Product Details
Debussy: Préludes for Piano, Books 1 & 2

Debussy: Préludes for Piano, Books 1 & 2
From Nonesuch

Price:

This item is not available for purchase from this store.
Click here to go to Amazon to see other purchasing options.


15 new or used available from $39.99

Average customer review:

Track Listing

Disc 1:

  1. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 1, "Danseuses de Delphes"
  2. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 2, "Voiles"
  3. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 3, "Le vent dans la plaine"
  4. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 4, "Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir" (Baudelaire)
  5. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 5, "Les collines d'Anacapri"
  6. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 6, "Des pas sur la neige"
  7. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 7, "Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest"
  8. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 8, "La fille aux cheveux de lin" (Girl With the Flaxen Hair)
  9. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 9, "La serenade interrompue"
  10. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 10, "La cathedrale engloutie" (The Sunken Cathedral)
  11. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 11, "La danse de Puck"
  12. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: No. 12, "Minstrels"

Disc 2:

  1. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 1, "Brouillards"
  2. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 2, "Feuilles mortes"
  3. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 3, "La Puerta del Vino"
  4. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 4, "Les fees sont d'exquises danseuses"
  5. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 5, "Bruyeres"
  6. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 6, "General Lavine - eccentric"
  7. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 7, "La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune"
  8. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 8, "Ondine"
  9. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 9, "Hommage a S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C" (inspired by Dickens: The Posthumous Papers o
  10. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 10, "Canope"
  11. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 11, "Les tierces alternees"
  12. Pr�ludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: No. 12, "Feux d'artifice"

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #104870 in Music
  • Released on: 2000-10-24
  • Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

Great recording, great price!5
Debussy resides in my upper-most level of favorite composers and I passionately love the Preludes. Jacobs plays them magnificently with all the dream-like impressionism one could ask for. The piano is beautifully recorded with perfect ambiance--not too close, not too distant. These performances are slow enough to really embrace the music and produce quite a magical atmosphere. Jacobs doesn't languish, but dwells in the mood. He uses delicate colors where needed and he brings forth the bold stuff where he should. `La Cathedrale Engloutie' is one of my favorites and Jacobs floors me with it. What variety of tone he gets from the piano! I've never heard it better (and that includes the enthralling Zimerman). Thiollier (Naxos) makes `Voiles' more delicious than anyone else, and rivals Jacobs in many of these. But all in all, Jacobs stands up to any competition.

It's not easy to choose just one set of Debussy's pastel-tinted Preludes. I own three sets: this Jacobs, Thiollier and Arrau (Philips). Plus, I'm thinking of adding the Michelangeli (DG), which I once owned on LP years ago. I also owned the Zimerman (DG) but couldn't deal with the extreme gain-riding gimmickry. (Never in my life have I heard a piano anywhere--in any room or hall--perform the irritating sonic gymnastics purported by that recording. What a shame, because Zimerman's performances are grand.) Thiollier's Debussy is top-self. Gieseking (EMI), from the 50s, is still around and still sounds very good. But if I had to live with just one set of these intoxicating pieces, it would be the Jacobs. And the two-for-one price makes this set very attractive.
Cheers,
Murray

Magnificent performance5
His rendition of the Preludes does justice to the mysterious and nebulous quality of Debussy's impressionism, yet his playing is still clear and technically brilliant. Highly recommended.

Jacobs owns Debussy?5
I have to admit that after listening to other top-rated performances of Debussy's Images, Estampes, and Preludes by the likes of Michelangeli and Gieseking I just didn't enjoy the music. Even though I can appreciate the artistry of those pianists, they didn't allow Debussy to "speak to me."
Jacobs, on the other hand, has opened up Debussy to me. His playing is wonderfully poetic at the same time as being technically supreme.
If you don't enjoy other intrepretations of Debussy, I highly recommend giving Jacobs a listen. You may just fall in love.