Customer Reviews

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

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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

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.

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.

As a follow-up to a successful CD featuring lesser-known orchestral works by Claude Debussy, this disk features some of Debussy's most famous works with the Los Angeles Philharmonic playing under Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Images is a three-movement work, the first of which, Gigues, is a calm prelude to the rest of the piece. As the title might suggest, Gigues hints at some danciness, but overall represents a calm with typical Debussy orchestrations. The second movement, Iberia, is divided in three parts (Streets and Byways, Fragrance of the Night, and The Morning of a Festival). There are obvious references to Spain, especially rhythmically and through creative orchestration; but Debussy doesn't sacrifice his sound to overt Spanish-ness. Debussy depicts the bustling streets, the winds and chimes at night, and the awakening of a village for a festival, all with the Debussy touch. The final movement combines the lyrical with the rhythmical to give the entire work a grand conclusion. Debussy's sounds are always lush and intriguing, often calling on harps and bells, as well as special string effects, to create what we consider his "sound". This work exemplifies Debussy at his best.

The tone poem Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun put Debussy on the map. The opening chromatic melody and eventual harmonization is haunting; with modal progressions and interesting orchestrations. A true miniature masterpiece.

Debussy's love of the sea is greatly portrayed in the three-movement work La Mer. Debussy begins optimistically on a calm sea and moves into the second movement with a more joyous and happy jaunt on the ocean. It is not until the extroverted third movement when the seas become more stormy. But still, the view is still upbeat, and the work ends with a feeling of renewed grandeur. A popular work for a reason, La Mer is the epitome of Debussy's expressiveness, descriptiveness, and inventiveness in music portraits.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic again plays excellently; still vibrant and vivid. Salonen pays close attention to detail in the score and the listener can feel the great love the musicians have of the music. You will have to compare on your own this Sony Debussy collection to the series on DG under Pierre Boulez, a consummate Debussy interpreter. Both are good editions to have, the choice is yours.

In the 1997 DVD "In Rehearsal with The Los Angeles Philharmonic", Esa-Pekka Salonen states; "I think that Debussy is the most important composer of the century." He later says that the future of music has more to do with Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky than any other composers. And finally, Salonen regards La Mer as "one of The greatest masterpeieces of all time." This regard for Debussy is no doubt the reason Salonen has taken the time and effort to coax every aspect and every note of these orchestral pieces into their fullest expression.
On this cd, Images Pour Orcestre take on a 4-dimensional quality (like reading a well-written novel where you are transported to the place the writer is describing), ripe with atmosphere that seems to appeal to all five of the senses. The textures are complex, the melodies are exotic, the harmonies are daring. There is wonderful tension and exciting expectation present in all of these.
Prelude A L'apres-Midi D'un Faune has never been more intoxicating. Salonen lets the listener savor the crescendo and release where other conductors seem to be in a hurry to get past them, not wanting to be sentimental in any way. God forbid music should ever be romantic, emotional or uplifting. This Prelude, the Salonen Prelude, is the only one to which I will listen. It is better than Boulez, Dutoit, Karajan, anyone.
Finally, La Mer where Salonen states that a conductor has endless possibiilies to work with, is presented here as big, detailed, expansive and nuanced all at the same time. There are broad, sweeping soundscapes as well as delicate, intimate moments. It is the sea - majestic, powerful, beautiful, mysterious. It is all of these things and more, and all without trying to be. Salonen's La Mer is also more relentless, turbulant and forceful than other interpretations. He stated the Debussy was one of the first to fully understand what Stravinsky was doing musically. This sensibility is certainly present here. Other reviewers have excellently noted that many conductors approach Debussy as if his music should only be hung like wallpaper, not getting in anyone's way. Salonen does not short change the enormous impact Debussy has had.
I purchased this disk when it first came out and I like it and listen to it even more today, 13 years later. Such is the way with Debussy and with Salonen. Images, Prelude and La Mer fit very nicely together on this generous CD. I think everyone should have two copies of this, just in case.

What Salonen is doing here is playing Debussy as he should be played--immaculately with pointillistic color and no slush. Obviously he is a disciple of the great Paul Paray who knew Debussy particularly well and whose own recordings are legendary and very much available to you.

The difference, then, is one of experience. Whereas Paray rises to perfectly controlled power, Salonen lets go with a lot of noise and clatter. Yes, he has the right idea, but the LA Phil gets away from him and he has a mighty hard time quieting things down below mezzo-forte when called for. Still, I'd rather listen to Salonen get the right idea than most of the flotsam that's washed up on recorded Debussy shores.

Salonen will probably remake this again, just give him some time--check back in 20. In the meantime, stick with all the Debussy offered by Mercury with Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony, THE revelatory combination to be reckoned with in this and lots of other material.

Salonen and the L.A. Phil. have been making a series of sonically spectacular 20-bit recordings (most of them needing corporate subsidy since they don't sell very well, even in L.A.) For this recording of Debussy staples the orchestra went to the Todd A-O studio in Hollywood, and the result is a fantastically detailed soundscape with enticing clarity and great impact.

Musically, however, I found little to appreciate. For Salonen, who models himslf as a post-modern conductor, it goes without saying that deep expressiveness and romanticism are taboo. But here he seems to think that Debussy is a stylistic zero. Aside from precise articulation, this music has nothing to say. Salonen's tempos are slow on the whole, but more than that they are shapeless. Events follow one another without any apparent joy or enthusiasm. So for me this was a Clockwork Orange kind of experience--hip, empty, and apathetic.

I'm sure that Esa-Pekka Salonen has done a remarkable job with these three pieces, but at the same time I found myself waiting for something to happen. While I can't agree with the semi-common criticism that Claude Debussy's compositions are musical wallpaper, they do seem to lack a certain dynamism that would spark the interest of a classical music neophyte such as myself. It is true that 'La Mer' has some fire in it, but even this is muted to a great extent. Meanwhile, the "Images pour orchestre" and "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune" carry very little to attract the casual listener. So, while the music is rather technically proficient, I can't recommend it for someone unless they are already very familiar with what they are getting. A less familiar listener will likely be a trifle disappointed.