Debussy: Images/Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune/La Mer

Claude Debussy (Artist), Esa-Pekka Salonen (Artist), Janet Ferguson (Artist), Los Angeles Philarmonic (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 14, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000029R5
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,894 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #83 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General

Track Listings

1. Images (3), for orchestra, L. 122: 1. Gigues

2. Images (3), for orchestra, L. 122: 2. Ibéria. Par les rues et par les chemins

3. Images (3), for orchestra, L. 122: 2. Ibéria. Les Parfums de la nuit

4. Images (3), for orchestra, L. 122: 2. Ibéria. Le Matin d'un jour de fête

5. Images (3), for orchestra, L. 122: 3. Rondes de printemps

6. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), for orchestra, L. 86

7. La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109: 1. De l'aube à midi sur la mer

8. La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109: 2. Jeux de vagues

9. La Mer, symphonic sketches (3) for orchestra, L. 109: 3. Dialogue du vent et de la mer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inherent Color Palette of Impressionism, March 25, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debussy: Images/Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune/La Mer (Audio CD)

It is always interesting to see how many contemporary composers honor the works of Claude Debussy, a composer that is the quintessential impressionist artist and as such has been allowed to shimmer off into the sunset by many conductors today.

Esa-Pekka Salonen continues to grow as a composer of lavish orchestral color and a broad spectrum of timbres and instrumentation and so it seems only logical that he should have an affinity for the orchestral works of Debussy. He consistently programs these works with the LA Philharmonic and by this time it is generally accepted that he is one of the finest conductors of Debussy's large works. His conducting of Debussy's opera 'Pelleas and Melisande' remains a gold standard.

Here, on this singularly splendid recording are three of Debussy's challenging works. Salonen finds all of the transparencies, the tautly woven threads of themes that wash in and out of the orchestral sound, and the brio of the large moments as in 'La Mer' and at all times keeps these fragile sonorities alive and throbbing. The 'Images' pulsate with atmosphere, 'Prelude a l'apres Midi d'un Faune' is sensual without falling into the vulgar, and the 'La Mer' is simply overwhelming in capturing the moods of the sea.

Salonen and the LA Phil are as solid a team as any in the world now and one only hopes they will continue to record and capture the masterpieces of the literature even in the face of downsizing of classical music recordings. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, March 05

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aggressive Debussy, May 17, 2000

By 

Brett A. Kniess - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debussy: Images/Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune/La Mer (Audio CD)

Debussy, while eternally stereotyped as pretty music or light, airy music, is now portrayed as a composer of substance in this remarkable recording of three familiar Debussy works.

Images for Orchestra, is an eclectic suite of landscape pictures, beautifully colored with flavors of spanish music, folk music, and highly rhythmic dance music. The music is very playful, often exciting, and very sensual at times.

The middle piece, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is the filler piece. This is the stereotypical Debussy, with floating harps and strings, and intermittent woodwinds and brass. Salonen, however, adds some great dynamic contrasts to make this piece come alive.

The war-horse is La Mer. This is where Debussy becomes aggressive and flaunts a huge orchestra with enourmous brass climaxes in a un-relentless manner. By the end of the third section, Debussy leaves us with an expansive, bombastic (I dare say about Debussy), and majesterial view of The Sea (the title); only to leave the listener breathless.

This is Salonen's greatest recording to date, including that of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Once again, Salonen doesn't treat Debussy as background music or wallpaper, but as a serious composer, with as much excitement and fire as Berlioz. The dynamics are extreme and the playing is precise, exquisite, almost daring, though. Check out this CD along with its sister CD of Debussy's Three nocturnes, etc.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far, a director above the average!, July 6, 2007

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Debussy: Images/Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune/La Mer (Audio CD)

Esa Pekka Salonen is one of these few conductors gifted of that invisible touch of genius that may be felt since the first bars of this exigent composer. He confers this first rate orchestra an incorporeal density, hovered by a variegated blend of textures, suggestive visual landscapes, sensual lyrisicm and accurate expression. And here between you and me I must recognize that only three other conductors are in this reduced list, Arturo Toscanini (with the most radiant version of La Mer ever recorded), Leopold Stokowski and finally the talented director Michael Tilson Thomas from 1971 with the Boston Symphony(Who can match with his version of Prelude?).

Pekka remarked with visible knowledge of the sense of the score those suggestive musical moments, in which the inflections and changes of modulation are so neccesary in case you are really involved with spirit of this imaginative and well gifted composer.