Claude Debussy Popular Songs Ranking [2026]

Romantic WaltzClaude Debussy43rank/position

Debussy / Romantic Waltz / Performed by: Hiroki Nakajima

This is a work by the French composer Claude Debussy.

Debussy composed using free harmony that was not bound by functional harmony, and he was one of the most influential composers from the late 19th to the early 20th century.

This piece, “Valse romantique,” was composed in 1890 and is said to show a strong influence from Chopin.

Before entering the Paris Conservatoire, Debussy studied with Madame Mauté de Fleurville, a pupil of Chopin, which may have something to do with this connection.

Starlit NightClaude Debussy44rank/position

Debussy – Nuit d’étoiles (Natalie Dessay)

A soprano singer from France, praised as one of the greatest of our time.

Her gentle yet radiant voice is captivating, but she has been plagued by vocal cord problems that have forced her to undergo surgery multiple times.

She is now active across a broader range of genres beyond classical music.

In this piece, you can fully enjoy Dessay’s characteristically light, soaring high notes.

Two ArabesquesClaude Debussy45rank/position

Debussy / Two Arabesques No. 1 / Performed by Ichiro Kaneko

It is a piano piece composed by the French composer Claude Debussy and is considered one of his signature works.

The piece consists of two movements and follows the ternary form typical of Romantic music.

It is a well-known masterpiece, widely recognized by the general public because it is used in anime and manga, among other media.

Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum from Children’s CornerClaude Debussy46rank/position

Debussy / 1. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum / Performed by: Ichiro Kaneko

This is a piano piece by Claude Debussy completed in 1908.

Children’s Corner consists of six pieces in total, and this is the first.

It is modeled after the set of études Gradus ad Parnassum by the Italian pianist and composer Muzio Clementi.

The piece is said to depict, with lively spirit, Debussy’s child Emma growing bored with piano exercises, and indeed its characteristic succession of notes evokes scale practice.

Yet rather than boredom, the beauty of the sonorities makes it sound as if she is actually enjoying herself.

Clair de Lune, the third piece of the Suite bergamasqueClaude Debussy47rank/position

Fuzjko Hemming — Clair de Lune

The Suite bergamasque consists of four pieces: Prelude, Menuet, Clair de Lune, and Passepied, with the third piece, Clair de Lune, being one of the most famous.

It is a nocturne performed mostly pianissimo, characterized by a gentle and wistful atmosphere.

It has been widely beloved, including in Stokowski’s orchestral arrangement and through its use in Disney films.

“Fireworks,” No. 12 from Préludes, Book IIClaude Debussy48rank/position

Fireworks (Debussy) – Debussy: Feux d’artifice – pianomaedaful

Many people associate summer with fireworks, but are you familiar with any classical pieces themed around fireworks? One such work is Fireworks (Feux d’artifice), included in Book II of the Préludes for piano by the renowned French composer Claude Debussy.

This piece depicts the scenes of July 14, Bastille Day, a date of great importance to the French.

With quotations from the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, the music strongly conveys a sense of pride in being French.

It is a highly virtuosic piano work that brilliantly captures the spectacle of dazzling fireworks.

If you’re interested in French culture and history, why not give it a listen on July 14?

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

La Mer: Three Symphonic Sketches for OrchestraClaude Debussy49rank/position

Symphonic Poem “The Sea” — Debussy

This work was composed by Claude Debussy between 1903 and 1905.

Among the orchestral works of Debussy, one of France’s leading composers, it is one of the most famous pieces.

Depicting the sea through three movements—“From Dawn to Noon on the Sea,” “Play of the Waves,” and “Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea”—the piece is said to have been inspired by portrayals of the sea found in Japanese ukiyo-e prints.

The cover of the score, published in 1905, features The Great Wave off Kanagawa from Katsushika Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

While its official title is La mer: trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre (The Sea: Three Symphonic Sketches for Orchestra), it is also affectionately known as the symphonic poem La mer.

Considered the beginning of Impressionism, it is highly pictorial, and—as if to underscore its inspiration from Japanese ukiyo-e—one can hear Oriental sonorities throughout.