A forgotten birthday?

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Claude Debussy.  Surprised?  Most of the musical world is, or else is simply ignoring it.  One has to wonder why; he is certainly among my favorite composers, given his innovations in rhythm, harmony, and--in particular--his amazing pallet of sound.

But, as Anthony Tommasini notes, he is difficult to categorize, probably because his own sound world (and lifetime) includes, at times, influences of Wagner, Satie, and even Stravinsky.  But was he an impressionist?  (His New Grove article insists not.)  Is he a symbolist?  That argument could be made, but not necessarily of his entire output.  I find such arguments moot; judge the music on the basis of its inherent merit, not on some pigeonholing category, i.e. (the age-old question) was Beethoven a Classicist or a Romantic?  Easy answer:  "Yes!"

For more reading, check out Tommasini's entire article here, and then pop La Mer into your CD player (yes, I still have one of those), sit back, and be awestruck at the sound.