中文 Contact Us
Now At： Home > Co-Curricular Activities > Art Salon

The 133rd Salon —"Debussy and 20th Century Impressionism"

On May 30th, 2026, as summer quietly arrived, the 133rd Art Salon at Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School kicked off with a piano recital titled "Debussy and 20th Century Impressionism" – a journey through the impressionist piano works of Debussy.

This Art Salon was entirely performed and presented by Wendi Ding (Ding Wendi), an 11th-grade student at Starriver. She received professional coaching from Mr. Ma Yuanzheng and overall guidance from Ms. Judy Du (Ms. Du Jiangzhou).

Throughout the event, Wendi performed nine solo piano works by Debussy in a row. Along the way, she shared detailed insights into the composer's piano writing, leading the audience into the captivating world of 20th-century impressionist music and gifting everyone a truly dreamlike listening experience.

 

1

PART ONE

1.  Images, Livre 1, L. 110: No.1 Reflects dans l’eau

2.  Deux Arabesques L. 66

I. Andantino con moto  

II. Allegretto scherzamdo  

 

Before Wendi began her performance, she first gave a brief introduction to the composer Debussy and his pieces she was about to play.

 Next up, Wendi performed two pieces by Debussy—his Arabesques, written back in 1891. Those are real gems from Debussy's early days. He left behind those thick, heavy German-style harmonies and instead gave us these light, floating lines, with playful little ornaments that traced out beautiful curves—like ancient Greek carvings coming to life. The melody twisted and turned like climbing vines, or like light dancing on a breezy lake. That's where the audience really felt that Impressionist magic—painting pictures with notes. They were such a bright, breezy, beautiful moment in tonight's concert.
After a fun Q&A session, Wendi brought the audience Debussy's masterpiece, Children's Corner Suite. This suite is a set of six little piano pieces Debussy wrote for his daughter, full of a father's tenderness and wild imagination. The music paints the world as seen through a child's eyes—from the "headache" of practicing in Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, to the little shepherd chatting with his beloved doll, to the joyful scenes of chasing butterflies and stomping through the snow on a sled. With humor and delicate touches, Debussy turned childhood innocence and fantasy into musical notes. It was the warmest and most heartwarming set of the entire concert.