Debussy ~ La fille aux cheveux de lin (c. 1909) ~ Lang Lang, piano
Achille-Claude Debussy
The English title — one of Debussy’s series of short preludes for piano — roughly (and clumsily) translates as “the maid with the flaxen hair“. While not technically difficult the aesthetic here requires a precision and intensity demonstrated here by one of today’s best-known and most charismatic pianists.
Debussy’s music (somewhat to his dismay) was called “impressionistic” which led to the inevitable comparisons to the painters and sculptors who were similarly categorized such as August Renoir whose painting “Young girl combing her hair” (1894) is shown here.
Personal connection
I performed “La fille …” in a piano recital during my sophomore year in college. In this video Lang Lang plays the piece beautifully (way better than I ever did).
Recent Comments