Fusheng Yang
Essay #6
Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) led the impressionist movement in France. He bridged the gap between music of the Romantic Period and the modern era of classical music. He is considered to be the first important composer of the 20th century. The musical themes he used were just fragments, fluid with no sense of a strong direction. His music is very romantic but was no tonic or sense of one tonality. It reflects a different philosophy. He was a genius at orchestration. In Debussy’s music, all notes were equally important. His music was not accepted at first, but eventually it revolutionized the musical world. Arnold Schoenberg (1874 - 1951) composed music as part of the “expressionist” movement in Germany in early 20th century.