James Stein, age 16, of Kalispell, Mont., for his question:
WHO WAS CLAUDE DEBUSSY?
Claude Debussy is regarded as one of his generations's greatest musical composers. The well known French musician is the founder of the school known as musical Impressionism. He wrote the famous "flair de Lune" ("Moonlight").
Born near Paris in 1862, Debussy was discovered by Antoinette Flore Haute, a former pupil of Chopin. Debussy was only 10 years old at the time. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory of Music to study.
Young Debussy impressed his teachers, but he also worried them because of his distaste for the discipline of day to day work. He even refused to take orders from the great composer Caesar Franck, who was one of his teachers.
Despite many misunderstandings, Debussy won many prizes and medals.
When he was 18 he tutored the children of Nadezhda von Neck, whose friendship had also aided the composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky in his career. Debussy went to Switzerland, Italy and Russia with the von Neck family.
When he was 22 Debussy won the Grand P:ix de Rome for his cantata called "The Prodigal Son" ("L'Enfant Prodigue"). Part of the award included three years of study in Rome. Debussy accepted the training for two years and then went back to Paris.
In France Debussy settled down to compose music. He turned out to be a most gifted conductor and pianist, although he rarely performed in public.
It didn't surprise anyone who knew him that Debussy didn't follow in the steps of the great composers who had gone ahead of him. Instead, he followed his own inclinations and centered much of his attention on the problems of harmony and color in music. He was greatly impressed by the Impressionist writers and artists of his time.
The public and other musicians weren't quick to understand, accept or even appreciate Debussy's new means of musical expression. Nobody was ready for for the unfamiliar music when his opera called "Pelleas et Melisande" was presented in 1902.
When Debussy's opera was presented in 1902, critics and music lovers alike were in disagreement. The composition seemed to them filled with strange overtones and broken melodies.
As time passed, people recognized the opera as an important work, but it was never as popular as his chamber music or his compositions for piano, voice and orchestra.
Debussy's piano suite "The Children's Corner," which was published in 1906, was dedicated to his only daughter, Claude Emma, whom he called Chouchou. It included the very familiar "Golliwog's Cakewalk."
One of Debussy's most famous compositions is "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" (Prelude a 1'ampses midi d'un fauns). Other famous pieces include "The Sea" ("La Mez"), the nocturne for orchestra "Clouds" ("Nuages") and "Festivals" ("Fetes"), as well as the String Quartet is G minor and the Sonata for Violin and Piano.