Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Claude Debussy wrote one of the most influential pieces of 20th century modernist music - and yet very few people have heard it. Let's explore the circumstances surrounding its composition, lukewarm reception, and subsequent resurgence in the mid-20th-century.

0:00 - Introduction
5:11 - Part One: Symbolist Songs
11:06 - Part Two: Original Orchestrations
17:59 - Part Three: Jeux
24:15 - Conclusion

Sources:
Boulez, Pierre. Stocktakings: From an Apprenticeship. Clarendon Press, 1991.
Eimert, Herbert. “Debussy’s Jeux.” De Reihe: Band 5: Berichte - Analyse. Universal Edition, 1959.
Orledge, Robert. “The Genesis of Debussy’s ‘Jeux’.” The Musical Times, Vol. 128. Musical Times Publications, Ltd, 1987.
Taylor, John. Debussy Discusses Music and His Work. New York Times, 1910.
Walsh, Stephen. Debussy: A Painter in Sound. Vintage Books, 2018.

The music underscoring this video comes from my new album, 'no one can really see.' Give it a listen here: https://linktr.ee/brian.krock