Claude Debussy and Ludwig van Beethoven

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Recommended: The Power of Music A collection of Essays By DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Dmitri Shostakovich, a 20th century Russian composer and pianist, once said, “A creative artist works on his next composition because he was not satisfied with his previous one." Is this why composers can compose many pieces in such a short life span? Take Claude Debussy for example. He composed 141 pieces even though he only lived for 56 years. And what about the great Ludwig van Beethoven? He composed 138 pieces although he only lived for 56 years and despite the fact that he began to lose his hearing at the age of 29. But how do these two great composers have the inspiration of writing song after song without running out of ideas? Well, the appropriate word to describe all of this is “influence”. Of course, Debussy and Beethoven had their own trademarks in the music world but they do share some similarities in their works.

Many people know that Debussy and Beethoven composed many great classical works but they did compose some ‘jazz like’ works over their music career. Noted composer, scholar, and educator Gunther Schuller wrote an article entitled “Jazz on Classical: Classical on Jazz”. In this article, he mentioned that jazz musicians of today and yesteryear have been attracted to works by classical composers and have drawn upon the inventive usage of harmonies employed by classical composers, including Debussy and Beethoven. Debussy had a profound impact on contemporary soundtrack composers such as John Williams because Debussy's colorful and evocative style translated easily into an emotional language for use in motion picture scores. Unfortunately, Gunther Schuller did not follow Beethoven’s influence on today’s jazz artists. He did not write more about his influences toward jazz (Schuller,2013).

One thing that bo...

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Chronicle of Jazz. (2013). Changing Modes. Available: http://www.abbeville.com/jazz/146.asp. Last accessed 21 Oct 2013.

Emerson, R. (2013). Quotes. Available: http://danthemans.squidoo.com/favourite-quotes-about-strength. Last accessed 23 Oct 2013.

Famous People. (2013). Claude Debussy. Available: http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/claude-debussy-400.php. Last accessed 22 Oct 2013.

Kamien, R. (2011). Music An Appreciation. New York: McGraw-Hill. 374-377.

Pearson Education. (2013). Claude Achille Debussy. Available: http://infoplease/com/encyclopedia/people/debussy-claude-achille.html. Last accessed 21 Oct 2013.

Schuller, G. (2013). Jazz on Classical: Classical on Jazz. Available: http://www.boosey.com/cr/news/Jazz-on-Classical-Classical-on-Jazz/11351. Last accessed 26 Oct 2013.

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