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Musical Lives

by Roger Nichols, Παναγιώτης Δασκαλόπουλος (Translator)

The early music of Claude Debussy was influenced by Wagner, but Debussy's music became experimental and individualistic. He quickly moved away from traditional techniques and produced the pictures in sound that led his work to be described as "musical Impressionism". This new biography--the first in English in 30 years--offers new insights into the life of this enigmatic composer.

ΠΙΝΑΚΑΣ ΕΙΚΟΝΩΝ
ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΕΣ
ΣΗΜΕΙΩΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΕΑ
ΠΡΟΛΟΓΟΣ
ΠΑΙΔΙΚΗ ΗΛΙΚΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΟΥΣΙΚΕΣ ΣΠΟΥΔΕΣ (1862-1884)
ΔΙΑΚΟΠΕΣ (;) ΣΤΗ ΡΩΜΗ (1885-1887)
ΕΝΑΣ ΜΠΟΕΜ ΣΤΟ ΠΑΡΙΣΙ (1887-1893)
ΣΚΑΝΔΑΛΑ ΚΑΙ ΑΡΙΣΤΟΥΡΓΗΜΑΤΑ (1894-1901)
ΕΙΔΩΛΟ ΚΑΙ ΘΥΜΑ (1902-1907)
ΤΑΞΙΔΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΑΛΑΙΠΩΡΙΕΣ (1908-1914)
Ο ΠΟΛΕΜΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΤΕΛΕΥΤΑΙΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ (1914-1918)
ΧΑΙΡΕΤΙΣΜΟΣ
ΣΗΜΕΙΩΣΕΙΣ
ΕΠΙΛΟΓΗ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑΣ
ΕΥΡΕΤΗΡΙΟ

Genres: Music, Biography, Biography Memoir

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography is short and sweet. Oddly, Nichols seems much more focused on Debussy's struggles and labor than his triumphs and joys. Somehow it works, though. Or maybe it's just that I like seeing the nitty gritty of great composers' lives and careers because it cuts through all the later enshrinement. I also think this approach helped Nichols show Debussy's extremely ambivalent relationship with the music establishment of the time. Debussy was Conservatoire trained and a Prix de Rome winner, but his music and career were so clearly outside the conventions of the time.

[Keith W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fine book for someone (like me) who loves Debussy’s music but knew very little about the man other than he was French. The writing is good and the level of detail is generally just right. This is one in a series of books whose description is:

“The books in this series will each provide an account of the life of a major composer, considering both the private and the public figure. The main thread will be biographical and discussion of the music will be integral to the narrative. Each book thus presents an organic view of the composer, the music and the circumstances in which it was written.”

This is a perfect description of Mr. NIchols’ “The Life of Debussy.” However, the book itself is not perfect. For one thing, there are times — especially in the period from 1900 to the start of World War I — in which, in my view, the text focuses too much on a recitation of “names, dates and places.” But, in deference to the author, maybe those were years in which not much was happening in Debussy’s life other than the creation of new music and performances of past creations. My other criticism, which is probably more significant, is that I thought the book did not do a great job of setting or placing Debussy in his time and in the history of modern music. We are told of which composers he liked and disliked but I think the book needed a few paragraphs or even a few pages explaining how he influenced and affected other composers in his time and afterward.

However, I view these as minor flaws in a book that was very informative and very helpful to providing a sense of who Claude Debussy was and how he viewed music as a whole and the music he created.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the core, I cherish the experience of the impermanence of the sensual paradise in the music of Claude Debussy.

[Kelly 華梨 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, very informative book. Contains all the things one has to know.
I decided to read this book hoping that it'd help me with my Debussy presentation for school, and it did.