The pianist Lucy Parham and Brendan Coyle (narrator) celebrate the 150th anniversary of Claude Debussy. A crucial element of Debussy's complex intellectual and emotional world was an entangled love life that brought illicit trysts in Jersey, a brush with a revolver and even a suicide attempt.
The narrative of Rêverie, which takes the form of a personal journal, follows him from his initial success with the Prix de Rome in 1885 to his untimely death in 1918. It is punctuated with solo piano works ranging from the ever-popular lyricism of 'Clair de Lune', 'Rêverie' and 'The Girl with the Flaxen Hair' to such virtuosic showpieces as 'Jardins sous la pluie', the Etudes and 'L'isle joyeuse'.
('Rêverie' is the fourth biographical programme of composers' words and music to be compiled and scripted by pianist Lucy Parham.)