Music is a secret form of mathematics, the elements of which have a share in eternity. It lives in the movement of water, in the undulating motion of changing winds; nothing is more musical than a sunset! (Claude Debussy) In a series of five compact discs WERGO releases Claude Debussy's complete works for piano - masterly played by Nina Tichman. Music is for Debussy part of nature, originating from it and returning to it. As a sensitive mediator it allows one a glimpse of an original state of things in which man and nature were one - and at the same time documents painfully the loss of this original state. Expressions like "music of silence" and "music in the open air" are key expressions in understanding Debussy's works. In 1915 Debussy composed the Douze �tudes, his last work for piano solo. He dedicated the work to Fr�d�ric Chopin, thus consciously taking his place in the ranks of a great tradition and formulating a claim for the genre "�tude" which extends far beyond its function as a technical practice piece. The titles of the �tudes are abstract, indeed, compared with the poetic ideas of the "Pr�ludes" and other piano works they could in fact be described as truly scientific in their precision. The theme of each title is the technical problem dealt with in each individual piece (intervals, chromaticism, repetitions etc.). The works which follow these dry titles display bold freedom and fantasy, shimmering beauty which leaves far behind all trace of "�tude" character. The �tudes, of all things, the epitome of dry school-book learning, become a feast of creativity.