Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Clark, Maribeth

Keywords

Debussy, Claude, Music, Consumption, Paris, Nineteenth Century, Artistic, Piano Music

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration into the musical thought of French fin de si�cle composer (Achille) Claude Debussy (1862-1918) to prove he is more the epitomic Parisian artist of this time than he desired. This claim is based on his personal correspondence and critical work in which he detests bourgeois consumption as perpetuated by his creative peers in an increasingly consumerist time. The paper begins by addressing the origins of Debussy's rebellious nature towards conservatism and academic authority to highlight his early development and student years. It then discusses Debussy's relationship with Wagner and role as nationalist before touching on the impact of world's fairs and exoticism on Parisian artists of this period. Next it discusses how movements within Paris influenced the composer, namely Impressionism and Symbolism, before concluding with a discussion of categorization and individualism to tie all presented themes together. These particular topics are illuminated to show how Debussy's interactions with them were seemingly contradictory but relied on his ability to maintain his own musical identity against them. Categorization is an underlying thread throughout the piece as the famed composer disliked any associations critics often gave to his work.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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