As a musical movement, Impressionism arose in France at the end of the 19th century, though composers of many other nationalities embraced it.
The music was meant to evoke moods and emotions and convey sensory information through music. Rather than tell a story, the Impressionists wanted to create, well, an impression.
In this post, we’re going to talk about 13 of the greatest Impressionist composers, some of whom are still living and writing today. Let’s get started!
1. Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Despite not actually liking the term Impressionist, Claude Debussy was one of the giants of this movement. His work is often called dreamlike, and “Claire de Lune,” a piano piece that is perhaps his most famous work, lives up to that description.
His unconventional harmonies, on display in works like Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, helped pave the way for the jazz harmonies that would arise in the following century.
Debussy’s music represented a marked departure from the Romantic music of his day and exerted influence on many composers who came after him.
2. Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Though Maurice Ravel was a brilliant pianist, the French composer is best known for his orchestral works, which relied on intricate harmonies and his highly inventive use of rhythm.
His status as an Impressionist composer could begin and end with Boléro, even if he never wrote anything else. The piece, which steadily builds — almost unbearable slowly — to a stunning climax, has been part of pop culture since its 1928 premiere.
Boléro has also led researchers to believe Ravel suffered primary progressive aphasia, a neurodegenerative condition that, before robbing its victims of language, instigates synesthesia and a penchant for repetitive patterns.
3. John Ireland (1879–1962)
British composer John Ireland added beautiful harmonies and rich sounds to the Impressionist movement at the turn of the 20th century. He taught piano at London’s Royal College of Music, where one of his many notable students was Benjamin Britten.
Ireland’s music was associated with both the Romantic and Impressionist movements, and many of his compositions had roots in and drew inspiration from nature and the English countryside.
He composed literature for the organ (Elegy) and the piano in addition to chamber music, orchestral works, and even scores for the nascent film industry.
4. Yann Tiersen (1970–)
Calling Yann Tiersen an Impressionist composer may be a bit misleading, as it could lull one into thinking he was living and writing at the beginning of the 20th century. However, he wasn’t born until 1970.
Still, while he uses elements of classical, rock, and folk music, the atmospheric nature of much of his work leads many people to categorize him as an Impressionist.
Tiersen is perhaps best known for his film compositions, most notably what he wrote for 2001’s Amélie. He has released several albums of his non-film compositions and has written music for the theater.
5. Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909)
Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz wrote mainly for the piano, which is unsurprising considering his many concert tours as a pianist in Europe and the Americas.
Before his death in 1909, Albéniz became a major force in Spanish classical music; and drawing on Spanish folk music, he wrote Iberia, a collection of piano pieces that, when you hear them, unmistakably sound like the country from where they came: Spain.
Albéniz also wrote orchestral music fueled by his Spanish roots and interest in the music of his home country.
6. Mary Howe (1882–1964)
Pianist Mary Howe is known as one of the first successful American women composers, a field dominated by white men for centuries.
Before teaching at Julliard, she studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and wrote music for orchestras and chamber groups, as well as several choral pieces.
Howe often collaborated with famous poets like Langston Hughes and Edna St. Vincent Millay for her songs, but her work also stood on its own.
As an Impressionist composer, Howe filled her music with expressive emotions and complex musical techniques. Her piece Stars captures the vastness of space using only instruments.
7. Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
Nadia’s sister, Lili Boulanger, won the 1913 Prix de Rome award for music composition at the ripe old age of 20. These two aren’t the only musically inclined in the family — two of their grandparents were accomplished and recognized musicians.
Lili studied under her sister and with fellow French composer Gabriel Fauré. She wrote song cycles and orchestral works and was gaining renown at the time of her untimely death at the age of 24.
The music she left behind earns kudos for its emotional intensity. Even though that’s often a hallmark of Romantic music, she was on her way to becoming a pillar of Impressionism.
8. Joanna Newsom (1982–)
As an actress, Joanna Newsom has appeared in film and on television, and she’s married to comedian Andy Samberg. As a musician, she’s a singer, songwriter, and harpist.
Though her music may fit into the indie-pop category (she even received a Grammy nomination), her Impressionist leanings are apparent in much of her music, laden as it is with experimental arrangements, orchestral instrumentation, and often, her harp.
The harp part of Newsom’s “Sawdust and Diamonds” could have been written by any Impressionist composer at the turn of the 20th century.
9. Paul Dukas (1865–1935)
French composer Paul Dukas studied music and eventually taught composition at the Conservatoire de Paris. He was also respected as a music critic.
This last job may have played a part in his notorious perfectionism, which restricted his outpost, and he sometimes took years to complete a single work. But one of them, inspired by a poem by Goethe, was “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which featured largely in the Disney film Fantasia.
He also wrote a ballet and worked on several operas, though he only completed Ariane et Barbe-Bleue before passing in 1935.
10. Maurice Emmanuel (1862–1938)
Musicology occupied much of his life, Maurice Emmanuel intensely studied Greek and French music. He was a noted teacher and Impressionist composer, and much of his output was governed by his interest in folk music.
Emmanuel wrote for orchestras, chamber ensembles, vocalists, and solo instruments. He studied under César Franck in Paris and eventually taught at Paris’ Schola Cantorum.
While his music is not widely performed today, Emmanuel’s folk music leanings inspired many composers even after his death in 1938.
11. Toru Takemitsu (1930–1996)
In the 1950s, Toru Takemitsu used bits and pieces of Impressionist ideas in his largely atonal music. By the 1970s, though, he was more fully embracing the melodic lyricism of the musical style.
He blended Japanese and Western music in creative ways and enjoyed experimenting with the sounds of individual instruments. This led him to musique concrète, a technique that uses recorded sounds to create music.
Takemitsu also used many traditional instruments in his music, like the percussion in “From Me Flows What You Call Time.” He collaborated with Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and choreographer Martha Graham.
12. Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884–1920)
Though he didn’t live to see the age of 40, Charles Tomlinson Griffes had an outsized effect on American music. He studied music in college and went on to combine elements of Middle Eastern music with the sounds of Western culture.
His use of impressionistic techniques put him squarely in the camp even if he hadn’t been interested in experimentation, and the sound combinations he employed gave his music an exotic feel missing from the output of many composers at the time.
Griffe’s work laid the groundwork for the emergence of modernist and avant-garde music in the United States.
13. Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983)
In the 1920s, Germaine Tailleferre was the only woman in a group of French composers known as Les Six, which included the vaunted composers Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc. Tailleferre more than held her own among the group.
She wrote music with clarity, simplicity, and elegance, including pieces for film. Like other Impressionist composers, Tailleferre enjoyed mixing old and new musical ideas. Her first piano concerto was instantly praised as a masterpiece.
Tailleferre spent most of her life teaching music and was also a respected conductor. While she isn’t as famous as Bach or Beethoven, her music is still performed and recorded today.
Summing Up Our List Of The Greatest Impressionist Composers
Some Impressionist music can be hauntingly beautiful, and some can be a little weird, given many composers’ leanings toward experimentation.
However, the movement and many of its composers exerted great influence over the sounds and harmonies of Western culture, giving rise to jazz harmonies, electronic music, and much of today’s so-called classical music compositions.
The composers we’ve listed here are but a few. Who have we missed? Let us know, and we’ll add them in!
