Search - Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Carlo Maria Giulini :: Debussy: La Mer; 3 Nocturnes; Ravel: Alborada del gracioso; Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2

Spellbinding Debussy and Ravel from Giulini, etc.

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 02/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I literally had goose bumps after hearing Giulini's spellbinding accounts of La Mer and Nocturnes with the Philharmonia Orchestra in this recently reissued early 1960's recording. Without question, Carlo Maria Giulini was among our finest interpreters of Claude Debussy's orchestral music; both he and the orchestra are magnificent in capturing Debussy's vividly dramatic, Impressionist - yet also lyrical - homage to the sea; the same could be said as well for the 3 Nocturnes. To his credit, Giulini strikes a splendid balance between emphasizing the scores' rich textures and dramatic intensity.



Again, for similar reasons, Giulini was also a splendid interpreter of Maurice Ravel's music. His account of the Alborada del Gracioso is among the most ravishing I have heard, well deserving of the critical praise it has garnered. I was also thrilled to hear the Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2 sound so respondently fresh in yet another splendid interpretation from Giulini and the Philharmonia Orchestra, succinctly capturing Ravel's superb usage of Spanish folk themes and rhythms in the ballet score. To its credit, EMI's latest digital remastering has yielded a recording that sounds as fine as a recent digital recording, even though these works were recorded back in the early 1960s!"