Debussy’s music reveals characteristics that justifiably move it into the proximity of Impressionist painting, as it produces moving paintings, landscapes of sound, and soundscapes in the narrowest sense of the word that can draw the listener into the middle of the picture.

Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet, completed in 1903, had to be and was compared with Debussy’s quartet. At the same time, it can be seen here how Ravel’s musical diction – based on Debussy’s – prepared the way for French Modernism.

Like only a few of his colleagues, the Briton Thomas Adès, born in 1971, is capable of fusing traditional elements from music history, including obvious references to existing compositions, with modern sound production, into an individual style appealing directly to the listener.