[ArtMusic]

Carrying on from the great Romantic tradition, "... impressionism in music was a movement among various composers in Western classical music, mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose music focuses on suggestion and atmosphere, "conveying the moods and emotions aroused by the subject rather than a detailed tone‐picture"."

Debussy, Ravel are of course two great names, writing beautiful melodies, emotional and accessible notes that make any listener swooooon.

Who are your favorite/you think greatest impressionist composers?

 

[ArtMusic]

I voted Debussy and Ravel.

 

[ArtMusic]

This is truely, what can I say, but purity of music ....

 

[dgee]

A label applied externally from music for what always seem to me to be extra-musical reasons. Famously, Debussy renounced the term. Of the rather odd and incoherent collection you list I like Debussy and Ravel the best because they are the best of those composers

 

[Guest]

I also agree with Ravel and Debussy, but I have to add Falla to my choices for "Nights in the Gardens of Spain". It's an amazing and evocative piece that everyone should experience.

 

[Mandryka]

Carrying on from the great Romantic tradition, "... impressionism in music was a movement among various composers in Western classical music, mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose music focuses on suggestion and atmosphere, "conveying the moods and emotions aroused by the subject rather than a detailed tone‐picture"."

Debussy, Ravel are of course two great names, writing beautiful melodies, emotional and accessible notes that make any listener swooooon.

Who are your favorite/you think greatest impressionist composers?

How is 20th centrury French impressionist music different from what French baroque and classical composers were doing - D'Anglebert, Chambonniers, Rameau, Francois Couperin, Pancrace Royer . . . ? Obviously there were harmonic difference, but in terms of aims, vision? Is Louis Couperin's Tombeau de Blancrocher an impressionist piece?

Is Messiaen an impressionist composer? impressions of landscapes in the catalogue d'oiseaux? When Elliott Carter wrote Night Fantasies, was he writing a throwback to 20th century impressionism? Is Finnissy an impressionist composer?

 

[Mahlerian]

Impressionism was a modernist trend, not a romantic one at all. And Debussy's and Ravel's music, far from accessible, were considered the height of cacophony (along with Strauss) at the time.

Explain how this music is in any way Romantic:

 

[isorhythm]

That Arabesque is nice but hardly in the top tier of Debussy's works or representative of his mature style.

My favorite pieces are some of his very spare, haunting preludes, like Des pas sur la neige - no melody to speak of and far from Romantic.

 

[Dim7]

How common it is to categorize Scriabin as an impressionist?

 

[DiesIraeCX]

I voted for Beethoven.

 

[norman bates]

Impressionism was a modernist trend, not a romantic one at all.

I wonder how you consider Delius, who notoriusly idolized Wagner who's probably the biggest influence on his music.
Anyway composers like Koechlin, Griffes, Szymanowski, Sorabji should be added to the poll.

 

[Albert7]

I voted all of them, as usual.

 

[Mahlerian]

I wonder how you consider Delius, who notoriusly idolized Wagner who's probably the biggest influence on his music.

Wagner was also, along with Brahms, one of Schoenberg's greatest influences.

Delius was a modernist like the rest of them, and anyone else who did away with common practice tonality.

 

[Mandryka]

Wagner was also, along with Brahms, one of Schoenberg's greatest influences.

Delius was a modernist like the rest of them, and anyone else who did away with common practice tonality.

Your way of thinking is all about harmony as far as I can see. But impressionism wasn't about harmony, was it? It was an idea about the aims of the music. You can write impressionist music which used common practice ideas - an example would be Chopin's Barcarolle.

By the way, the Debussy etude that you cited may not be an example of impressionist music at all (I know you don't claim it is but . . . )

 

[norman bates]

Wagner was also, along with Brahms, one of Schoenberg's greatest influences.

Delius was a modernist like the rest of them, and anyone else who did away with common practice tonality.

so does it means that Wagner or Liszt weren't romantic composers?
I mean, I would not take the label "impressionist" too much seriously. If it's convenient to indicate composers with a certain approach to harmony, fine; but that doesn't mean that if a composer is labeled "impressionist" his music could not be romantic. In fact the music of Delius has certain aspects o impressionism but is also very romantic like Wagner.
By the way, Delius didn't like Debussy and as you probably know Debussy didn't like the label "impressionist" applied to him.

 

[Mahlerian]

so does it means that Wagner or Liszt weren't romantic composers?
I mean, I would not take the label "impressionist" too much seriously. If it's convenient to indicate composers with a certain approach to harmony, fine; but that doesn't mean that if a composer is labeled "impressionist" his music could not be romantic. In fact the music of Delius has certain aspects o impressionism but is also very romantic like Wagner.
By the way, Delius didn't like Debussy and as you probably know Debussy didn't like the label "impressionist" applied to him.

No, I meant that having a romantic composer such as Wagner or Brahms as your main influence does not make you not a modernist.

What do you mean by romantic in this case?

Yes, Debussy disliked the term impressionism as applied to his music, and much more closely allied himself with the symbolist movement in literature and poetry.

 

[clavichorder]

Scriabin gets my vote even though he isn't impressionist.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Ravel, Debussy, Delius. Three of my favourite composers.

 

[csacks]

Not a big innovation, but Ravel and Debussy are my favorites too.

 

[ArtMusic]

Impressionism was a modernist trend, not a romantic one at all. And Debussy's and Ravel's music, far from accessible, were considered the height of cacophony (along with Strauss) at the time.

I disagree, it's rooted in Romanticism but with beginnings of early (very early) outlook towards modernism.