4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invigorating, December 9, 2008
This review is from: Debussy: La Mer; Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Nocturnes (Audio CD)
This is an extremely good Debussy album. The Nocturnes receive a loose limbed performance that emphasizes instrumental colors. It is highly atmospheric. Faun is superb. It has color, passion, and rich string sound. My reference recording of the work by Leinsdorf and the L.A. Phil. is a little cooler emotionally, but the piece does not suffer intellectually through Plasson's heated advocacy. Printemps gets perhaps the most superlative performance on the disc. It doesn't have the drama of Ansermet's version from the 1950's, but it is rich textured and full of insight. The disc concludes with a 1st class La Mer. My favorite recording of La Mer is by Boulez and the New Philharmonia, but Plasson's is in the same league. His orchestra does not have the range of colors of Boulez's ensemble, but Plasson has drilled them to the nth degree and his performance is very detailed and dramatic. Add to all this fine sound engineering throughout the disc, and you have a CD that will add appreciatively to anyone's understanding of Debussy.
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