Welcome to the Ether Game Weekly Podcast! We're making some music among friends this week, looking at the art of chamber music in a show called "Hausmusik." To get you started (or for those of you who just cannot wait for Tuesday nights), you can sharpen your skills with our podcast selection. Remember to keep your ears out for a portion of Tuesday night's Teaser selection. And don't forget to tune into the full show on Tuesday, June 20th at 8:00pm for a chance to win a prize!

Claude Debussy (1862–1918): L'ISLE JOYEUSE

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano. Debussy: The Complete Works For Solo Piano, Vol. 1 (London)

Claude Debussy was entrenched in upper-class Parisian society, and many of his works premiered not on the concert stage, but rather in a small venue of elites. His piano piece L'isle joyeuse, for instance, premiered in 1905 at the weekly salon of Madame Marguerite de Saint-Marceaux. These salons were private events, attended by the best musicians, writers, sculptors, and painters in French society. These upper-class Parisians at the turn of the century shared many of the same unique tastes. Scholars have shown that both Madame Saint-Marceaux and Monsieur Debussy both had an admiration for the Rococo paintings of Antoine Watteau. Watteau's fête galante style, depicting stylish people in outdoor settings, appealed to salon culture. And Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse was directly based on Watteau's fête galante painting entitled The Embarkation for Cythera.