13 Interesting Facts About Claude Debussy

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1. Debussy’s family is not musically inclined

A trivia about Claude Debussy is that his family is not musically inclined. Unlike other musical legends like Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven, who grew up in a family of musicians, Debussy didn’t grow up in a musical family.

Manuel-Achille Debussy, Debussy’s father, owns a China shop, while Victorine Manoury Debussy, his mother, worked as a seamstress.

2. Claude Debussy took piano lessons when he was 7

Claude Debussy always loved music, even as a little child. His musical ability was first recognized by his aunt when he and his sister were brought to visit. His aunt offered to foot the bill for his initial piano lessons with an Italian pianist.

Despite the fact that Debussy’s family was not particularly well off, they made the necessary sacrifices to encourage and nurture his talent and pursuit of music. Young Claude Debussy used it as a springboard to hone his talent as a pianist.

3. He began his musical career when his father was imprisoned during the war

During the Franco-German War in 1870, Claude Debussy’s mother and siblings moved to Cannes but his father, Manuell Debussy stayed in Paris to support the revolutionary socialist government of the Paris Commune. His father ended up getting arrested and spending a year in prison.

While Manuel was behind bars, he met Charles de Sivry, a bohemian musician whose mother is the renowned pianist Madame Maute de Fleurville. Manuel talked about his son’s talent for playing the piano. Sivry was persuaded by Manuel to take the young Claude Debussy to be one of his mother’s pupils.

Since then, Claude Debussy never forgot what he had learned from his instructor, Madame Maute de Fleurville, and he gave her credit for his development as a pianist and composer.

4. He started studying at the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 10

Another interesting information about Claude Debussy is when he was just 10 years old, he was able to start his studies at a prestigious college of music, the Paris Conservatory. In the year 1872, he was one of 33 new students to join Madame Maute de Fleurville’s class.

Eleven years later, he began piano studies under Antoine Francois Marmontel and Albert Lavignac, along with famous French musicians such as Émile Durand and César Franck.

5. Debussy won France’s most prestigious musical award at the age of 22

Winning the most prestigious musical award during his early 20s is one of the fun facts about Claude Debussy. The biblical narrative of the Prodigal Son inspired his work L’enfant prodigue, which helped him win the prestigious Prix de Rome.

The award allowed Debussy to stay in Rome for four years at the expense of the government. He was able to receive a four-year scholarship at L’Académie des Beaux-Arts, a French academy located in the Villa Medici, Rome. But winning the Prix de Rome wasn’t easy for Debussy.

In fact, he joined twice but his pieces were found bizarre and unplayable. Luckily, on his third try, he entered his composition piece “L’Enfant Prodigue” (The Prodigal Child) and was able to win the top prize at the age of 22.

6. He married the French singer Emma Bardac

A chaotic romantic life is an intriguing trivia about Claude Debussy. Throughout his lifetime, Claude had numerous extramarital encounters. Many women find him attractive, and this has led to at least two suicide attempts.

In contrast to Debussy’s relaxing music, his love life was stressful. He married twice- first was Marrie Rosalie Texier and second was Emma Bardac.

Debussy and Texier got married in 1899 but it was 1903 when he first met the French singer, Emma Bardac. Their friendship developed and became an official couple. It was in 1908 when they decided to eventually get married.

7. Claude Debussy only had one child nicknamed “Chouchou”

One of the fun facts about Claude Debussy is that, despite his controversial love affair, he had a child that he adored so much.

Claude Debussy had an only child, named Claude-Emma Debussy an offspring of him and his wife Emma Bardac. His daughter’s name is a combination of his and his wife’s names. Claude-Emma was born in 1905 and his father adore her and gave her the nickname of “Chouchou”.

8. Debussy’s ‘Children’s Corner’ was dedicated to Claude-Emma

Ever since Claude Emma was born, his father Claude Debussy adores her. She became Claude Debussy’s inspiration for some of his works, including the Children’s Corner which he composed between 1906 and 1908. Debussy dedicated “Children’s Corner” to his three-year-old daughter during that time. He wrote a six-part piano suite featuring Claude-Emma’s favorite toys.

Children’s Corner was written to entertain Claude-Emma and Claude Debussy’s exploration of his music through the eyes of a child. In addition, another Debussy composition that is dedicated to his daughter is the children’s ballet, La Boîte à Bijoux.

9. Claude Debussy’s early works were rejected by a Russian composer

Just like the careers of other famous composers, Claude Debussy’s career did not begin as gracefully as one might expect. One fun fact about Claude Debussy is his works were rejected several times. For instance, a Russian Romantic era composer named Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky rejected several of his earlier pieces.

In the summer of 1880, Debussy was engaged by Nadezhda von Meck to give lessons to her children. Meck was impressed by Debussy’s technique and sent his little composition to Tchaikovsky for appreciation.

But Tchaikovsky wasn’t impressed with Debussy’s work. According to him, “It is a very nice little thing, but altogether too short. Not a single thought is developed to the end, the form is bungled and there is no unity.”

10. Debussy’s Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites of all time

Claude Debussy’s Suite bergamasque is one of his most well-known compositions. He started writing it in 1890, at the age of 28, and it wasn’t published until 1905, after a few revisions.

Suite bergamasque is one of Debussy’s most famous piano suites of all time, mostly due to the success of the third movement, Clair de lune.

11. Debussy’s only opera is the Pelléas et Mélisande

Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is the only opera he finished in his lifetime. It is a five-act opera that premiered on April 30, 1902, at the Salle Favart in Paris by the Opéra-Comique. The opera is about a love triangle between Prince Golaud, Melisande, and Prince Golaud’s younger half-brother Pelleas.

Even in the 21st century, Pelléas et Mélisande was still being performed and recorded because of its iconic status as a musical milestone from the 20th.

12. Claude Debussy most famous piece is La Mer (1905)

Debussy’s La Mer was finished in 1905, but it was initially met with skepticism due to his controversy about leaving his wife.

However, Claude Debussy’s La Mer reveals his brilliant intellect to compose an orchestral piece on the vivid depiction of the undersea world. To many, La Mer is the pinnacle of symphonic literature. Debussy turned this classic into an equally impressive orchestral piece.

13. Claude Debussy’s remains were buried at Passy Cemetery in Paris

In 1909, four years after completing La Mer, Debussy was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away suddenly on March 25, 1918, and was laid to rest in the Passy Cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in Paris.

The cemetery is located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Other French personalities buried in Passy Cemetery are the comedian Fernandel and painter Edouard Manet.

Christine Rogador

Hi, I’m Christine – a full-time traveler and career woman. Although I’m from the Philippines, my location independent career took me to over 40 countries and lived in 4 continents in the last 10 years, including France. A self-proclaimed Francophile, I love everything France.