Krystian Zimerman - Debussy: Preludes (1994)
Krystian Zimerman - Debussy: Preludes (1994)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 84:04 | 237 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Catalog: 4357732
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 84:04 | 237 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Catalog: 4357732
This award winning set from 1991 will not be to everyone's tastes. The recording and the playing are perfectly suited to each other being exceptionally clear and precise and with wide dynamic range.
The playing on this pair of discs is, as mentioned above, exceptionally clear and precise and came as quite shock to me when I bought it some 20 years ago. Everything is laid out for inspection without the slightest hint of softness or textural shading. It is like going into a room with all the main lights on rather than finding the room lit by numerous lamps on tables and other furniture. There are no subtleties of nuance attempted in the normal way allowing for shadows and half-lights metaphorically.
In addition, the dynamic range is wide with the fortissimos verging on the aggressive. The winds in 'le vent dans la plaine' (no. 3) or 'Ce que a vu le vent d'ouest' (no. 7) for example might as well feature thunderstorms at times of greatest impact. Throughout both discs one is made very much aware that the piano is a percussion instrument with considerable percussive powers. Speeds are are also tackled in the same way.
In Zimerman's defence I would suggest that Debussy himself may have given the lead as regards such a strong approach to the wide dynamic and tempi range. For example, his own guidelines as regards the performance of 'La puerto del vino' from the second book is that is to be played 'with brusque oppositions of extreme violence and passionate tenderness.' It is most unlikely that any composer suggesting such playing anywhere within a set would consider it as an isolated incidence of such an approach. It is more likely to be indicative of a general and overall approach to interpreting the whole set. Debussy may not be the shrinking violet that some interpreters can make him out to be and Zimerman may be nearer Debussy's ideal than some may suppose.
Therefore, if parts of this review sound rather negative, I would counter that by adding that this is among the most exciting Debussy playing that I have ever heard and as such it remains exceedingly rewarding in its own unique way. This is certainly far from the world of Bavouzet's award winning series which I would suggest is a far safer bet. However, there is no denying the power and force of Zimerman's vision and all the notes are there as written by Debussy on the page. What is missing is what is not written and Zimerman's view would no doubt be that what is not written should not be played!
I would suggest that this set would best be considered as an alternative second set for collectors. Heard on its own terms it is an extraordinarily effective set and one I would not wish to be without. However, Bavouzet remains a much safer bet for limited collections.
Krystian Zimerman - Debussy: Preludes (1994)
Track List:
Claude Debussy (1862-1918):
CD 1:
01. Danseuses de Delphes [0:03:38.00]
02. Voiles [0:04:28.00]
03. Le vent dans la plaine [0:02:07.00]
04. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir [0:03:55.00]
05. Les collines d'Anacapri [0:03:32.00]
06. Des pas sur la neige [0:04:25.00]
07. Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest [0:03:14.00]
08. La fille aux cheveux de lin [0:03:09.00]
09. La sérénade interrompue [0:02:30.00]
10. La cathédrale engloutie [0:07:27.25]
11. La danse de Puck [0:02:33.50]
12. Minstrels [0:02:27.50]
CD 2:
01. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - I. Brouillards [0:03:31.00]
02. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - II. Feuilles mortes [0:04:00.00]
03. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - III. La puerta del vino [0:03:08.00]
04. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - IV. Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses [0:03:13.47]
05. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - V. Bruyères [0:03:06.28]
06. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - VI. « General Lavine» - excentric [0:02:38.00]
07. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - VII. La terasse des audiences du clair de lune [0:04:32.00]
08. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - VIII. Ondine [0:03:24.00]
09. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - IX. Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C. [0:02:25.00]
10. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - X. Canope [0:03:15.00]
11. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - XI. Les tierces alternées [0:02:47.00]
12. Préludes 2ème livre L.123 - XII. Feux d'artifice [0:04:37.00]
Performers:
Krystian Zimerman - piano
Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011
EAC extraction logfile from 6. November 2013, 18:46
Krystian Zimerman / Debussy - Preludes - Krystian Zimerman (Disc 1)
Used drive : TSSTcorpCDDVDW SH-222BB Adapter: 2 ID: 1
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "TRACKTOTAL=%numtracks%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %source% -o %dest%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.32 | 3:38.00 | 32 | 16381
2 | 3:38.32 | 4:28.00 | 16382 | 36481
3 | 8:06.32 | 2:07.00 | 36482 | 46006
4 | 10:13.32 | 3:55.00 | 46007 | 63631
5 | 14:08.32 | 3:32.00 | 63632 | 79531
6 | 17:40.32 | 4:25.00 | 79532 | 99406
7 | 22:05.32 | 3:14.00 | 99407 | 113956
8 | 25:19.32 | 3:09.00 | 113957 | 128131
9 | 28:28.32 | 2:30.00 | 128132 | 139381
10 | 30:58.32 | 7:27.25 | 139382 | 172931
11 | 38:25.57 | 2:33.50 | 172932 | 184456
12 | 40:59.32 | 2:27.50 | 184457 | 195531
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename G:\Ripped general\[2580] Debussy – Preludes – Krystian Zimerman\cd1\Debussy - Preludes - Krystian Zimerman (Disc 1).wav
Peak level 98.9 %
Extraction speed 2.3 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC EE9CE5FD
Copy CRC EE9CE5FD
Copy OK
No errors occurred
AccurateRip summary
Track 1 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [1E081D95] (AR v2)
Track 2 accurately ripped (confidence 34) [7CA92374] (AR v2)
Track 3 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [376154C7] (AR v2)
Track 4 accurately ripped (confidence 32) [A8617DBC] (AR v2)
Track 5 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [B4DD45B9] (AR v2)
Track 6 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [990326B9] (AR v2)
Track 7 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [CC5FD1E9] (AR v2)
Track 8 accurately ripped (confidence 34) [4FAE606F] (AR v2)
Track 9 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [6B8BFE3D] (AR v2)
Track 10 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [6D6D15E8] (AR v2)
Track 11 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [7F1FD675] (AR v2)
Track 12 accurately ripped (confidence 33) [91A15C86] (AR v2)
All tracks accurately ripped
End of status report
Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011
EAC extraction logfile from 6. November 2013, 19:21
Krystian Zimerman / Debussy - Preludes - Krystian Zimerman (Disc 2)
Used drive : TSSTcorpCDDVDW SH-222BB Adapter: 2 ID: 1
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "TRACKTOTAL=%numtracks%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %source% -o %dest%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.33 | 3:31.00 | 33 | 15857
2 | 3:31.33 | 4:00.00 | 15858 | 33857
3 | 7:31.33 | 3:08.00 | 33858 | 47957
4 | 10:39.33 | 3:13.47 | 47958 | 62479
5 | 13:53.05 | 3:06.28 | 62480 | 76457
6 | 16:59.33 | 2:38.00 | 76458 | 88307
7 | 19:37.33 | 4:32.00 | 88308 | 108707
8 | 24:09.33 | 3:24.00 | 108708 | 124007
9 | 27:33.33 | 2:25.00 | 124008 | 134882
10 | 29:58.33 | 3:15.00 | 134883 | 149507
11 | 33:13.33 | 2:47.00 | 149508 | 162032
12 | 36:00.33 | 4:37.00 | 162033 | 182807
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename G:\Ripped general\[2580] Debussy – Preludes – Krystian Zimerman\cd2\Debussy - Preludes - Krystian Zimerman (Disc 2).wav
Peak level 97.5 %
Extraction speed 2.3 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5713F406
Copy CRC 5713F406
Copy OK
No errors occurred
AccurateRip summary
Track 1 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [BFFCD959] (AR v2)
Track 2 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [A5CC7AAA] (AR v2)
Track 3 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [EA0B3C16] (AR v2)
Track 4 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [57D1988F] (AR v2)
Track 5 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [4F7FEADC] (AR v2)
Track 6 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [A2CE76A9] (AR v2)
Track 7 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [FD52ABEA] (AR v2)
Track 8 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [1444DE8E] (AR v2)
Track 9 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [54C959A5] (AR v2)
Track 10 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [B4F71FB5] (AR v2)
Track 11 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [77CE3AA2] (AR v2)
Track 12 accurately ripped (confidence 31) [62DF6EBC] (AR v2)
All tracks accurately ripped
End of status report