Prélude à "L'Après-midi d'un faune". (Eglogue de S. Mallarmé.) Réduction pour deux Pianos.

DEBUSSY, Claude.

Published by Paris: Eugéne Fromont, [1895]

About this Item

First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the composer to a close friend and correspondent on the title page: "à Paul Robert, ton ami, Claude Debussy". The Prélude remains one of Debussy's most enchanting and influential works, a masterpiece of impressionist composition in fin-de-siècle Paris. The painter and absinthe enthusiast Paul Robert (1856-1925) was a close friend of Debussy's for much of the 1880s and 1890s. When rumours circulated that the composer had stolen from his wife, Robert was among those to whom Debussy felt obliged to justify himself. Robert further links both the composer and the inspiration of the Prélude. He was part of the group of symbolist artists Debussy met with frequently - a group which also included Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898), the author of the poem on which the Prélude was based. Debussy first read Mallarmé's poem in 1887, beginning his own orchestral tone poem in 1892. The work was premiered in 1894, while this transcription followed the year after. The composer far exceeds his inspiration: for Lederer, Debussy transforms the poem "into a score of matchless richness, density, and beauty" (p. 26). This transcription for two pianos was made by the composer himself. Debussy's first encounter with music was on the piano. He studied the instrument at the Conservatoire de Paris and won acclaim for his performance of Chopin's second piano concerto. Of Chopin, he wrote that "with the piano alone he discovered everything". As the title suggests, this volume includes two separate copies of the score. Lesure, p. 86. Victor Lederer, Debussy: The Quiet Revolutionary, 2007. Quarto. Title page printed in black and red. Original brown wrappers, front cover lettered in black, leaves unbound as issued. Housed in custom brown quarter calf chemise and matching slipcase by Goy & Vilaine. Light creasing, minor finger soiling to contents, small neat paper repair to upper outer corner of title page: a very good copy indeed.

Seller Inventory # 145222

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Prélude à "L'Après-midi d'un faune". (Eglogue de S. Mallarmé.) Réduction pour deux Pianos.
• Publisher: Paris: Eugéne Fromont, [1895]
• Edition: 1st Edition