Debussy - Piano Works (Alexis Weissenberg) flac

http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Clair-Lune-Piano-Works/dp/B000V6MR4K

Seventeen piano works by Claude Debussy, performed by Alexis Weissenberg. A Deutsche Grammophon 1995 re-release. All in flac.

One of the most infamous discs of Debussy's piano works ever recorded, sealing Weissenberg's controversial reputation. The rather conservative Penguin Record Guide disliked it so much that they awarded it no stars and said it was 'totally unacceptable artistically' and 'the most brutal account of Debussy ever committed to disc'. That was back in the mid-eighties. Now, his approach seems like a breath of fresh air: woodpecker-like staccato in the Passepied from the 'suite bergamasque' and swirling cascades of notes in a double-espresso account of 'L'isle Joyeuse'.
Fast, hurtling tempos and disregard for the softer end of the spectrum are the norm in these performances, but that is part of the pleasure in a peculiar sort of way as the charisma of the playing is inescapable. A quick comparison with a young glamorous French pianist in the same works, everything is more flat-footed, less visceral. While not quite in the same league as the Bach and Rachmaninov Weissenberg also recorded for DG at the end of his career, this is still worth getting to know!

Track listing:
01 - Estampes - I. Pagodes
02 - Estampes - II. La Soiree dans Grenade
03 - Estampes - III. Jardins sous la pluie
04 - Etude No XI pour les Arpeges Composes
05 - Suite Bergamasque - I. Prelude
06 - Suite Bergamasque - II. Menuet
07 - Suite Bergamasque - III. Clair de lune
08 - Suite Bergamasque - IV. Passepied
09 - Children's Corner - I. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
10 - Children's Corner - II. Jimbo's Lullaby
11 - Children's Corner - III. Serenade for the Doll
12 - Children's Corner - IV. The Snow is Dancing
13 - Children's Corner - V. The Little Shepherd
14 - Children's Corner - VI. Golliwogg's Cake-Walk
15 - La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
16 - L'Isle Joyeuse
17 - La Plus que Lente