In February 1909, Debussy was elected a member of the Conseil Superieur of the Paris Conservatoire and, in this capacity, was called on to serve on the jury at internal competitions. He was invited to write two test pieces for the 1910 clarinet contest, one for the interpretation class, the other for the sight reading test. The Premiere Rhapsodie was composed during December 1909 and January 1910, concurrently with work on the first book of Preludes for piano.