Debussy's bold new textures clearly delineated in pristine sound
I can't think of a better introduction to the music of Claude Debussy than this Deutsche Grammophon disc where Pierre Boulez leads the Cleveland Orchestra in four legendary orchestral works. Debussy's music has been called "Impressionistic" because of the vividness of his colours and the vagueness of his forms. The exact large-scale organization of many of his works confound scholars still today. However, the fuzzy textures are worked up through a myriad of small details, and Boulez gives one the best of both worlds in keeping those individual strands clear and distinct while trying to keep the work as a whole coherent. It's also one of the best engineered discs I've even encountered, a wonderful representation of dynamic range and performance space.

Nearly any classical listener will know "La Mer" (1903-1905), one of the most unusual pieces to have entered the standard repertoire. For me, the other pieces here proved even more rewarding. I love the "Nocturnes" triptych of 1899. Its first two movements evoke constrasting aspects of the night, moonlit serenity and the bustle of celebrations. The third movement, however, brings the music to something else entirely with a beautiful female chorus, one of the first uses of the wordless chorus in classical music. The "Premiere Rhapsody" for clarinet and orchestra (1909-10) is a revolutionary new kind of concerto. Not concertante at all, it rather features one instrument as a key line among the whole orchestral texture, and looks forward to Berio's "Chemins" series and Takemitsu's late concerti. The ballet "Jeux" (1912) has been called one of the 20th century's least known modernist achievements for its weird harmonies and constant changes in rhythms; alas that it was eclipsed by the "Rite of Spring" a few weeks later!

As a fan of 20th century modernism and afterward--composers like Boulez and other Darmstadt figures, the spectralists, Per Norgard, and Sofia Gubaidulina--I think it's a pity that Debussy is all too often assumed to be a pastime for light music listeners. The guy was working with whole tone scales and gamelan sonorities, constantly defeating expectations of harmonic resolution, and opening up a world of timbre where a piano reduction showed a noticeable loss of the work's essence. If you like contemporary music, you owe it to yourself to get to know his work, and this is a good disc to start.

a joy
This is a wonderful album to listen to taking you on a joyful journey. If you like Debussy you'll love this. If your looking for something a little different to the run of the mill classical music this is one I would recommend.

Clear Sailing with Boulez
There are many fine recorded performances of Debussy's masterpiece "La Mer." Some of the best are by Munch/BSO, Dutoit/Montreal, Casadesus/Lille, and Plasson/Toulouse. In addition, we have the classic readings of Karajan/Berlin, Szell/Cleveland and Toscanini/NBC, not to mention the outstanding DVD of Abbado and the Lucerene Orch. The present disc by Boulez and Cleveland joins the crowd with a very clear, clean performance that allows you to hear all the inner voices. Someone once said that Boulez doesn't do much as a conductor but just "moves things aside," or fine-tunes the balances so every part comes through. With this approach, you can clearly see that Debussy is one of Stravinsky's influences; "La Mer" is music without melody, based on harmony and timbre. This performance may not have the approach for all, and many may like the sea with more mist, so Plasson or Casadesus may be the versions for you. But, this is a very beautiful disc with excellent sound, and, of course, the Cleveland Orchestra plays beautifully. It's your choice.

Best "La Mer" I've ever heard
I join the throng of five-star reviews for this fabulous CD of Debussy specialties including "La Mer" and "Nocturnes". While Pierre Boulez clearly has the training, background, intuition and temperament to define these exquisite works, it is hard to imagine the bad press this CD received when it came out, mainly in England, where one critic said Boulez "eviscerated" the first movement of "La Mer".

That's nonsense, of course. Boulez's performances in these four staples from the Debussy repertoire -- "Nocturnes", "Rhapsodie for clarinet & piano" (or orchestra) with Franklin Cohen, "Jeux", and the incomparable "La Mer" -- are the most subtly inflected readings of this music I've yet heard. No conductor reins in the orchestra the way Boulez does to allow Debussy colors and shifting emotions come through simultaneous with the most exposed solo playing on CD.

I've heard many great performances of these scores by Stokowski and Haitink and I've heard poor performances from big name conductors like Munch and Neemi Jarvi. The thread between them all has been this -- they all treat this music like it is romantic music, especially the closing pages of "La Mer" where the score gives added weight to the brass and FF markings. Boulez is the only conductor I know that controls the orchestra in these moments and presents this music as the gossamer imitation it is -- French impressionism, where subjects are hinted, not spoken or shouted.

I owned this CD some years ago when I was first seriously investigating these scores. It didn't do much for me then and I sold it, recently buying another used copy from an Amazon vendor. I didn't know what to think of it the first time; it was sufficiently different from anything I'd ever heard. Since then, I've sought a version that brings out the shimmering elements of impressionism, without success until today.

Critics were agreed that Boulez's first recording of this music, many years ago on Columbia (now Sony), was a bit on the clinical side. I've never heard that recording but can attest no such criticism applies here. Unless you want French impressionism applied romantically, you will love these intimate and subtle interpretations of Debussy's greatest music.

Best Jeux, great La Mer
When SF Symphony played Jeux last year, MTT described to the audience why the orchestra loved to play the piece, calling it "chamber music for orchestra". Their performance brought out details of the score that demonstrated why they were so enthusiastic. I went through a number of recordings searching for one that provided the same clarity I heard that night, allowing the listener to appreciate the interplay of the various parts. This is it. And it comes with a wonderful version of La Mer as well.