French composer Claude Debussy is the most prominent figure of impressionism in music. Debussy’s poetic, colourful music conveys the most subtle feelings and their transformations. From the French tradition, the composer inherited a refined emotionality and aristocratic taste.

Debussy’s most famous orchestral work is the symphonic prelude Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun). It is one of the most striking examples of the impressionist style and is considered to be a significant turning point in the history of Western music. Pierre Boulez regarded this score as the beginning of modern music. The work is based on a namesake poem by the symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. The composer was fascinated by the vivid image of the Roman mythological deity Faun, who daydreams of beautiful nymphs on a steamy day. Debussy captured the inner monologue of Faun, his reveries, dreams and reality with superb finesse, delicacy and sensuality. It is no coincidence that Maurice Ravel called Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune an “extraordinary miracle.”

The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Modesto Pitrėnas, present Debussy’s impressionist canvas.