First Arabesque

by Claude Debussy (Composer)

(Editions Durand). This clean, new engraving of this beloved piano piece is an affordable paperback edition, excerpted from the Complete Works of Debussy series. This music may be familiar to some as the theme from the PBS show Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer.

Genres: Music

8 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1997

About the author

Claude-Achille Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, though he himself disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in his native France in 1903. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed.

Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of non-traditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.