Friedrich Gulda - Debussy - 24 Préludes (1969/2018) [Official Digital Download]

The 24 Preludes represent what must be the best known cycle of pieces by the Impressionist composer Claude Debussy. The compositions are alive with magic, poetry and depiction in sound. No pianist can approach the demands of their composer more closely than Friedrich Gulda; Debussys instruction to breathe with the pedal is something that Gulda, alone among pianists, has mastered to perfection. The pianists instinctive sense of touch draws from the works of Debussy just what the composer wished: loud sections are thundered forth, while pianissimo passages sound so intimate and close at hand that ones own heartbeat sounds like the summons of an imperious drum. To do justice to this perfection, the recording is also released in full-spectrum sound quality. Gulda, rebel among pianists, was a great admirer of Debussys music. As early as the 1940s, he proved with his recordings of Lisle joyeuse and Reflets dans leau his infallible sense of the composers music. The pianist immersed himself in the depths of Debussys harmonies, taking his extended harmonic structure as the basis of improvisation in jazz. And there is an audible affinity in the harmonies of Guldas own composition The Air from other Planets. This intensive engagement with jazz on the one hand and with the works of Claude Debussy on the other fertilized Guldas creative powers to an equal extent, enriching his interpretation of the Preludes with regard to rhythm in particular and giving benchmark status to this recording.

TRACKLIST

1. Friedrich Gulda - I. Danseuses de Delphes
2. Friedrich Gulda - II. Voiles
3. Friedrich Gulda - III. Le Vent dans la plaine
4. Friedrich Gulda - IV. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir
5. Friedrich Gulda - V. Les collines d'Anacapri
6. Friedrich Gulda - Vi. Des pas sur la neige
7. Friedrich Gulda - VII. Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Quest
8. Friedrich Gulda - VIII. La fille aux cheveux de lin
9. Friedrich Gulda - IX. La sérénade interrompue
10. Friedrich Gulda - X. La Cathédrale engloutie
11. Friedrich Gulda - XI. La danse de Puck
12. Friedrich Gulda - XII. Minstrels
13. Friedrich Gulda - I. Brouillards
14. Friedrich Gulda - II. Feuilles mortes
15. Friedrich Gulda - III. La Puerta del Vino
16. Friedrich Gulda - IV. Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses
17. Friedrich Gulda - V. Bruyères
18. Friedrich Gulda - Vi. Général Lavine - Eccentric
19. Friedrich Gulda - VII. La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
20. Friedrich Gulda - VIII. Ondine
21. Friedrich Gulda - IX. Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.p.m.p.c.
22. Friedrich Gulda - X. Canope
23. Friedrich Gulda - XI. Les tierces alternées
24. Friedrich Gulda - XII. Feux d'artifice



Thanks to the Original customer.