A century after his death on 25 March 1918, many harmonia mundi artists are eager to pay tribute to Claude Debussy, the magician of melody and timbre, the great ‘colourist’ and father of modern music. Alexander Melnikov is among those pianists increasingly committed to playing the works of the past on the instruments on which they came into being (or could have done so). And so it is on a ‘period’ piano (an Érard piano ) that he breathes new life into Book II of the Préludes, but also – with the help of Olga Pashchenko – the extraordinary transcription of La Mer by the composer himself.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY [1862-1918] Préludes, Livre II
· I. (... Brouillards). Modéré (3'11)
· II. (... Feuilles mortes). Lent et mélancolique (3'17)
· III. (... La Puerta del vino). Mouvement de "Habanera" (3'16)
· IV. (... "Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses"). Rapide et léger (2'55)
· V. (... Bruyères). Calme (2'47)
· VI. (... "General Lavine"- excentric). Dans le style et le mouvement d'un Cake-Walk (2'48)
· VII. (... La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune). Lent (5'01)
· VIII. (... Ondine). Scherzando (3'07)
· IX. (... Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C). Grave (2'36)
· X. (... Canope). Très calme et doucement triste (3'17)
· XI. (... Les tierces alternées). Modérément animé (2'31)
· XII. (... Feux d'artifice). Modérément animé (4'29) La Mer, trois esquisses symphoniques
· I. De l'aube à midi sur la mer (8'09)
· II. Jeux de vagues (7'22)
· III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer (8'37)
