Claude Debussy (born Achille-Claude Debussy) was among the most
influential composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. His mature compositions, distinctive and appealing,
combined modernism and sensuality so successfully that their
sheer beauty often obscures their technical innovation. Debussy
is considered the founder and leading exponent of musical
Impressionism (although he resisted the label), and his adoption
of non-traditional scales and tonal structures was paradigmatic
for many composers who followed. The son of a shopkeeper and a
seamstress, Debussy began piano studies at the Paris
Conservatory at the age of 11. While a student there, he
encountered the wealthy Nadezhda von Meck (most famous as
Tchaikovsky's patroness), who employed him as a music teacher to
her children; through travel, concerts and acquaintances, she
provided him with a wealth of musical experience. Most
importantly, she exposed the young Debussy to the works of
Russian composers, such as Borodin and Mussorgsk