Customer Reviews

Debussy: Jeux, La Mer, Nocturnes / Maazel, Vienna Philharmonic

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Lorin Maazel is one of the most technically proficient conductors ever to face an orchestra. Sometimes that technical proficiency seems to get in the way of the music; a Maazel performance can sound more about Maazel than about the composition he's performing. Generally speaking, I've found that's mostly a problem with Maazel's performances of German music. The very exalted status of Beethoven, Bruckner, Brahms and Mahler seems to invite a studied & "arch" pseudo-profundity from Maazel (and not just Maazel!) that he doesn't impose on, say, French or Russian music. And it helps that French and Russian composers, so obsessed with orchestral color and related affects, invariably wrote music that plays to Maazel's real strengths: a demand for flawless articulation and an almost uncanny ability to balance orchestral choirs so that every part of a complex score stands out in luminous relief. This Debussy CD is a good example of Maazel working with the right kind of material and producing jaw-dropping performances. And it's not at all what I expected given the orchestra he conducts. After all, while the Vienna Philharmonic is one of the world's greatest orchestras, its very plush, dark and "woody" sound is not usually conducive to great Debussy playing. But Maazel coaxes an unbelievable transparency out of this great orchestra, without any sacrifice of richness. This is orchestral playing that must be heard to be believed. "La Mer" and the "Nocturnes" are given wonderful performances, but the performance of Debussy's late masterpiece "Jeux" is the standout. Even if you own classic performances of this score by the likes of Boulez, Martinon & Munch, try to hear this disc ... It will seduce you. (But be warned, chaste and/or priggish listeners definitely should steer clear!) BMG/RCA's sound quality is absolutely superb.

I am in total agreement with the previous reviewer -- the virtuosity of the Vienna Phil., rarely heard in French repetoire, is incredible as applied to the endlessly refined color and nuance of Debussy's orhcestration. This is espeically true in 'Jeux,' here played with such finesse that I found my attention held as it never has been before in this elusive work, which has almost no events per se. If there was ever a reading where transparency and half-tints were enough to carry the day, this is it.

Maazel works similar wonders with 'La Mer,' but unfortunately he makes it sound as shapeless as Jeux -- there's no story being told here. You can almost forgive him as you soak up the beauty of the orchestra's execution. RCA was going through a good patch sonically when they came to Vienna in 1999 to capture these live performances, yet the overall dynamic is compressed -- Maazel holds the reins so tight that he never lets loose a true fortissimo.

The same pros and cons apply to the 'Three Noctournes,' and one is reminded that this most frustrating of conductors is almost always at his best in French music. 'Nuages' works well, since it's as amorphous and atmospheric as Jeux. 'Fetes' fails to be festive, however. The greatest of the trio is 'Sirenes,' and from the first bar the wordless women's chorus is amazingly light and in tune. The engineers keep the texture gossamer and gauzy, but Maazel once again fails to be intense enough. Even so, if you love the Vienna sound, here's a chance to appreciate it to the fullest.