Tears of a Clownsilly has the hope diamond of posts for the Debussy lover- an interview from 1910 published by the New York Times. What struck me in the article is the incredibly modern sound of debussy's words- the world couldnt have changed that much. He is straightforward, direct, there isnt a drop of pretension in what he says.

"you are quite right; my compositions are part of myself, almost like my own children. I hate to see them grow up, for then they have to leave me"

Tchaikovsky had the same kind of thing to say in his letters, i dont have the book handy otherwise i would have found the quote directly, but he even uses the same metaphor for his pieces, he too described the pain of handing his work over to the public and his subsequent insecurity that is accompanied by the public performance. There is more wisdom in this interview than quotation allows, if that makes any sense. Read it, its great insight to both composition, music and Debussy as a musician. There is a universal and timeless quality in what he says.