Debussy's Etudes: Bavouzet or Thibaudet??

Started by andolink, March 12, 2015, 07:34:09 AM

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andolink

March 12, 2015, 07:34:09 AM
Hi all.  I'm considering acquiring one or the other of these two guys' recordings of Debussy's 12 Etudes (1915). 

Any opinions about which one (or others) you prefer will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
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Mandryka

#1
March 12, 2015, 08:35:14 AM Last Edit: March 12, 2015, 08:45:27 AM by Mandryka
Quote from: andolink on March 12, 2015, 07:34:09 AM
Hi all.  I'm considering acquiring one or the other of these two guys' recordings of Debussy's 12 Etudes (1915). 

Any opinions about which one (or others) you prefer will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I enjoyed the Bavouzet more than the rest of his Debussy, even though it's not a favourite of mine,

Four of the best set of Etudes I know are hard to find - Rosen's first (not the one released recently, I'm not sure it has ever been commercially on CD. I mean the one that was originally on an REB LP)  and Loriod and a live Pollini from Salzburg and the recording by Anthony Di Bonaventura. If you want these then you can PM me.

Otherwise, for a commercial recording, I would consider Craig Shephard or Pierre Laurent-Aimard.

I should warn you that I like performances which are coruscating, exciting, spiky, dissonant. If you prefer a  style which is is warm and playful and agreeable and comfortable and lyrical and beautiful, in short a style which makes the Etudes sound like the Debussy we all know and love in the Preludes, hammerless as Todd may say, whatever that means, you should maybe try Anne Queffelec.

Others I've enjoyed - Yegor Shevstov (who pairs the music with some Bartok)

Debussy considered this music his most successful for the piano, and his most forward looking.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Dancing Divertimentian

#2
March 12, 2015, 08:52:42 AM
Thibaudet's etudes are the best thing he did in his set (although the rest of his set is fantastic, too). The interpretations are appropriately spiky and lively. No concessions are made as far as mitigating the pieces modernistic tendencies. Instead Thibaudet meets all challenges head-on. He's got the chops to gobble the technical demands whole and a poetic sense to make the pieces sing. 

So far I haven't heard Bavouzet's etudes.

Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Todd

#3
March 12, 2015, 11:10:16 AM
From these two options, Thibaudet.  If you are open to other options, Beroff on Denon or Rouvier on Denon.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

andolink

#4
March 12, 2015, 03:54:54 PM
Thanks for these suggestions.  Mandryka, you've pointed to a new direction I hadn't considered and I appreciate that too.
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Artem

#5
March 12, 2015, 07:00:59 PM
I only have Uchida's recording, but I have a feeling it's not that popular among experts. It took me some time to get into it, but I like it.

Dancing Divertimentian

#6
March 12, 2015, 07:13:50 PM
Quote from: Artem on March 12, 2015, 07:00:59 PM
I only have Uchida's recording, but I have a feeling it's not that popular among experts. It took me some time to get into it, but I like it.

I have Uchida's, too. I love it.


Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

Mandryka

#7
March 12, 2015, 09:46:14 PM Last Edit: March 12, 2015, 09:47:50 PM by Mandryka
I haven't heard Thibaudet's recording. Three others which I forgot to mention, and which I think have things to say worth hearing, are Uchida, Austbø and Crossley.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

amw

#8
March 13, 2015, 03:58:30 AM
Thirding Uchida, also nominating the fantastic recording by Noriko Ogawa.

San Antone

#9
March 13, 2015, 04:14:33 AM Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 04:17:34 AM by sanantonio
Along with the other suggestions, Pascal Rogé stands out, IMO.  He has recorded complete piano collections of Faure, Ravel , Poulenc, Satie and has recorded the complete piano works by Debussy.  He is a reliable interpreter of the French piano repertory, and his recording of the 12 Études (Piano Music, Vol. IV) is a good choice.



The complete box set was released in 2012

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