... was actually greatly influenced by the
harmonic structures of
Wagner and, though he denied it throughout his career, there is firm evidence of Wagnerian structure in much of his music. Curiously, he mocks Wagner's unresolvable "
Tristan and Isolde" opening chord in one of his better known piano works,
The Golliwog's Cakewalkmaking it sound stilted and awkward.
He was quite an arrogant man - various womenfolk of his tried or failed to kill themselves, and he didn't give a toss what other people thought about his revolutionary harmony, going beyond courting controversy and actually encouraging it probably just to get more attention to his music. He was open minded about new developments in harmony and structure: he was one of the few people to remain seated in the première of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring ballet.
Much pretentious bollocks has been written about what is probably his best known orchestral work, "Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune" one classic description being "In the first nine bars, Debussy cuts the umbilical chord of modern music", and (sic) " On one hand, the interwoven tissues and fabric of shadows and dreams, and on the other a fragrance of flaming Mediterranean sunlight." (Christopher Palmer) Hmm.