Composer: Claude Achille Debussy
Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Paladino Music
Catalogue: PMR0100
Release: 2018
Size: 900 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Préludes, Book 1 (1910), L. 117
01. No. 1 Danseuses De Delphes
02. No. 2 Voiles
03. No. 3 Le Vent Dans La Plaine
04. No. 4 Les Sons Et Les Parfums Tournent Dans L’air Du Soir
05. No. 5 Les Collines D’anacapri
06. No. 6 Des Pas Sur La Neige
07. No. 7 Ce Qu’a Vu Le Vent D’ouest
08. No. 8 La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin
09. No. 9 La Sérénade Interrompue
10. No. 10 La Cathédrale Engloutie
11. No. 11 La Danse De Puck
12. No. 12 Minstrels
Préludes, Book 2 (1913), L. 123
13. No. 1 Brouillards
14. No. 2 Feuilles Mortes
15. No. 3 La Puerta Del Vino
16. No. 4 Les Fées Sont D’exquises Danseuses
17. No. 5 Bruyères
18. No. 6 Général Lavine – Eccentric
19. No. 7 La Terrasse Des Audiences Du Clair De Lune
20. No. 8 Ondine
21. No. 9 Hommage À S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.
22. No. 10 Canope
23. No. 11 Les Tierces Alternées
24. No. 12 Feux D’artifice
Many labels have celebrated the Debussy centennial with major releases in 2018, offering fresh digital recordings of his works, as well as important reissues. This album of Vladimir Ashkenazy performing Debussy’s Préludes, Books I & II offers a studio recording of the first book and a live recital tape of the second, which may be problematic for listeners who want consistent recorded sound. There is no problem with the first half of the program, where Ashkenazy demonstrates a rapt sensitivity to nuances and details, and these are easily heard in the clean digital recording made on October 29, 2017 at the Tonzauber Studio in Vienna. However, the second part of the disc was recorded live at Hunter College in New York on November 20, 1971, and the combination of analog hiss and the background noises of the audience interferes with the sound quality of Ashkenazy’s playing, if not completely obscuring his interpretations. Listeners must make an effort to hear the piano, which seems to have been recorded at some distance from the stage with a single microphone. Yet collectors of Ashkenazy’s recordings will appreciate the historic value of this Paladino Music release and accept the deficiencies for the sake of what can be heard.