Kodály and Impressionism. The Influence of Debussy

Abstract

"The paper examines Debussy’s influence on the young Kodály. First, it enumerates those historical events, that link Kodály to Debussy’s music, then it compares his newly developed style with that of his earlier and later works. By analyzing the piano works Méditation, sur un motif de Claude Debussy and Épitaphe (Seven pieces for piano, Op. 11, No. 4) the paper highlights a few impressionistic compositional techniques that appear in these works, then examines those ones, which Kodály takes on and fits in his latter, predominant neoclassical-folkloric style. Keywords: Kodály, Impressionism, Debussy, style, compositional techniques, analysis"