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Debussy's encounters with the poet Stéphane Mallarmé, whose poem "l'après-midi d'un faune" inspired Debussy's much loved orchestral version.

Over the course of the week Donald Macleod explores the musical fruits of Debussy's relationships with the society hostess Madame Vasnier, writer Pierre Louÿs, poets Stéphane Mallarmé and Maurice Maeterlinck and the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev.

Born in 1862, Debussy's childhood was overshadowed by periods of uncertainty and poverty. His father Manuel was in and out of employment and his mother was obliged to work as a seamstress to make ends meet. During the Commune, Debussy's father enlisted in the National Guard whereupon family life hit a further stumbling block after the movement was crushed in 1871, as Manuel Debussy was put on trial and imprisoned. On identifying a natural musical talent and a potential income, young Debussy was steered towards a career as a concert pianist. He began his studies at the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 10 and the twelve or so years he spent there were the only formal education he received. By the time he graduated he had decided to dedicate himself to composition rather than performance, and he had an address book full of contacts to help him on his way, some of whom we'll meet across this week.

Today Donald Macleod looks at Stéphane Mallarmé's influence on Debussy, through his verse and and the poet's famous Tuesday gatherings, an important rendezvous for Paris's artists, which Debussy attended regularly up until the older man's death in 1898.

Petite Suite (Cortège)
Claire Désert and Emmanuel Strosser, piano

Apparition
Natalie Dessay, soprano
Philippe Cassard, piano

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Emmanuel Pahud, flute
Berlin Philharmonic
Claudio Abbado, conductor

String Quartet, 4th movement, très modéré ? très mouvementé
Ebene Quartet

Estampes
Pagodes; La soirée dans Grenade; Jardins sous la pluie
Noriko Ogawa, piano

La Mer, de l'aube à midi sur la mer
Orchestre National de France
Daniele Gatti, conductor.