Comparative Study Of Debussy's And Ravel's Creating Characteristics And Analysis Of Piano Playing Techniques Of Their Works

Debussy and Ravel were both outstanding French composers in the twentieth century. Their works fully embodied the characteristics of Impressionism, so both of them are thought to be prominent representatives of Impressionist music. While sharing similarities, their works demonstrated some sharp differences. Debussy is generally thought to be the pioneer of Impressionist music, whereas Ravel's works combined Impressionist style with the preciseness of Classicism, and in his later period his works tended more toward Neo-Classicism.This dissertation first gives a brief introduction to Debussy's and Ravel's life backgrounds and their music styles, and then makes a comparative study on their creative techniques. Lastly, through analysis of Debussy's Reflets dans l'eau and Ravel's Jeux D eau and real piano playing experience of these two works, the author of the dissertation makes a comparative study of the two works from the aspects of musical structure, musical language, melody, harmony, modality and piano playing styles, and finally makes a tentative conclusion on the playing techniques of the works of Debussy's and those of Ravel's.