An innovative genius, Claude Debussy is famous for his mature 'Impressionist' music, though he rather disliked the term.

Debussy completed his two books of Preludes in 1910 and 1913 respectively, and they contain some of his most visionary and poetic writing for piano. There are evocations of calm seascapes, delicate wind tracery, and snow-covered landscapes. Some moments are steeped in antiquity, such as La cathedrale engloutie, others in expressive portraiture, as in La fille aux cheveux de lin. There is even a cake-walk. The Preludes are performed here in the subtle and colouristic orchestrations of muchadmired Slovak-born composer Peter Breiner. Throughout it's history, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland's musical life, including performing at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament building in 2004. Jun Merkl has appeared as a guest conductor with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland, NHK Symphony, Tonhalle Zurich, and the Munich, Oslo and Czech Philharmonics among others, and at the Met, Covent Garden, Vienna State and Dresden Semper Operas.

DEBUSSY (AUTOUR DE)

Vocal Recital: Oelze, Christiane - DEBUSSY, C. / GRANADOS, E

Cello Recital: Bohorquez, Claudio - DEBUSSY, C. / PROKOFIEV,

Vogler, Jan: The Cellist

Includes work(s) by Claude Debussy, Max Reger, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Alyabyev. Ensemble: Linos Ensemble.

Saskia Giorgini presents Images, containing some of Claude Debussy's most colourful piano works. Starting with tuneful early works such as the Danse (Tarantelle styrienne) and Deux arabesques, Giorgini gradually works towards later, more ambitious pieces such as the Estampes and the two sets of Images, from which the album derives it's name. Debussy's music has always held an enormous attraction to Giorgini, and this album is the result of a years-long search to bring these mesmerising musical pictures to life. With her solo Liszt recordings, Giorgini has demonstrated a masterful touche and unique sense of colour, which makes Debussy's music an obvious next step.

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Unheard since two performances in 1897, Charles Martin Loeffler’s Octet is recorded here for the first time, owing to the persistence of Graeme Steele Johnson, a versatile clarinetist whose artistic endeavors range from a TEDx talk to chamber arrangements and performances with the award-winning WindSync. A gem that blends Brahmsian warmth with Impressionist harmony, very much reflecting the American composer’s German and French roots, the Octet showcases Loeffler’s intricate musicianship and unique soundworld. Distinguished musicians have joined in this compelling exploration of musical rediscovery which aims to enrich the present musical landscape by restoring Forgotten Sounds. The program starts with Graeme’s arrangement for chamber ensemble of Debussy’s famed Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, a work suffused with the poetic Symbolism dear to Loeffler, and aptly concludes with another little-known Loeffler work, the titular Timbres oubliés.

Starry Night is Michael Lewin’s fourth Sono Luminus studio recording, providing the companion disc to his critically praised Beau Soir (DSL-92175), containing the Debussy Préludes Book II and other works. • Starry Night opens with worldly “Estampes" (Prints) (1903). • It follows with the delightfully impressionistic “Arabesque No. 1 in E Major (1888), “Golliwog’s cake walk (1908), “Les soirs illuminés par larder du charbon” (Evenings lit by the burning coals) (1917), and, of course, the early “Nuit d’etoiles” (Starry Night) (1880). • The album finishes with the “12 Préludes, Book I” of 1910.

In 1910, the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio wrote a play about the martyrdom of St. Sebastian. He enlisted Claude Debussy as the composer and the "Mystère en cinq mansions composé en rhythme français" already premiered in 1911. The text combines and overlaps Christian and pagan traditions, playing with both the flair of antiquity and the fascination of the exotic. The Catholic Church took offense concerning the portrayal of Sebastian, who was played by a female Russian Jew, the dancer Ida Rubinstein, and the audience also reacted hesitantly, so that neither D'Annunzio's play nor Debussy's music to it remained in the repertoire of the concert halls. Debussy himself was very fond of his work and soon put together an orchestral suite, the "Fragments symphoniques", which adapts some of the central numbers of the incidental music for orchestra. Additionally, Désiré-Emile Inghelbrecht created a kind of concert version that radically shortened the text and reduced it to around 15 minutes of recitation in addition to Debussy's music. The same applies to the present recording, which juxtaposes Debussy's original music with texts by the writer Martin Mosebach. These texts do not necessarily reflect the course of D'Annunzio's piece, but rather summarize central aspects of the Sebastian legend, sometimes more directly, sometimes more abstractly.

The present version, a studio recording from 2005, is enriched with (German) text additions by the writer Martin Mosebach, making it thus unique among other recordings of Le Martyre.

This book + 2-CD set will ship on or after 21 June 2024.

Read about it in the New York Times!

Music in Time of War, the new double album from pianist Kirill Gerstein, places the music of Komitas, pioneer of ethnomusicology and founder of the Armenian national school of music, alongside that of Claude Debussy, a seminal composer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who held a deep admiration of Komitas’s music. This 2-CD release comes with a 172-page hardcover book.

Both composers were profoundly affected by the implosion of their worlds – Komitas by the Armenian Genocide, Debussy by the First World War – and their music reflects a close emotional alignment. Music in Time of War grew from Gerstein’s fascination with music’s power to reflect a narrative. The project will be released as a double CD album and will be accompanied by a hardcover book containing a series of illustrations and detailed essays in three languages commissioned by the pianist.

Gerstein pairs Debussy’s 12 Études from 1915 and Komitas’s Armenian Dances for piano, composed the following year, and includes a selection of Debussy’s late piano pieces composed to raise funds for the war. The artists featured on the album include Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan, and pianists Thomas Adès and Katia Skanavi – they join Gerstein in a selection of works for voice and piano, piano four hands as well as for two pianos. Accompanying the recording are four in-depth essays from historians Annette Becker and Khatchig Mouradian, musicologist Artur Avanesov and composer Heinz Holliger, that explore the impact of war and genocide on society, and the reaction of artists to such events. These essays give socio-historical context to the music of Debussy and Komitas, and their response to creating in times of catastrophe.

Music in Time of War epitomizes both Kirill Gerstein‘s creative curiosity and his insightful approach to curating projects. The album will be released as a double CD including the high-quality 172-page hardcover book by myrios classics.

Spanish and French Guitar Music from Paris is a fascinating program concept evoking the unique atmosphere of Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. Izhar Elias draws captivating sounds and colours from his guitar. Elias won the coveted Dutch Music prize in 2010 and has since made a number of critically acclaimed recordings.

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