Debussy: Piano Works
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Free Music Notes for Debussy: Piano Works
Free Music Review: Too mechanical with little nuance
Hit: 2 Stars
The playing is technically flawless, but Mr. Roge does not seem to grasp the subtle nuance necessary to bring out the genius in Debussy. For example, very rarely is it necessary or even desirable to hammer out the low notes in this music, especially in the Preludes, but Mr. Roge seems to take a heavy handed approach when a light touch is in order. Check out the recordings by Paul Jacobs if you want to hear the inner beauty of the Preludes and the Images sets. Aldo Ciccolini offers a great example of how to bring out the line and expression of the some of the early works. I would not recommend this recording for anyone other than a collector who wants to realize how truly remarkable Paul Jacobs is as an interpreter of Debussy.Free Music Review: Superb!
Hit: 5 Stars
After wavering for months as to which set of Debussy solo piano music to buy, I decided on this one and have not regretted it for a moment. The playing and recording are gorgeous. I was scared away from Giesking based on complaints about the quality of those recordings (and I don't really like mono). The Kocsis Images recording was tempting, but not as comprehensive as this one. I can't imagine a better (or less expensive) single recording of Debussy solo piano music.Free Music Review: of the 6 or 7 recordings
Hit: 5 Stars
I've heard almost every major recording of Debussy's piano music. Pascal roge is the finest. the only one you need actually. Gieseking is of interest, but after carefully reviewing his recordings, Pascal Roge surpasses Gieseking in grasping the nuances and poetic form in Debussy. Gieseking served me very well until Roge's masterly recording came along.
Yes i've heard casadesus, not sure why his hype lives on to THIS DAY. Casadesus doesn't even hold his own agaisnt Gieseking, but the die hard Casadesus fans yet live on.
EDIT:
Today i pulled out this cd. There's no doubt this is the finest Debussy on record. I would give Pommier/Virgin label a very close 2nd place.
Other than these 2, there are no others which capture the most difficult piano music ever scored.
Though I place that of Ravel in a greater sense of importance, Debussy scored music of Eternal Beauty. IOW I can envision mankind 1000 yrs from now (near the end of the reign of Christ's kingdom of peace, when Satan is once again allowed freedom on earth) to considered as beautiful then as it is today. Much like the greek epic plays are considered great art in this post modern world. People in a 1000 yrs from now will say among themselves *you mean post modern mankind did not appreciate this music, less than 1% of the cultured population actually listened to Debussy's piano music? How dreadful a time on earth that must have been, how deaf they were back then!! What lack of sensitivity to beauty*
I never listen to Chopin, as the music pales in comparison with Debussy's *entriguing beauty in every note*
Paul Best
new Orleans
Aug 3,2008
Free Music Review: One of the best Debussy performances I've heard.
Hit: 5 Stars
There's obviously hundreds of options if you're just "looking for some Debussy", but keep in mind that the $3 CDs at Best Buy are $3 for a reason: They don't put any money into the production. It's near impossible to enjoy such amazing works as this if it's being recorded on a cheap microphone across the room from an amateur clanking away on an upright piano!
Great recording, great performances. I don't know what the other reviewer was talking about with the "volume problems", this CD is actually mastered a little bit louder than most of the genre.
Free Music Review: Luminescent performances of Debussy's piano music!
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought this CD on the suggestion of a former piano professor with whom I studied. I'm really glad I followed his suggestion.
It's a rare performer who can take pieces that we've heard over and over and OVER again, and bring something fresh to them. Pascal Rog? has pulled this off -- and then some!
Of the two CD set, I really can't tell which is my favorite: I'll play one CD, and listen to it over and over again and decide that one is my favorite; then I listen to the other one and the same thing happens!
Which piece is the best? It's really difficult to tell, simply because the playing throughout is of such high caliber! L'isle joyeuse is ecstatic -- the timing of the phrases, the colors achieved are almost miraculous! (This is my favorite performance of L'isle joyeuse, hands down!) Le vent dans la plaine actually conveys the idea of wind moving over a plain; Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest (What the West Wind Has Seen) is just downright creepy in a musical description of an extratropical storm (what was a hurricane, until it lost its tropical characteristics -- but not its wind and the potential for damage).
And then, by contrast, Rog?'s performance of Debussy's Toccata has the necessary dryness to pull off the feeling of a clavecin and yet conveys a vivid sense of tonal color!
I've had the CD a week, and I can already tell this is going to be one of my very favorite CDs. I've heard Horowitz and Gieseking playing these pieces, as well -- the Rog? is definitely my favorite. If you're going to buy a comprehensive CD of Debussy's piano music -- this one is the one to get!
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