Search - Pierre Boulez, Claude Debussy, Maurizio Pollini :: Debussy: 12 études; Boulez: Second Sonata

Great combination of two excellent works

dix | San Francisco, CA | 11/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have recently become quite a fan of Pollini's, buying up many recordings in the 'edition' series. This is the cd that started my obsession. I first bought it for the recording of Boulez's 2nd piano sonata. I did not care much for Debussy, at the time, but, it was less expensive than the other DG recording, with Webern, Stravinsky, and Bartok(?).
If you've never heard Boulez before, this might be a good piece to start with. His music is generally classified as being 'difficult', or, as my mother says of it: 'it's just noise'. Perhaps it is both of these things, but it is beautiful nonetheless. This piece is particularly wonderful. The first movement is very violent and very aggressive. Listening to it, I find it to be something of an 'ugly' landscape, with sudden flashes of extremely lyrical, beautiful moments. The following movements are less aggressive, at turns austere, expansive, claustrophobic, nervous... flighty lines chase one another across the keys; trills shimmer up out of the sounds; 'deliciously dissonant' chords crash about; aggressive bangings are answered by extraordinarily delicate flights;... Perhaps you get the idea. It is definitely a piece that needs much attention to be appreciated, but the beauty it yields is well worth it.
The Debussy pieces are an added bonus. Like I said earlier, I never cared much for Debussy, until I listened to the etudes several times. They are perhaps not as melodically 'obvious' as much of his other work, perhaps a little on the academic side (being etudes and all) and, like the Boulez piece, hidden within the academic work lie beautiful, intensely lyrical, fragmented melodies, particularly #5, which is probably my favorite.
I can't really compare the performances to many others, however, Pollini's performance of Boulez is much better than the recording that Naxos has available, although I would recommend that as well, since it has all three of his piano sonatas on one cd, and is very cheap. The only other recording of the etudes I've heard are from the complete piano works of Debussy played by Walter Gieseking, and I must say that I find Pollini's performance far superior. There is much more clarity in the melodies, which, in these pieces, are sort of hidden away. There is also much more urgency and vitality in his playing. If you like this, I also highly recommend his performance of Schubert's piano sonata in A (959), which is spectacular."