Debussy: Clair de lune & Other Piano Favourites

Claude Debussy (Composer), Francois-Joël Thiollier (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Francois-Joël Thiollier
• Composer: Claude Debussy
• Audio CD (May 18, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0001N9ZCA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,437 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Short Forms > Character Pieces
  • #13 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Suites
  • #28 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Keyboard

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Debussy Favorites in OK Performances, Variable Sound, May 23, 2004

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debussy: Clair de lune & Other Piano Favourites (Audio CD)

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

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debussy's Clair de lune, November 27, 2010

By 

Cheryl A. Wilson "pummy" (Clarksburg WV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debussy: Clair de lune & Other Piano Favourites (Audio CD)

I have lost track of the amount of time I have spent listening to this wonderful song. The others on the CD are wonderful also, but Clare de lune is my all time favorite, and it has been since I was just a little girl. I wish I had a piano, I would simply learn to play this song, it is so beautiful, and if I could learn that one, I do believe I would be content to just play it.
If you want truly wonderul music, buy this, you will not be sorry.
Cheryl

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, December 15, 2009

By 

Kelli Daggett (Michigan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Debussy: Clair de lune & Other Piano Favourites (Audio CD)

I bought this more because of Twilight but I am a fan of classical and piano... Lovely music.