Search - Debussy, Walter Gieseking, Emi Masters :: Preludes I & II

"A definitive version. Gieseking brings to the wonderful collection of pieces all the qualities of poetry they require. Debussy, exacting from the piano more and more colour and effect, set his sights high , but every nuance, every shade of balance and every inflection of tempo are fully realised on this occasion."
Gramophone Magazine Born in Lyon, the son of a German doctor and entomologist, Walter Gieseking first started playing the piano at the age of only four, but without formal instruction. From 1911 to early 1916 he studied at the conservatorium in Hanover. Because of his gift -- he had a natural technique, perfect pitch, and an abnormally acute faculty for memorisation -- Gieseking was able to master unfamiliar repertoire (however difficult) with relatively little practice. Today, Gieseking is primarily remembered as one of the greatest interpreters of two French composers in particular: Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. His recording of the complete solo piano works of Debussy was the first such undertaking and has been re-released on CD, as have his traversals of the complete solo piano works of Mozart and Ravel.