Jawad’s Classical Archives – Set 01, CD 009

Michelangeli plays Debussy’s Preludes (Book I) and Images

My Opinion

Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) was one of the supreme artists of the 20th century. Native of Brescia, he started playing violin then piano at the tender age of three, and graduated from Milan Conservatory at fourteen. He won the prestigious Geneva international piano competition in 1939. The latter’s jury was chaired by legendary pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski and had among its members Alfred Cortot, who famously claimed that a “new Liszt was born”. Besides, Michelangeli was an inspirational teacher, and counted among his pupils such extraordinary pianists of the second half of the 20th century as Martha Argerich, Maurizio Pollini, and Ivan Moravec. It is perhaps not a coincidence that all three are prominent specialists of the music of Chopin, and the Italian Maestro may have a hand in the matter.

Claude Debussy was, along with Chopin, among the composers Michelangeli had the most affinity with, and the present readings from the 1970s provide a most striking illustration. For me this is the best recording of “Images” available and I doubt Debussy himself had enough technique to execute his own musical ideas the way Master Michelangeli conveys them. Yes, occasionally his playing may sound overly objective, with an ice-cold precision and a lack of that warmth which arguably gives some Debussy pieces their charm; yet another voice could argue that this perceived coldness is only superficial, and deeper reflection traces it to strict adherence to the score and aversion of superfluous effect. In terms of technical command, though, there is no place for debate whatsoever, as Michelangeli’s control of the keyboard is absolute and the way he meets the demands of this music is both effortless and immaculate. Sometimes I tend to think that Michelangeli was criminally good in the way he distances himself from confirmed, able pianists of his era, let alone young pianists in the making. For the preludes, the only serious competition comes for another genial interpretation – although quite different in terms of interpretative choices – by German legend Walter Gieseking, a work I will present in the future as a landmark recording in my collection.

This is Debussy playing of the highest possible artistic order. And you don’t need lengthy scholarly reviews and opinions to get it, just trust your ears and your heart for that. Do yourself a favor and grab the disk ASAP, while it is still available. You may thank me after listening.

Reviews

“Is Michelangeli’s Debussy as good as they say? Could anything be that good? After all, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s ’70s recordings of Debussy’s Images and Préludes, Book 1, were hailed in their time as revolutionary, masterly, and uniquely compelling, and the encomiums have kept on through every subsequent re-release. In this 2005 re-release on Deutsche Grammophon’s “Originals” series, the listener is asked again, is Michelangeli’s Debussy as good as they say?

However, about that sound: while the sound Deutsche Grammophon gave Michelangeli in the ’70s was pristine and crystalline, and while the sound of the 1978 Préludes is remastered with such fidelity that the piano is more real than most real pianos, it still has to be said that the 1971 Images is remastered with such harshness that the piano sounds pained every time the dynamics rise above fortissimo. The only thing in this world as good as this recording of Michelangeli’s Debussy would be Michelangeli’s other recording of Debussy with a sublime Children’s Corner and a transcendent Préludes, Book 2.” – James Leonard.

“A critic once wrote of a pianist: ‘His restraint and discretion make one forget all considerations of technical dexterity. Thus the naked soul of the work is placed before the audience; its action is direct; the interpreter is lost sight of.’ The pianist was Debussy; but how easily could the same be said of Michelangeli. Only in a slightly mannered rendering of ‘La fille aux chevaux de lin’ is one aware of being subjected to an interpretation: all else is a deceptive effortlessness and the spectacle of a gift dedicated not to exposing itself but to the service of the music.” – BBC Music Magazine.