Debussy's Corner

[bhodges]

Debussy@150! 

Listening to Boulez/Cleveland Images (DG), and later, Fournet/Concertgebouw in Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (live recording, 24 February 1995).

--Bruce

[Mirror Image]

Bought this not too long ago:



Really looking forward to hearing this set. I've read nothing but positive things about Ogawa's performances and I even listened to some of them via NML. I like her touch and, most of all, her feel on the piano. She's not a player consumed with ego. I believe she loves this music and plays it with great emotion.

This set was brought to my attention via Dave (SonicMan) and Jeffrey Smith.

[Mirror Image]

I'm definitely entering into a Debussy phase right now...

[Mandryka]

Izumi Tateno plays Debussy Preludes



I'm very keen to hear this CD. If anyone sees it for sale please let me know.

[petrarch]

And I for this one, unfortunately sold-out almost immediately since its release:

[asin]B008XQ4N2O[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

I've not thought about the pop group Renaissance for an age . . . nor am I quite clear as to how I come to think of them this morning.

But in listening to the clips of their album Ashes Are Burning, I see that they scavenged La cathédrale engloutie for "In the Harbour."

[MishaK]

Bought this not too long ago:



Really looking forward to hearing this set. I've read nothing but positive things about Ogawa's performances and I even listened to some of them via NML. I like her touch and, most of all, her feel on the piano. She's not a player consumed with ego. I believe she loves this music and plays it with great emotion.

This set was brought to my attention via Dave (SonicMan) and Jeffrey Smith.

I recently started doing a survey of all Debussy piano recordings on Spotify and was amazed that Ogawa, who I had never heard of before, was almost always among the top four or five "finalists" for each piece, if not the overall winner, alongside such greats as Michelangeli, Richter, Freire, Francois, Monique Haas or Moravec. She just so completely thoroughly internalized Debussy's idiom. She really speaks his musical language with practically native fluency, even if she doesn't always have the verve or virtuosity of some of the great pianists. I bought this set immeidately and it has been my basic go to reference since.

[Mirror Image]

I recently started doing a survey of all Debussy piano recordings on Spotify and was amazed that Ogawa, who I had never heard of before, was almost always among the top four or five "finalists" for each piece, if not the overall winner, alongside such greats as Michelangeli, Richter, Freire, Francois, Monique Haas or Moravec. She just so completely thoroughly internalized Debussy's idiom. She really speaks his musical language with practically native fluency, even if she doesn't always have the verve or virtuosity of some of the great pianists. I bought this set immeidately and it has been my basic go to reference since.

Yes, I've only heard a few performances from the set but have thoroughly enjoyed them.

[Geo Dude]

I'm starting to build a Debussy collection and would like to know where to go next.  I have his complete works on piano by Crossley and Michelangeli's partial set, and have my eye on the Bavouzet; this chamber disc is in the mail and I have the complete orchestral works by Martinon on hand.  Where should I go next?

[Parsifal]

And obvious item is the Opera, Pelleas et Melisande.  Your chamber music collection is also missing significant items such as the string quartet.  There are some two piano works that are just as interesting as the solo piano music.  Then there are some superb melodies.

[asin]B00008IOUS[/asin]

And of course there are lots of alternate recordings to the ones you have which it might be fun to explore.

[North Star]

I'm starting to build a Debussy collection and would like to know where to go next.  I have his complete works on piano by Crossley and Michelangeli's partial set, and have my eye on the Bavouzet; this chamber disc is in the mail and I have the complete orchestral works by Martinon on hand.  Where should I go next?

Pelleas & Melisande, Le Martyre de saint Sebastian, songs, music for piano four hands / two pianos, the String Quartet, the Piano Trio seem to be the only major omissions. You might consider getting one of the complete edition boxes. The Sony one has fewer songs, and some of the Crossley cycle, so perhaps get the DG box (which has one disc of ABM)?
[asin]B00742LLKU[/asin]

[Octave]

One thing I've enjoyed immensely, several times, maybe pieces of music you do not have yet:


Debussy: L'ENFANT PRODIGUE & LA DAMOISELLE ÉLUE (Orfeo)
w/Jessye Norman, FiDi, Cotrubas, Carreras, Stuttgart dir. Bertini
Amazon ASIN: B00000596M  (maybe a second product page floating around?)

I've been quite slow to look up other performances, so if there's something different/better, I'd like to know about it!  This Orfeo disc is usually a bit spendy at Amazon, so I waited for a Presto label sale.  It's totally been worth the extra bucks.

Also, I am not always hungry for reductions or arrangements/re-orchestrations, even in Debussy (one thing that's made me slow to jump for the Naxos orchestral box), but one of the last things I got was this:

[asin]B00B7U5KDE[/asin]
Debussy: COMPLETE MUSIC FOR PIANO DUO [Damerini/Rapetti]  (Brilliant, 3cd)

and I think it's great.  I have a soft spot for two-piano and piano-four-hands music, methinks.  I have been lazy learning about these pieces/arrangements, but it looks like maybe they are all by Debussy's own hand?  Also curious if the performances can be bettered.  The pillowy, shadowy sonorities make it an amphibious little subgenre in his body of work, maybe a nice complement to both the orch/solo-piano stuff you know.

Also I made an arrangement-exception for this disc:

[asin]B000ARUY3G[/asin]
Debussy: CHAMBER MUSIC [Boston Symphony Chamber Players] (DG/Eloquence)

for a remarkable, pungent transcription of the Prelude for a somewhat unusual chamber ensemble (2 violins, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, cymbals, piano, harmonium) done by Benno Sachs, a student of Schoenberg.  I think this Eloquence disc might have been a Mandryka recommendation; perhaps he's mentioned here.

I dig the harmonium!  I once heard a weird chamber arrangement of a Bruckner symphony (#6?) that included harmonium and iirc saxophone.  That sounds like a nightmare but I found it fascinating.  I really need to look that one up again. 

[Octave]

Oh, and LE MARTYRE of course!  I need to get deeper into that piece.  I am sure the Ansermet included in the DG big box is very fine, but I got this more recent recording by MTT, which sounds great:

[asin]B000025SZP[/asin]
Debussy: LE MARTYRE DE SEBASTIEN (Michael Tilson-Thomas w/LSO)

The edition I got was from the same Amazon seller now offering it absurdly cheap with free shipping (of the supersaver 'bundled' variety), and this edition came with a neat thickish booklet with the text.

[Geo Dude]

Good to hear about all of this stuff.  It seems that I'm on roughly the right track because most of the stuff recommended is in my hit list wish list.  I would definitely be interested in hearing about areas where I should double up, specifically works for solo piano (complete boxes preferred ) and orchestra.

(In regards to his solo piano works, I'm interested in Bavouzet but I am yet settled upon that set, so critiques are certainly welcome.)

[Todd]

specifically works for solo piano (complete boxes preferred )

Complete piano music, well, in addition to the excellent Bavouzet, there's always:














Gieseking, in this or the more recent incarnation, is a must have I would say.  Rouvier and Beroff are Japan only as far as I can tell, but both are top flight.  I usually reach for Beroff first when I get a hankerin' for Debussy.  (The Denon cycle is later and better than the EMI recordings, which themselves are pretty darned good.)  Ericourt is superb across the board, but in terrible sound.  Thibaudet has it's strong points, but is not quite as good as the others.

[Parsifal]

Complete piano music, well, in addition to the excellent Bavouzet, there's always:

This one sounds much better.

[asin]B0079J283C[/asin]

I listened to the SACD layer but I would presume that CD layer sounds more-or-less identical.

[Geo Dude]

Todd is nothing if not thorough.  Thanks to the both of you.

[Mandryka]

Good to hear about all of this stuff.  It seems that I'm on roughly the right track because most of the stuff recommended is in my hit list wish list.  I would definitely be interested in hearing about areas where I should double up, specifically works for solo piano (complete boxes preferred ) and orchestra.

(In regards to his solo piano works, I'm interested in Bavouzet but I am yet settled upon that set, so critiques are certainly welcome.)

The Austbø will complement your Crossley in a way.

I quite enjoyed the Rouvier that Todd mentioned too. I've got less pleasure from the post war Gieseking and Bavouzet than everyone else it seems.

[Todd]

I've got less pleasure from the post war Gieseking and Bavouzet than everyone else it seems.

Gieseking's pre-war Debussy, and his smattering of post-war radio broadcast Debussy, are better than his EMI set, but that written, his EMI set is still one of the benchmark sets, at least in my estimation, plus it's a(n almost) complete set.  For me, the best Gieseking Debussy is:

[Mandryka]

Gieseking's pre-war Debussy, and his smattering of post-war radio broadcast Debussy, are better than his EMI set, but that written, his EMI set is still one of the benchmark sets, at least in my estimation, plus it's a(n almost) complete set.  For me, the best Gieseking Debussy is:

I understand.

What did you think of Philippe Cassard's set, the HIP one on original instruments? I've never heard it.

Here's something really quite interesting I think on authentic Debussy performance, especially what he might have meant by the famous  "without hammers"

http://www.djupdal.org/karstein/debussy/method/m08.shtml

Earlier this year I heard Sokolov play the first Schubert impromptu, which starts with a very loud chord. The sound he made was very loud and powerful, but somehow very soft and mellow at the same time. Burnished, rich, velvety. I thought to myself: now I understand how you can forget that the piano has hammers.