Composer Of The Week

Donald Macleod explores Debussy's life as he approaches his thirties.Donald Macleod explores Debussy's life as he approaches his thirties, a challenging period both personally and musically. One of the twentieth century's most original minds, the French composer Claude Debussy has had a profound influence on the course of music. Born in 1862, his precocious talent gained him admittance to the prestigious Paris Conservatoire as a ten year old, one of the youngest pupils in the piano class. There were soon indications of his independence of mind. His student years are littered with reports which, while recognising his gifts also found him to be careless and scatterbrained. Debussy found it difficult to focus on his lessons because he felt frustrated with the rules of composition he was told to follow. He wanted to express himself differently, and if he broke the rules to achieve that, well, in his view, so be it.This week Donald Macleod begins his stories at the point in Debussy's life where, the young man has