Symfonische muziek

The remarkable Turkish pianist Fazıl Say (born 1970) here offers us a suitably remarkable album, recorded in 2016 in the Great Hall of the Salzburg Mozarteum and given over to the Premier Livre of Debussy's Préludes – 1910 – which he sets up in against the six Gnossiennes by Satie (1890 for the first three, 1897 for the latter three) and to the pieces which made him famous, the Gymnopédies of 1888. It's quite stunning to hear these works and to reflect on the fact that Satie's works actually come before Debussy's Préludes – by almost two decades, in fact. It is hardly surprising the Satie has been thought a real avant-gardist both in his day and by minimalists today. Considering how different these two were, it was natural that they should have been friends, especially given Debussy's tendency towards jealousy of his contemporaries... But it is impossible to be jealous of a kind, bubbly soul like Satie. Say brings immense tenderness to these two opposite poles – poles so far removed that they almost join back up. © SM/Qobuz

The cream of the crop of French musicians—well, okay, Swiss for the flautist Emmanuel Pahud—come together to bring us a sumptuous album devoted to Debussy’s chamber music: Edgar Moreau for the Sonata for cello and piano, Renaud Capuçon for the Sonata for violin and piano, Gérard Caussé, Marie-Pierre Anglamet and Emmanuel Pahud for the Sonata for flute, viola and harp (these three very belated sonatas are the only ones that the composer had time to finish in his planned series of “Six sonatas for various instruments by Claude Debussy, French musician”). We find the same Emmanuel Pahud performing solo for Syrinx, and the album closes with the Trio for violin, piano and cello written in a still very classic—or even conventional—style and architecture (the shadows of Franck, Massenet and Fauré undoubtedly loom) in 1880, when the composer was residing in Florence with the von Meck family. This last work was released only a hundred years later… On the piano in all the collective works, you’ll find Bertrand Chamayou. © SM

On the dawn of his fortieth birthday, the Spanish pianist Javier Perianes should be more than proud of his dazzling career. Among the places that regularly welcome him we find Carnegie Hall, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Philharmonie de Paris, Gewandhaus in Leipzig and La Roque d'Anthéron. Barenboim and Larrocha were his masters. He is particularly fond of the great French repertoire of Debussy and Ravel, though he never focuses solely on them - his previous recordings have taken him to Beethoven, Mompou, Schubert or Granados. Here, he remains in the French world with Debussy's Book I from Preludes and his three Estampes, the composer’s piano masterpiece, which Perianes distils with immense instrumental colour, breathing, contrasts and a magnificent violence that counterbalances a crystal clearness at every moment, as requested by the score. © SM/Qobuz

Emmanuel Krivine’s sympathy for French music has been well documented for a while, as evidenced by his recordings with the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Philharmonie Luxembourg, two symphonic orchestras he beautifully directed. Presented here is his first album with the Orchestre National de France, where he has been art director since 2017. La Mer and Images pour orchestre make up, along with Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Jeux and the three Nocturnes, the backbone of Debussy’s orchestral work. It presents an imaginary realm with distant prospects, a very refined harmony and an exploration of sounds that often results in difficult issues for conductors, who are at risk of drowning in their search for colour to the detriment of the overall structure, because as impressionist as it may be, Debussy’s music is nonetheless written with tremendous rigour. But Emmanuel Krivine and his musicians skilfully avoid these pitfalls and favour lyricism with an orchestral opulence of stunning sensuality. © François Hudry/Qobuz