16:30BBC Radio 3
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate “noise” from “music”, but is it that simple?
Podcast
-
![]()
The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
