Claude Debussy's piano teacher, Madame Mauté de Fleurville, crossed paths with him because her son and his father met in prison due to their involvement in the 1871 Paris Commune insurrection.
Composition History
Debussy's Petite Suite was originally written for piano four hands, and he was completely satisfied with Henri Büsser's orchestration of it in 1907.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Debussy believed that music should humbly seek to please, and that great beauty could be found within these limits, considering extreme complication to be the opposite of art.
Composition History
Debussy began orchestrating La Boîte à joujoux in 1914 but died before completing it; his friend and pupil André Caplet, who also orchestrated Children's Corner, finished the task.
Compositional Technique
In Golliwogg's Cake-Walk from Children's Corner, Debussy quotes the opening notes of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde overture, asking the performer to play it 'with great emotion' as a gentle mockery of Wagner's admirers.
Performer Biography
Pascal Rophé, the conductor on this album, is known for his interpretations of 20th-century repertoire and has received numerous awards, including the 2018 Gramophone Award for best contemporary recording.
Composer Biography
Debussy composed Children's Corner and La Boîte à joujoux, two works featured on this album, out of paternal tenderness for his daughter, Claude-Emma, nicknamed 'Chouchou'.
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