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Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s profound affinity for the music of Claude Debussy is revealed again on this 2-CD album.
Celebrating the pioneering French composer’s 150th birthday, it features Aimard’s stellar interpretations of the complete cycle of both books of Préludes.
Debussy: Préludes - Book 1
1. Danseuses De Delphes
2. Voiles
3. Le Vent Dans La Plaine
4. Les Sons Et Les Parfums Tournent Dans L'air Du Soir
5. Les Collines d'Anacapri
6. Des Pas Sur La Neige
7. Ce Qu'a Vu Le Vent D'ouest
8. La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin
9. La Sérénade Interrompue
10. La Cathédrale Engloutie
11. La Danse De Puck
12. Minstrels
Debussy: Préludes - Book 2
1. Brouillards
2. Feuilles Mortes
3. La Puerta Del Vino
4. "Les Fées Sont D'exquises Danseuses"
5. Bruyères
6. "General Lavine" - Eccentric
7. La Terrasse Des Audiences Du Clair De Lune
8. Ondine
9. Hommage À S. Pickwick, Esq., P.P.M.P.C.
10. Canope
11. Les Tierces Alternées
12. Feux D'artifice
29th August 2012
***
“As you'd expect, Aimard's accounts of the 24 pieces are technically impeccable, whether articulating every rhythmic detail in La Danse de Puck, or perfectly layering the chordal accumulations of La Cathédrale Engloutie, but there is something matter of fact about it all”
31st August 2012
***
“a clean if rather dispassionate account of Debussy’s complete piano Preludes. Aimard was recorded playing his own Steinway: a cosy arrangement that may explain his devotion to the instrument’s reverberations. The resonances lend a special aura to Debussy’s more processional pieces.”
15th September 2012
***
“Aimard stresses clarity of thought and timbre, as well as seriousness and fidelity, in all he does. You might think such qualities...were less important in Debussy’s Préludes, which put a premium on sensitivity, imagination and range of colour...But Aimard is no slouch in those departments either...Aimard challenges us to listen rather than dream.”
December 2012
***
“This is remarkable pianism. However, Aimard appears to be treating the Preludes as absolute music, with only intermittent sense of the visual. That works fine in some of the pieces but this sober reading conveys too little of Debussy's humour and passion...If this all seems rather negative, then make no mistake, this is still a strong set of the Preludes.”
November 2012
“For [Aimard], Debussy must always be allowed his own voice and few performances on record have proceeded with so little impediment or with greater transparency and lucidity. Yet time and again I found myself longing for Aimard to step out into the light instead of confining himself so exclusively to shadows and half-lights.”
Click here for alternative recordings of this work.
1. Danseuses De Delphes
