''Fantaisie'' for piano and orchestra (L.73/CD.72), is a composition for

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

by French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

. It was composed between October 1889 and April 1890, but only received its first public performance in 1919, a year after Debussy's death. The work is dedicated to the pianist René Chansarel, who had been scheduled to play the solo part for the cancelled premiere in 1890.

Instrumentation

The ''Fantaisie'' is scored for: :

solo; :3

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, 2

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

s, cor anglais (English horn), 2 (soprano) clarinets in B, 3

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

s, bass clarinet in B; :4 (French) (valve) horns in F, 3

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

s in F; :2

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

s; : strings (1st & 2nd

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

es).

Structure

The ''Fantaisie'' is in three movements, as in a traditional

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

, with the first movement in

sonata form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...

, a slow, calm middle movement, and an energetic finale. This despite the title, a fantasia is traditionally in a single movement with several sections of vastly different character, and contains no "sonata form". The title ''Fantaisie'' was given to this work because it is in cyclic form: it uses the same two themes in all three movements. # ''Andante ma non troppo'' (

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

) # ''Lento e molto espressivo'' (

F-sharp major F-sharp major is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps. Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically E-flat minor) and its parallel minor is F-sharp min ...

) # ''Allegro molto'' (G major) A typical performance lasts approximately 25 minutes.

Performance and publication

The first public performance of the work, scheduled in 1890, was cancelled when

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...

, who was chosen as conductor, claimed that he did not have enough time for rehearsals and proposed to perform only the first movement, which Debussy declined.Mark DeVoto - Debussy's Neglected ''Fantaisie''

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, The Pendragon Review, pp. 26-45 Over the next few years the very self-critical Debussy made numerous revisions, but eventually gave up on the work and declared that the ''Fantaisie'' would never be published or performed during his lifetime.Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, kennedy-center.org It received its first public performance posthumously on November 20, 1919, in London by the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

with Alfred Cortot as soloist. It was published first in a two-piano version (2nd piano is a reduction of the orchestra score) made by Gustave Samazeuilh in 1919, with the full score in 1920, both by Eugène Fromont, one of Debussy's early publishers.

Recordings

*''Debussy: Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, Poulenc: Aubade'' - Fabienne Jacquinot; Westminster Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anatole Fistoulari. Parlophone PMC 1019 *''Debussy: Fantaisie, Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata, La Mer'' -

;

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; ; born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of eight before receiving further piano training in Europe. At an early age, she won sev ...

;

Staatskapelle Berlin The Staatskapelle Berlin () is a German orchestra and the resident orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden. The orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Until the fall of the German Empire in 1918 the orchestra's name was , i.e ...

;

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

. Release Date: 2021. Label: Deutsche Grammophon. *''Ravel – Debussy – Bizet'' –

Prague Philharmonia Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

; Andrew von Oeyen (pianist); Emmanuel Villaume (conductor). Release date: 2018. Label: Warner Classics. *''Debussy, Poulenc, Ravel, Francaix: Piano Concertos'' – Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern; Florian Uhlig (pianist); Pablo González (conductor). Release date: 2013. Label: Hänssler Classic. *''Debussy: Complete Orchestral Works, Vol. 7'' –

Orchestre National de Lyon The Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) is a French orchestra based in Lyon. Its primary concert venue is the Maurice Ravel Auditorium. The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture (France), French Ministry of Cult ...

; Jean-Yves Thibaudet (pianist); Jun Märkl (conductor). Release date: 2011. Label: Naxos. *''Ravel – Franck – Debussy'' – South Jutland Symphony Orchestra; Oleg Marshev (pianist); Vladimir Ziva (conductor). Release date: 2009. Label: Danacord.Pomeroy, Boyd (July 2010)
"Ravel: Piano Concerto in G. Left-Hand Concerto/Franck: Symphonic Variations/Debussy: Fantasy in G"
''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introdu ...

''. Retrieved 20 October 2018 .

References

External links

* {{Authority control Piano compositions by Claude Debussy Compositions for piano and orchestra

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

1890 compositions