Transcribed and edited by Michael Webster

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) won the Prix de Rome in 1884 for his cantata, L'enfant prodigue, and spent two unhappy years in Rome (1885-86) at the Villa Medici. One positive that emerged was his beginning work on Petite Suite, which he subsequently finished while traveling back and forth between Paris and Bayreuth in 1888 and 1889. Although himself a pianist and ultimately known as a superb composer of piano music, Debussy developed slowly in this realm. Written for piano four hands, Petite Suite is a lighthearted and sunny composition which played an important role as a seminal work in Debussy's oeuvre for piano.

En bateau mimics the rocking of a boat in calm waters; Cortège is a procession to a very happy occasion; Menuet has a baroque sensibility, a precursor to Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin; Ballet alternately marches and waltzes. The medium of piano four hands is particularly well suited for transcription for flute, clarinet, and piano, allowing a nearly literal reworking of the original voicing with few exceptions. Since piano four-hand repertoire rarely sees the concert stage, my intention is to bring this charming music to a wider public.