Debussy's Ib}}ria [Hardcover]

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:Ib?ria(frommagesfor 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.

Editor's PrefaceMalcolm Gillies
Preface
IntroductionMusical Composition and Problem Solving
1.Part 1Composition History and Musical Sources
2. Intentional Goals and Historical Constraints
3. Musical Problems and Search Strategies
4.Part 2'Par les rues e les chemins'
5. 'Les Parfums de la nuit'
6. 'Le Matin d'un jour de f?te'
ConclusionSketch Studies and Musical Analysis
Bibliography
Index

Brown's insights intoIberiaprove highly illuminating; his book is lucidly written and extremely generous with examples and documentation. It helps to have a score at hand but even the most involved parts of the analysis flow easily, and one need not be either a specialist in Schenker or sketch studies to follow it...in the end the true importance of this book lies in the narrower but brighter light it sheds onIberia. All those interested in that work and in Debussy's 'new manner' in genereal will consult his findings with profit. --NOTES

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 thlÓ