Debussy's Ibéria

by Brown, Matthew

• ISBN13: 9780198161998
• ISBN10: 0198161999
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book suggests ways in which Debussy's sketches and drafts may be used to explain how he composed one of his last great symphonic scores: Ibéria (from mages for orchestra, 1903-10). Part 1 shows how we might understand the process of musical composition as a form of expert problem solving; Part 2 reconstructs the genesis of each of the three movements in turn.

Author Biography

Born in London, Matthew Brown studied at the Royal College of Music Preparatory Division and later at King's College London. He pursued a Ph.D. in musicology at Cornell University. From 1983-1986 he was a junior fellow at Harvard University. Since then, he has taught musicology at the Eastman School of Music and theory at Louisiana State University. He has served on the council of the American Musicological Society and the executive board of the Society for Music Theory. He is currently Associate Professor of Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xii
List of Tables	xiii
List of Musical Examples	xiv
List of Library Sigla and Bibliographical Abbreviations	xvi
Introduction: Musical Composition and Problem-Solving	1	(12)
Part 1
Composition History and Musical Sources	13	(23)
Intentional Goals and Historical Constraints	36	(29)
Musical Problems and Search Strategies	65	(28)
Part 2
`Par les rues et les chemins'	93	(21)
`Les Parfums de la nuit'	114	(21)
`Le Matin d'un jour de fete'	135	(22)
Conclusion: Sketch Studies and Musical Analysis	157	(7)
Select Bibliography	164	(9)
Index	173