Claude Debussy
Founder of musical Impressionism
Most quoted
"I am trying to achieve something new – realities, as it were, what imbeciles call 'impressionism,' a term which is as ill-applied as possible, particularly by art critics who do not hesitate to apply it to Turner, the finest creator of mysterious effects in the whole world of art."
— from Letter to Jacques Durand, 1908
"The sound of the sea, the curve of the horizon, the wind in the leaves, the cry of a bird, these stir within us a multitude of impressions. And suddenly, without any previous agreement, one of these memories rises to the surface and expresses itself in the language of music."
— from Various interviews and letters
"The sound of the sea, the curve of a horizon, wind in leaves, the cry of a bird leave manifold impressions in us. And suddenly, without our wishing it at all, one of these memories spills from us and finds expression in musical language."
— from 'Monsieur Croche the Dilettante Hater', 1913
All quotes by Claude Debussy (297)
Music is the most mysterious of all the arts.
The artist must be a visionary.
I am trying to make music that is as original as possible.
Music is the most spiritual of all the arts.
I am more and more convinced that music is not, in essence, a thing that can be cast into a traditional and fixed form. It is made of colors and rhythms.
The sound of the sea, the curve of the horizon, the wind in the leaves, the cry of a bird, these awaken in us multiple evocations. Music should be able to do the same.
I am trying to achieve something new – realities, as it were, what imbeciles call 'impressionism,' a term which is as poorly used as possible, particularly by art critics.
The artist is a man who has to live. He has to eat, drink, and sleep. He has to love and suffer. He has to be a man, and not a machine.
I have made a study of the sea, and I have tried to render it in music. The sea has always been a source of inspiration for me.
I have always felt that music should be a discreet art, that it should not impose itself, but rather suggest.
I am trying to make music that is as natural as possible, that is not forced, that flows freely.
The sound of the sea, the curve of the horizon, the wind in the leaves, the cry of a bird... these awaken in us multiple associations.
I am more and more convinced that music is not, in its essence, a thing that can be cast into a traditional and fixed form. It is made of colors and rhythms.
The artist must have a double personality: the one that creates and the one that judges.
Music should humbly seek to please; it is perhaps the only art that can do so.
I have made a discovery: the chord of the ninth. I have used it in a thousand ways.
The musician should have a soul that is open to all the beauties of nature.
The artist is a dreamer who dreams in public.
Music is a dream from which the shadows are drawn.
I am trying to do 'something different,' an 'effect of reality,' as they say.
Contemporaries of Claude Debussy
Other Musics born within 50 years of Claude Debussy (1862–1918).