Hommage à Debussy: Works for Piano CD 3

Featuring

Chenyin Li
Claude Debussy

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Debussy considered his piece Masques to express 'the tragic expression of existence,' moving beyond the symbolism of the 'Comédie Italienne'.

Performer Biography

Chenyin Li, the pianist on this album, has won numerous international first prizes, including the European Beethoven Gold Medal and the Scottish International Piano Competition.

Composition History

The pieces Masques and L'isle joyeuse were originally planned as part of a three-movement 'Suite bergamasque' but were published separately due to conflicts between publishers and Debussy's personal life.

Composition History

A short piano piece Debussy composed for a 'spot-the-composer' competition in 1904 was derived from an overture he planned for an unfinished opera based on Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Devil in the Belfry'.

Compositional Technique

Debussy's Estampes reflects his fascination with Japanese prints, using neatly etched melodic lines and vivid, delicately chosen colors to evoke their character.

Composer Biography

Claude Debussy, the composer, was quoted in 1911 saying that musical composition is influenced by impressions from nature, such as the sea, horizon, wind, and bird cries.

Compositional Technique

Debussy's second book of Préludes is visually distinct from the first, with the music spread luxuriously over three, and sometimes four, staves in his manuscript, giving it a more spacious appearance.