Debussy decided in 1892, at the age of thirty, to compose a work for orchestra after Mallarmé's poem, L'aprés-midi d'un faune. Originally he had thought of writing three movements (Prélude - Interlude - Paraphrase) but when the first movement was completed in September 1894 he came to the conclusion that the continuation would be superfluous.The Prélude was first performed in Paris with Gustave Doret as conductor on 22 December of the same year yet, as it achieved immediate succes it had to be repeated. Source for the present edition was the first printed score (1895) which had been revised by the composer. Debussy's original, French expressions and markings have been retained.