Debussy's Paris: Piano Portraits of the Belle Epoque

2017 | Biography

Claude Debussy's exquisite piano works have captivated generations with their dream-like atmospheres and mysterious soundscapes. Written in Paris at the height of the Belle Epoque, the music creates a soundtrack for turn-of-the-century Parisian life. Living in the epicenter of art, music, and style, Parisians also delighted in clowns, mermaids, eccentric dances, and the dark tales of Edgar Allen Poe. Debussy shared these pleasures and immortalized them in pieces as idyllic as Clair de Lune and as haunting as Feuilles Mortes (Dead Leaves). Debussy's Paris: Portraits of the Belle Epoque takes readers on a tour of Paris through detailed descriptions of the city's delights and the music Debussy wrote to accompany them. Catherine Kautsky explores how key works reveal not only the most appealing aspects of Parisian life, but also the less virtuous attitudes of the time. In contrast to the childlike innocence of fairytales, minstrel shows had racist overtones, colonization entailed domination, and the brooding nationalism of the era was rife with hostility.

Debussy left no avenue unexplored, and his piano works present a sweeping overview of the passions, vices, and obsessions of the era's Parisians. When played today, Debussy's music breathes the story of one the world's most fascinating cities. Kautsky reveals little known aspects of Parisian life during the Belle Epoque and weaves the music, the man, the city, and the era into an indissoluble whole. Her portrait will delight anyone who has ever been entranced by Debussy's music or the city that inspired it.

Catherine Kautsky (Author)