As of tonight, I had a phone call from a patron in Memphis wishing to become a generous Backer! And more visibly, I am fortunate to have the support of Maestro Stéphane Denève. He shared some very interesting information with me regarding Debussy. Apparently, after reading about 2000 letters of Debussy’s, Stéphane concluded that he had an unusual fondness for André Caplet. It is no secret that Debussy was a cynical, difficult individual. Being a brilliant genius he often had little patience for most people. One such example, is Ernest Chausson. Chausson met an untimely death due to barreling down a hill on his bicycle and running into a brick wall and dying instantly. Apparently, he had been suffering from depression, a condition brought on, perhaps, by ostracism from Debussy (equally speculated by Boris Balter, Backer Extraordinaire). Stéphane was touched by Debussy’s fondness for Caplet: “Debussy’s correspondence was quite tender and there was a professional admiration.” Basically, Caplet must have been something very special and Debussy held him in the highest regard.

So, please tell your friends, family and colleagues about Les Amis and give them a copy of the pdf (below). Only 13 days left!

With sincere thanks,

Elizabeth Hainen

Stéphane Denève and Elizabeth Hainen after a rehearsal with The Philadelphia Orchestra

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