Track Listing

1. Arabesque No. 1
2. The snow is dancing
3. The little shepherd
4. Golliwog's cakewalk
5. La soirée dans Grenade
6. Jardins sous la pluie
7. Arabesque No. 2
8. Toccata
9. Reflets dans l'eau
10. Poissons d'or
11. La fille aux cheveux de lin
12. Minstrels
13. La cathédrale engloutie

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1433 in Music
• Released on: 2004-05-18
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Debussy Favorites in OK Performances, Variable Sound
Francois-Joël Thiollier has recorded much of Debussy's piano music for Naxos. This CD appears to be a 'favorites' album drawn from several previous issues. The most familiar and probably the best-loved Debussy pieces are here, beginning with a dreamy (but somewhat soupily-recorded) 'Clair de lune' ('Moonlight'). [The cover illustration is a nice reproduction of Eugène Boudin's gorgeous 'The Effect of the Moon.'] As of yet Amazon has not listed the contents, so I shall do so: Clair de lune, La plus que lente, Arabesque Nos. 1 & 2, Le petit nègre, excerpts from The Children's Corner (The snow is dancing, The little shepherd, Golliwog's cakewalk), La soirée dans Grénade, Jardin sous la pluie, Valse romantique, Tarantelle styrienne, Toccata, Reflets dans l'eau, Poissons d'or, Mazurka, Révérie, The Girl with the Golden Hair, and The Engulfed Cathedral.

Thiollier often takes slower than usual tempi, and he often sounds rather deliberate or even stodgy as a result. This is not to say there aren't some quicker tempi taken: 'Le petit nègre' starts off with a real Gottschalkian verve, but when he comes to the second theme he backs off. 'Poissons d'or' ('Goldfish') swim excitedly (and beautifully). 'The snow is dancing' all right, but it seems to be doing a sarabande. These are pretty straight interpretations; one misses the drama or sadness in, say, Golliwog's Cakewalk. I think one problem in all these performances is a lack of crisp articulation. Debussy's soft-edged harmonies can lead a pianist to play in a flaccid, dreamy fashion and that works for some of the pieces, but on the whole Debussy requires more rhythmic spine, and that is often lacking here.

The primary thing going for this compilation is the price. But I couldn't recommend it to anyone other than someone on a sharply restricted budget and who wants these particular pieces. For somewhat more outlay, one could have performances by say, the fabled Michelangeli or the spectacular Kocsis or the legendary Gieseking.

TT=78:10

Scott Morrison

The most beautiful music I've ever heard ..
Well, I have to admit that I only know about Debussy because of Twilight, but it was well worth the discovery.

Such beautiful music .. a must have.

Monica,
San Diego.

Awesome Music
Debussy's work collected here is beautiful! Thank you for a great experience I can keep repeating.