Krystian Zimerman - Claude Debussy: Préludes Book I & II (1994)
dBpoweramp | FLAC | Tracks (Cue & Log) ~ 214 Mb | Total time: 84:04 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Garammophon | # 435 773-2 | Recorded: 1991
dBpoweramp | FLAC | Tracks (Cue & Log) ~ 214 Mb | Total time: 84:04 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Garammophon | # 435 773-2 | Recorded: 1991
Zimerman is the very model of a modern virtuoso. His overrriding aim is vivid projection of character. His quasi-orchestral range of dynamic and attack, based on close attention to textual detail (there are countless felicities in his observation of phrase-markings) and maximum clarity of articulation, is the means to that end. As a result, he draws out the many connections in this music with the romantic tradition, especially in pianistic tours de force such as ''Les collines d'Anacapri'', ''Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest'' and ''Feux d'artifice'', which are treated to a dazzling Lisztian elan the equal of any Debussy playing I have ever heard. The instrument he has selected is itself something of a star, though Jos van Immerseel's 1897 Erard should also be heard as a valuable antidote to its colossal power; and DG's recording combines opulence with razor-sharp clarity (it also catches just a little too much damper-brushing to be ideal).