Debussy

Keren Ann's repertoire (8 studio albums) is full of timeless classics and nuggets to rediscover, magnified by the arrangements and sound textures of one of the most eminent French string quartets. From "Jardin d'hiver" to the recent album "Bleue", Keren Ann and the Debussy Quartet revisit 20 years of songwriting in new and rearranged versions.

Études are primarily intended as exercises to train musicians in specific techniques, but since the Romantic era they have become associated with other miniature forms, such as the prelude and the intermezzo, and frequently regarded as evocative character pieces or tonal pictures. Garrick Ohlsson's album of piano études by Claude Debussy, Sergey Prokofiev, and Béla Bartók offers a brief survey of the genre in modern practice, and demonstrates the blending of pedagogy and poetry in these works. Ohlsson has become internationally known as an exquisite interpreter of the music of Frédéric Chopin, and much of the subtlety and atmosphere found in his previous recordings is present here. Ohlsson's finesse and humor are perhaps most evident in Debussy's Études, L. 143, which have a lighter character than Prokofiev's Études, Op. 2, which tend toward the sardonic side, and Bartók's Études, Op. 18, which are intensely virtuosic and mysterious. Hyperion's recording captures the nuances of Ohlsson's playing, and the piano is close enough to hear every detail, while the acoustics lend it a pleasant natural aura.

Three 20th-century orchestral scores, Bartók’s Two Pictures, Debussy’s Jeux and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, all dating from 1910-13 and all linked (as the detailed CD booklet explains), are brought to life in the hands of two exceptional French pianists. The central interest is the ballet Jeux. One of the world’s outstanding Debussy interpreters, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has added to his complete Chandos recordings with his own transcription for two pianos. Written late in Debussy’s life for Nijinsky, Jeux involves an emotionally erotic and harmonically daring game of tennis. Bavouzet and his well-matched partner, François-Fréderic Guy, play with nimble grace, capturing the works wit and mystery. This gripping album is dedicated to Pierre Boulez, guru and enabler, for his 90th birthday.

This is the first recording of the 45-musician Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (OCP) under the direction of famed violinist Thomas Zehetmair, who assumed the role of principal conductor and artistic advisor during the 2012/13 season. Together they present a program of French music by Ravel and Debussy. With a myriad of existing recordings of the orchestral works of Ravel and Debussy on the market, one might ask what would be the reason to pick up yet another.

'I truly admire this orchestra and hope it becomes better known abroad,' confided Leonard Bernstein in 1989 to the audience in Rome's Auditorio Pio before his concert of works by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) with the prestigious 'Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia.' In the words of Rome's 'Il Giornale,' Bernstein served up a 'Debussy that is neither ethereal nor shapeless, but uncommonly vital, caught in the full light of noon.' The concert begins with 'Images,' Debussy's last orchestral work and one of his most colorful scores. It consists of three separate pieces: the rather doleful 'Gigues,' the 'Rondes de printemps,' which incorporates a French nursery tune, and 'Ibéria,' a vibrant homage to Spain, complete with tambourines and castanets.

Three European jazz legends ! Don't miss their new project together around classic composer Claude Debussy for the release of their new album : "Monsieur Claude - [A Travel with Claude Debussy]"

The two-piano arrangement of orchestral music remained a commercially viable form until the advent of recordings, and even beyond. This recording by the veteran French team of Pascal and Ami Rogé includes several works originally written for two pianos: Ravel's Rhapsodie espagnole and Ma mère l'oye (Mother Goose Suite), the latter better known in its orchestral version, and Saint-Saëns' underrated Scherzo, Op. 87, whose use of whole-tone scales shows that Debussy was not alone in breathing that wind from the east.

This 33-CD set stands as the most complete collection of recordings of Debussy’s music ever made: it comprises all his known works, including four pieces in world premiere recordings which were made especially for this edition. Compiled in collaboration with renowned Debussy expert Denis Herlin (responsible for several critical editions of Debussy’s music for Durand, the composer’s publisher), the box comprises recordings carefully chosen for their artistic quality and their authenticity of spirit. They span more than a century, even including recordings made by Debussy himself – he was a superb pianist. Many other distinguished names are among the performers, including a suitably impressive contingent from France.

This award winning set from 1991 will not be to everyone's tastes. The recording and the playing are perfectly suited to each other being exceptionally clear and precise and with wide dynamic range. The playing on this pair of discs is, as mentioned above, exceptionally clear and precise and came as quite shock to me when I bought it some 20 years ago. Everything is laid out for inspection without the slightest hint of softness or textural shading. It is like going into a room with all the main lights on rather than finding the room lit by numerous lamps on tables and other furniture. There are no subtleties of nuance attempted in the normal way allowing for shadows and half-lights metaphorically.