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Debussy decried the concept of musical impressionism because he feared, rightly, that superficial refinement would degenerate into musical mist, concealing the subtleties of a new musical idiom and its structural logic. So, for example, instead of heading his 24 Préludes with programmatic titles, he appended them at the bottom of the individual pieces. Even though their popularity makes it almost impossible, perhaps listeners ought simply to forget about the titles and recall something else that Debussy once said: "Music is a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, the sea." It is in this manner - sans rigeur, as Debussy repeatedly marked his music - that Lubimov performs the Préludes.
Searching for an inspiring special sound - he wanted to hear Debussy in a different timbral guise, cloaked in early 20th-century colours - Lubimov "stumbled on two excellent pianos that truly seduced me and breathed fresh life into the music. The stunning beauty and nobility of their sound and their highly distinctive voices prompted me to find new solutions and gave me new levels of pleasure. I decided to record the two volumes of Préludes on two different pianos: a 1925 Bechstein (clear, sharply etched, translucent and light, even in complex textures) and a Steinway from 1913 (divinely soft in pianissimo, resonant and marvellously suitable for unexpected colours). It is said that the great Polish pianist Paderewski chose this Steinway and played it in his recitals."
Personnel: Alexei Lubimov, Alexei Zuev (piano)
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This disc would be a good buy for someone who already had these pieces, but wanted to look at them afresh. I guess ECM wanted to convince music lovers who already had these pieces to buy another version. If that was their aim, then they've done their work well. If you don't have the Preludes yet, choose another version. If you do, then this disc is worth considering.
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