Claude Debussy

Children's Corner (L. 113) is a six-movement suite for solo piano by Claude Debussy. It was published by Durand in 1908, and was given its world première in Paris by Harold Bauer on December 18 of that year. In 1911, an orchestration of the work by Debussy's friend André Caplet received its première and was subsequently published.

It is dedicated to Debussy's daughter, Claude-Emma (known as "Chou-Chou"), who was three years old at the time. The pieces are not intended to be played by children; rather they are meant to be evocative of childhood and some of the toys in Claude-Emma's toy collection.

Technically, this piece is quite difficult as it requires precise semi-detached playing in both hands with the melody between them. Again, there are a darker moments in the bass near the middle. Thanks to the composer's remarkable color effects, it manages to describe snow - not rain - and muted objects seen through it.

Although originally written for Piano, I created this arrangement for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).