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Debussy the Man, His Music, and His Legacy: An Overview of Current Research

2012; Music Library Association; Volume: 69; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/not.2012.0167

1534-150X

Jann Pasler,

French Literature and Poetry

On the 150th anniversary of Debussy's birth, after four international conferences, this review of research in the past decade focuses on the man, his music, and his legacy. Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande and his songs continue to capture the greatest interest, and scholars continue to investigate tonality, timbre, and time; his aesthetic in the context of painting, poetry, and dance; and reception and influence of his music, at home and abroad. The recent publication of 3,000 letters (2005), new critical editions of his music (including unfinished works), and the discovery of sketches, song drafts, and other little-known documents, along with study of historical recordings, have opened new perspectives and laid new foundations for future scholarship. Recent histories have shed light on what French identity meant to Debussy and Debussystes, especially in the 1920s and 1940s. Newest of all is study of Debussy's place and meaning in popular culture.