In 2012 the music world celebrates the 150th anniversary of Debussy's birth. To mark the occasion, Sony Classical is releasing a new recording of some of the composer's best-known orchestral masterpieces with the Orchestre National de France under the baton of its director of music, Daniele Gatti.
The Orchestre National de France is regarded as one of France's greatest orchestras, and is predestined to perform the works of the country's great impressionist composers, having focused on this repertoire for many years.
Daniele Gatti was appointed the Orchestra's director of music in 2008, following in the footsteps of such illustrious conductors as Charles Münch, Lorin Maazel, Charles Dutoit and Kurt Masur. Parallel to his position in Paris, the 51-year-old Italian is also principal conductor of the Zurich Opera.
"Daniele Gatti doesn't just keep the beat. He provides new impetus, he traces the melodies, he brings the different timbres to life and reveals the meaning hidden within the notes. His hand movements are quite unique – elliptical, with gestures hinted at that he later seems to resume." (Le Monde)
13th April 2012
“Daniele Gatti enters wholeheartedly into the enchantments of Debussy here, with striking results: rarely can a faun have been so breathtakingly glimpsed through sun-dappled foliage, or a dialogue between wind and sea been quite this animé et tumultueux, to use the composer's own direction.”
The Arts Desk
5th May 2012
“Gatti’s performance never sacrifices the sense of forward movement. You get the wood and the trees. And the results are wonderfully exciting – the brashness, the aggression of the noisier climaxes comes as a welcome shock. This is Debussy painted in bold acrylics rather than insipid watercolours.”
July 2012
***
“there's plenty of colour here, and the tempos are undoubtedly well chosen”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
