Debussy Boulier

A century after his death on 25 March 1918, many Harmonia Mundi artists are eager to pay tribute to Claude Debussy, the magician of melody and timbre, the great ‘colourist’ and father of modern music.

March 25th marks the hundredth anniversary of the death of French composer Claude Debussy. His work and life will be celebrated all year with numerous events and concerts dedicated to him. This 4CD compilation gathers rare and great recordings addressed to both specialists and curious consumers. Some of these recordings have been out of the market for years and are now available again, like Mikko Franck and Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra orchestral program (Images, Printemps, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune), which received many awards, or the great Catherine Collard's Préludes (books I and II). Other performers included on this product are Nathalie Stutzmann, M. Tilson-Thomas, E. Pekka Salonen, Günter Wand.

There is no need by now to introduce the Quatuor Hermès, which has become the most brilliant of the young generation of French quartets thanks to its solid track record of faultless yet never flashy performances.

Three European jazz legends ! Don't miss their new project together around classic composer Claude Debussy for the release of their new album : "Monsieur Claude - [A Travel with Claude Debussy]"

Dive into impressionistic musical landscapes inspired by the calming beauty of nature and unwind with Debussy’s most relaxing piano melodies. Debussy’s captivating soundscapes performed by legendary Debussy interpreters Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Mitsuko Uchida alongside recordings by a younger generation of performers including Hélène Grimaud, Rafał Blechacz and Seong-Jin Cho.

As a conductor, Daniel Barenboim has had a distinguished history with the orchestral music of Debussy, but this is his first full-album foray into the French composer’s solo piano works. It runs the gamut of Debussy’s Impressionist colour palette, from the shimmering “Clair de Lune”—played with the subtlety and expressive freedom that Barenboim admires so much in Debussy’s own piano-roll recordings—to the restless, swirling prelude “Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest.” The simple, hymn-like “La fille aux cheveux de lin,” meanwhile, shines anew under Barenboim’s fingers.

Claude Debussy, who died 100 years ago in March 1918, is one of history's greatest composers and the most influential of all French composers. A father of modern music, Debussy lived in the early days of the recording era.

Achille-Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Alongside Maurice Ravel he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, although Debussy disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. He 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 use of nontraditional 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.