Debussy: Les Trois Sonates – Isabelle Faust

Un siècle après sa disparition le 25 mars 1918, de nombreux artistes harmonia mundi ont voulu rendre hommage à Claude Debussy, magicien de la mélodie et du timbre, grand “coloriste” et père de la musique moderne.

Een eeuw na zijn dood op 25 maart 1918 brengen veel artiesten van Harmonia Mundi hulde aan Claude debussy, magiër van melodie en timbre, meesterlijke orkestrator én wegbereider van de moderne muziek.

   in Classical Music (Nov, 2018)
This is Debussy’s music distilled to its essence, played with superhuman concentration. Isabelle Faust is a superb, sinewy soloist for the Violin Sonata, with Melnikov a strong partner. The dance element of the finale is fabulously caught.

Tanguy de Williencourt plays the late solo pieces, the skeleton of Berceuse héroïque taking on the stasis of late Liszt. The Sonata for flute, viola and harp is gorgeous, so ephemeral it seems hardly there. The energy of the finale is all present and correct, but again so elusive. This is, surely, a definitive performance; the recording is perfectly judged.

Williencourt plays the sombre Elegie superbly; Perianes provides a different, more assertive piano …