Overview

One of the most revered composers of the twentieth century, Claude Debussy (1862–1918) achieved the unheard of: he reinvented the language of music without alienating the majority of music lovers. Debussy drove French music into entirely new regions of beauty and excitement at a time when old traditions threatened to stifle it. Yet despite his profound influence on French culture, Debussy’s own life was complicated and often troubled by struggles over money, women, and ill health. Here, Stephen Walsh, acclaimed author of Stravinsky, chronicles both the composer himself and the unique moment in European history that bore him. Walsh’s engagingly original approach is to enrich a lively biography with analyses of Debussy’s music: from his first daring breaks with the rules as a Conservatoire student to his achievements as the greatest French composer of his time.

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9780525432630

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Reviews

Illuminating and compelling. . . . [An] engaging critical biography. -The Wall Street Journal Walsh is a deep reader of Debussy's music with an uncommon ability to translate complex details into words that are precise yet evocative and that are refreshingly free of academic jargon. . . . [He] treats Debussy both as a creature of his own time and as a harbinger of 20th-century modernism. -John Adams, The New York Times Book Review [Walsh] explores [Debussy's] genius with erudition and style. -The Atlantic [A] finely tooled biography. . . . [Walsh] insists on pulling Debussy's compositions into the heart of this biography, treating them as the essential register of emotional and intellectual existence. -The Guardian Walsh has managed the rare tightrope act of describing and analyzing widely beloved music in ways that will neither seem simplistic to connoisseurs nor confuse a general audience. -The New York Review of Books Excellent . . . A lucid and elegant introduction to the French revolutionary. -The Times (London) Impeccably researched and intellectually engrossing . . . This is a thorough and important study of the composer who forever changed the direction of music in our time. -Stuart Isacoff, author of When the World Stopped to Listen: Van Cliburn's Cold War Triumph and Its Aftermath [A] wonderfully warm, wise and witty book about the greatest French composer of the modern era. As a comprehensive and integrated survey of Debussy's life and work, it could hardly be bettered. -The Literary Review An enjoyable and impressive achievement. . . . Walsh depicts Debussy's Paris with the same verve and scholarship that he applies to the man. -The Economist Outstanding. -Booklist (starred review) [An] engaging and thorough book. . . . Walsh's biography will become a valuable companion to deep listening. -Austin Chronicle Walsh is one of our most insightful writers on music, and his judgment always illuminates what it touches. . . . Debussy: A Painter in Sound concentrates on what truly matters. -The Spectator [A] brilliant gem of a book. [Walsh] has made me want to relisten to and re-reflect on every piece Debussy ever wrote. -Harvey Sachs, author of Toscanini: Musician of Conscience Fascinating . . . Walsh is a superb guide to [Debussy's] music. -The Observer A sensuous portrait of an iconic composer. . . . A richly detailed life of a modernist master. -Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The author weaves the composer's life and loves, his penny-pinching habit of eating, schoolboy-style, a crust of bread and chocolate bar for lunch, with discussions of modes and chords, cadences and pentatonic scales, all lucidly explained. -The Times Literary Supplement The book shines a welcome light on the composer, his music, and his times. -Library Journal [Walsh] places proper emphasis on Debussy's myriad links to other art forms. -The New Yorker Stephen Walsh has produced a wonderfully detailed biography of a truly groundbreaking composer. -John Powell, author of How Music Works

Outstanding. --Booklist (starred) [Debussy] shines a welcome light on the composer, his music, and his times. --Library Journal Perceptive and authoritative. . . . A sensuous portrait of an iconic composer. . . . A richly detailed life of a modernist master. --Kirkus (starred) Stephen Walsh has followed his magnificent, two-volume Stravinsky biography with this smaller but no less brilliant gem of a book on Debussy. Combining psychological perspicacity about his subject's life with deep insight into his music, Walsh has made me not only better understand the composer--he has also made me want to re-listen to and re-reflect upon every piece that Debussy ever wrote. --Harvey Sachs, author of Toscanini: Musician of Conscience Stephen Walsh's Debussy: A Painter in Sound articulates with skill, taste and flashes of humor the evolution of an artistic giant who preferred to leave things 'half said.' It is impeccably researched and intellectually engrossing--a thorough and important study of the composer who forever changed the direction of music in our time. --Stuart Isacoff, author of When the World Stopped to Listen: Van Cliburn's Cold War Triumph and Its Aftermath In Debussy Stephen Walsh has produced a wonderfully detailed biography of a truly ground-breaking composer. This book should be of interest to any Debussy enthusiast. --John Powell, author of Why You Love Music and How Music Works Compelling. . . . Finely tuned. . . . [Walsh] employs a delightfully fluent prose to carry the general reader along. --Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian [A] wonderfully warm, wise and witty book about the greatest French composer of the modern era. As a comprehensive and integrated survey of Debussy's life and work, it could hardly be bettered. --Rupert Christiansen, Literary Review Walsh is one of our most insightful writers on music, and his judgment always illuminates what it touches. . . . Published to mark the centenary of the composer's death, Debussy: A Painter in Sound concentrates on what truly matters. --Philip Hensher, The Spectator An enjoyable and impressive achievement. . . . Lively yet learned. . . . Walsh depicts Debussy's Paris with the same verve and scholarship that he applies to the man. --The Economist A beautifully written study, mercifully free of academic jargon. . . . [Debussy is] a genuine intellectual biography. . . . It's a tricky thing to bring off, but Walsh is certainly the right man for the job. . . . He gets as close as anyone to catching in words the peculiar quality of Debussy's harmony. . . . [Walsh] combines delicacy of perception, refinement of expression and quiet persistence, in a way not so far from the great composer himself. --Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph Excellent. . . . [a] lucid and elegant introduction to the French revolutionary. --Michael Henderson, The Times (UK) [An] excellent new biography. . . . [This] fascinating study will help to win [Debussy] new admirers. . . . Walsh is a superb guide to this music. --Ian Thomson, The Observer

Author Information

Stephen Walsh is Emeritus Professor of Music at Cardiff University and the author of a number of books on music including Musorgsky and His Circle and the prizewinning, two-volume biography of Igor Stravinsky. He served for many years as deputy music critic for The Observer and writes reviews for a variety of publications. He lives in Herefordshire, England.

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