Debussy: Preludes for Piano Books I & II

Claude Debussy (Composer), Paul Jacobs (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Paul Jacobs
• Composer: Claude Debussy
• Audio CD (May 7, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005IWU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,910 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Danseuses de Delphes

2. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Voiles

3. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Le Vent dans la plaine

4. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir

5. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Les Collines d'Anacapri

6. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Des pas sur la neige

7. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: Ce qu'a vu le vent d' ouest

8. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: La Fille aux cheveux de lin

9. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: La Sérénade interrompue

10. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: La Cathédrale engloutie

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Brouillards

2. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Feuilles mortes

3. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: La Puerta del Vino

4. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses

5. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Bruyčres

6. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: General Lavine-eccentric

7. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: La Terrasse des audiences du clair de lune

8. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Ondine

9. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Hommage ŕ S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C.

10. Préludes (12) for piano, Book II, L. 123: Canope

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Debussy: Preludes for Piano Books I & II (Audio CD)

As a young boy, I heard only Walter Gieseking's old mono recordings of the Debussy Preludes, over and over again. They are ethereal, delicate, and beautiful, more so than any mono recording usually sounds. They have also been considered to be the definitive performance of the Preludes, and I loved them.

Then Paul Jacobs came along. His recordings of the Preludes, made in 1978, not only had fantastic sound quality, but Paul's style did Debussy justice where Gieseking's never could, and this listener realized, with astonishment, at how many voices a piano can have. Not every Prelude is a whisper, and although Paul's fingers could make the piano tiptoe through "Danseuses de Delphes," he could make it jump and leap in "Les Collines d'Anacapri." His precision of phrasing and the restraint in his use of dynamics makes the eruption of "Le Vent dans la plaine" startling. And Jacobs makes it sound so easy.

As a writer for Fanfare put it: "I would advise all piano collectors to lose no time in acquiring this marvelous set. If you haven't room, chuck out whatever (now forever obsolete, superseded, palpably inferior) recorded performances you may be giving shelf space."

The hype you have read here and elsewhere about Jacobs's Preludes isn't hype. The five stars I give this CD set is not given lightly. These recordings are really that good. In fact I would, and may someday, crawl over broken glass to retrieve my 2CD set of Paul Jacobs's recordings of the Debussy Preludes, livres 1 et 2.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, a treasure!, May 13, 1999

By 

mop-n-glow "fd" (new york, ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debussy: Preludes for Piano Books I & II (Audio CD)

Out of the dozens of recordings of Debussy's Preludes available, this one will probably remain my favorite for life. Mr. Jacobs's sensitivity and skill are staggering and the Steinway sounds just superb. When I think of Debussy I think of THIS recording.

If my music collection were to go up in flames I'd dive in to save this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars poetic interpretations, August 25, 2006

By 

Timothy Paradise (Saint Paul, Mn.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Debussy: Preludes for Piano Books I & II (Audio CD)

After being extremely disappointed with the Michelangeli recordings I bought of these pieces, I bought the Paul Jacobs' performances.
Jacobs is a poetical pianist, not strictly literal, rather someone who searches for halo
and echo, shine and gloom, adrenaline rush and repose, someone to whom a single note is able to convey musical meaning.
Fellow musicans can learn from him.