Prelude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Debussy's 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune' was inspired by the poem 'The Afternoon of a Faune' by Stéphane Mallarmé, and later formed the basis for a ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. It is one of Debussy's most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of music. Composer-conductor Pierre Boulez even dates the awakening of modern music from this score, observing that "the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music." It is a work that barely grasps onto tonality and harmonic function.