This volume contains the complete music for solo piano written by Claude Debussy between 1888 and 1905. Beginning with Deux Arabesques (1888), it offers the Suite bergamasque (1890–1905), Réverie (1890), Danse (1890), Ballade (1890), Pour le piano (1896–1901), D'un cahier d'esquisses (1903), Extampes (1903), Mazurka (1891), Valse romantique (1890), Masques (1904), L'Isle joyeuse (1904), and the first series of Images (1905): Reflets dans l'eau, Hommage a Rameau, and Mouvement. In each case the music has been reproduced photographically from original or early editions. This book has been designed to be used at the piano. Noteheads are large and clearly printed: margins and spaces are adequate for written notes, fingerings, and turnovers. It is also most useful, of course, for analysis or simply for listening along with the music.
Claude-Achille Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, though he himself disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in his native France in 1903. Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed.
Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of non-traditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.