Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church

1329 Seventh Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94122

Debussy’s Children’s Corner: Parody or Homage?

Hidden behind the outward charm of the six pieces that make up Claude Debussy’s Children’s Corner lie hidden references to fellow composers Muzio Clementi, Jules Massenet, Camille Saint-Saens, and Richard Wagner. Was Debussy merely poking fun at his colleagues, or was he paying a tongue-in-cheek homage at composers he in fact admired? This lecture examines this questions by searching out the likely original sources of these whimsical pieces.