“…Incidentally, I am more and more convinced that, in essence, music is not something that could be poured into a strict, traditional form. It consists of colours and time expressed in rhythm…” – Claude Debussy, 3 September 1907 in a letter to his publisher Jacques Durand

These words essentially summarise a whole movement – the movement of musical Impressionism. Claude Achille Debussy (1862-1918) is responsible for the fact that the newer French piano music of his time came to be highly regarded.

Both of the books of Preludes by Claude Debussy are an expression of this art of impression and perception. The composer wrote the first book, “Préludes. Premier livre”, between December 1909 and February 1910. The second, “Préludes. Deuxième livre”, was compiled between 1910 and 1912. Both volumes were published by Durand. In total, there are 24 compositions with which Debussy continued, composed between 1836 and 1839.

Eloïse Bella Kohn was born in Paris in 1991 and started her musical education at the Yamaha music school at the age of four. She entered the National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance (CNSM) and studied with Michel Béroff, Eric Le Sage, Denis Pascal, David Fray and Pierre-Laurent Aimard.