Search - Debussy, Dutoit, Mso :: Images & Nocturnes

Several years after their landmark recordings of Ravel's orchestral music, Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony got around to Debussy, with results that were certainly worth waiting for. The Nocturnes are impeccably rendered: there is extreme refinement in "Nuages," color and energy aplenty in "Fêtes," languor and mystery in "Sirènes." More of an outdoorsman than a hedonist when it comes to La Mer, Dutoit emphasizes body and voluptuousness of sound over atmosphere and strives for an effect of photographic realism rather than impressionism. But what a glorious noise he makes! Here and in every other piece on these discs, the playing of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra exhibits a virtuosity that is all the more remarkable for sounding unspectacular. These are perhaps the best recorded performances of Debussy's music in the catalog, close-miked but with ample space, vivid, and well balanced. --Ted Libbey