He comes from a period when music was flourishing in the U.S. A good deal of great early20th century American music owes its language to French (and Russians working in Paris) music of the time - especially Ravel and Debussy. Though the term is much debated, this music is often described as impressionistic. Whatever it is called, it was the freshest sound of the new century. Large orchestras of odd percussion, soft sweeping strings, and harps transported the listener into dreamlike worlds where chromatic melodies hunted around the colorful corners of the tunes.