Music is the arithmetic of sounds as optics is the geometry of light.

The Preludes are frequently compared to those of Chopin. Debussy was just as influenced by other art forms as he was by music if not more so. " Specifically Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov directly influenced one of Debussy's most famous works Pelléas et Mélisande.

A crucial figure in the transition to the modern era in Western music he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. In French literary circles the style of this period was known as symbolism a movement that directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.