Claude Debussy after his Centenary

Claude Debussy after his CentenaryfootnoteRef:1], authors Francois Lesure and Denis Stevens review the legacy of Debussy's work and his life at the one hundred years anniversary of his birth. The authors are particularly concerned with exploring misconceptions, contradictions and areas requiring further study that have arisen as a result of the recent scholarship on the French composer. [1: Lesure, Francois and Stevens, Denis. Claude Debussy after his Centenary. The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 3 (July 1963), pp. 277-288. ]

Among the issues addressed, the writers compare the findings of scholars Marcel Dietschy and Edward Lockspeiser, who study Debussy from different perspectives, the disagreement of the extent and origins of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov on Debussy's Pelleas, the obsession with Poe and composing the Fall of the House Usher and his turbulent but influential relationship with Ravel. Debussy's temperament is explored via excerpts of biting letters he wrote to friends complaining of his peers, as well as the singers ad composers who performed his works. Finally, the authors survey Debussy's financial difficulties and his mentoring of emerging new talents, notably Portuguese Francisco de Lacerda and French-born Edgard Varese.

Lesure and Stevens objective is to bring into focus some of the issues raised by recent scholarship on Debussy. Further, without attempting to brand any one researchers work as more less effective than other, the authors highlight which areas of Debussy's work and life still require further explanation and/or research[footnoteRef:2]. Through a careful review of many selected works, it is clear that authors succeed in accomplishing this. [2: With the notable exception of Victor I. Serov's Claude Debussy, Musician of France (New York, 1956), which the authors condemn as filled with "distinguished errors" and unsubstantiated gossip disguised as fact.]

The authors are most intrigued about the recent research which reveals Debussy's motivation after Pelleas to reinvent himself as dramatist. Here his obsession with Poe begins to dominate his professional life. The authors credit the work of Andre Schaeffner for his research in this area, exposing the likely paranoia and delusions which a troubled Debussy struggled with and which led to Poe fascination.

Impressive was the use of additional primary sources to by Lesure and Stevens to assess the accuracy of the modern scholarship and to contribute their own conclusions. Debussy's own correspondences make it evident that he was not an easy person to get along with. He was extremely critical of his peers and was rarely satisfied with anyone who performed his work. The letters also expose that Debussy languished in poverty for much of his life, frequently borrowing money from close friends and relatives and at one time professed a desire to commit suicide.