Debussy: Préludes - Book 1: No. 1, Danseuses de Delphes (Delphic Dances)

Debussy's twenty-four Preludes, like Chopin's, are surprisingly self-sufficient. Divided into two books, published in 1910 and 1913, the Preludes are an intimate record of Debussy's inner and imaginative life. Their titles were after-thoughts rather than direct inspirations, largely because Debussy's delicate and complex response to natural phenomena or human idiosyncrasy could hardly be contained or expressed by a simple caption or heading.

The Cuban-American pianist Jorge Bolet isn't readily associated with the music of Debussy, but his selection of sixteen of the composer's Preludes yield performances of refinement and fluidity. Lines are clearly delineated and the myriad of impressions within a single piece are nothing short of kaleidoscopic.

Jorge Bolet made this superbly languid and delicate recording of 16 Préludes by Debussy less than two years before his untimely death in 1990 at the age of 75. The Cuban-born pianist's reputation was largely founded on his mercurial, blockbusting performances and recordings of Rachmaninov and Liszt, but this disc shows a true pianist’s lightness of touch, as well as some superbly sensitive engineering and technical preparation of his beloved Baldwin SD-10 instrument, chosen by Bolet in preference to the far more popular Steinways.

Bolet's own personal fastidiousness – he always recorded in a jacket and tie – is reflected, and in perhaps unexpected and certainly fascinating ways, in this personal selection from the two books of twelve Préludes, and the ordering of them. He may have been a reluctant, and and indeed until the last couple of decades of his life, infrequent visitor to the studio – he once remarked that he would rather give hundreds of concerts than make one recording – but this wariness does not translate itself into metronomical stiffness but rather reflect a refined version of the spontaneity that manifested itself more naturally in his concert playing.

‘Bolet’s performances, with their inimitable beauty of line and shimmering sonority (very much the product of an unobtrusive but subtle virtuoso pedal technique), their poetic freedom within a basic pulse, were like some serene and final distillation of all he had learnt and known, the massive and legendary virtuosity of earlier days directed into an everincreasing concern with more durable musical truths.’ Gramophone, 1991

This disc in the Welte-Mignon player piano series, features Debussy and Ravel playing all their 1912 interpretations. Works include Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite and Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales.

"Matthews has been heralded for the success with which he has taken the inspiration of the piano masterpieces and skillfully created orchestral works of great variety, beauty and drama. “…these pieces are more than orchestrations, they are recreations achieved by entering into the mind and thought of the original composer. Beautiful performances.” Sunday Telegraph 2007

This limited-edition boxed set is a real bargain for all who would like to hear more from the composer of famous works like Clair de lune and La Mer. The Collection starts with a selection of popular orchestral pieces such as La Mer, Nocturnes, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune in legendary interpretations by Charles Munch, Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez.

Perhaps best-known for his beautiful compositions for the piano, Debussy’s complete music for piano featuring Robert and Gaby Casadesus, Glenn Gould, Philippe Entremont, Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein and others is included on discs 4-9. The pieces for piano four hands are contributed by Gaby and Robert Casadesus while the chamber-music collections feature artists such as André Previn, James Levine, Steven Isserlis, Lynn Harrell, Pierre Rampal, James Galway, Isaac Stern and the Tokyo String Quartet.

The two CDs of songs include the complete Chansons de Bilitis, Ariettes oubliées and Fêtes galantes (Set 1) by Frederica von Stade as well as the recital recorded by Dawn Upshaw and James Levine. After Pelléas et Mélisande on three CDs, conducted by Pierre Boulez, and Le Martyre de saint Sébastien by Leonard Bernstein, The Claude Debussy Collection becomes a real treasure trove for collectors. CD 17 comprises famous Debussy encores in arrangements for flute, clarinet and violin featuring artists like James Galway and Jascha Heifetz. CD 18 is the limited special edition of Xavier de Maistre’s original album Nuits d’Étoiles – Harp music by Claude Debussy.

Along with Maurice Ravel, French composer Claude-Achille Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of Impressionist music. He is among the most important of all French composers and a central figure in European music around the turn of the last century. Noted for its sensory component and for rarely forming around one key or pitch, Debussy’s music often reflects the activities and turbulence in his life and virtually defines the transition from late-Romantic to 20th-century modernist music.