Search - Claude Debussy, Peter Frankl :: Debussy: Solo Piano Music, Vol. 1

SENSITIVE, STYLISH DEBUSSY, OFTEN DISTINGUISHED

Melvyn M. Sobel | Freeport (Long Island), New York | 06/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As with most of the Vox Box CD transfers I review, I have owned the original vinyls. Vox Productions, Inc., was, for me, in the 60's and 70's, what Naxos has been to the 80's and 90's. It was a company flush with a willingness to take chances. Chances on repertoire. Chances on completist projects. Chances on artists and performers. Vox went where the BIG companies feared to tread, and went with a vengeance. They were way, way ahead of their time; however, after the takeover by the Moss Music Group, and then Essex Entertainment, Vox has become almost a relic. So few releases are forthcoming from their grand "vaults," that it just breaks the heart. (Who else would have the moxie to produce six records of Reger quartets and chamber works? Or Haydn's complete string quartets and piano sonatas? Etc.) Yes. It breaks the heart.



Luckily, though, during the early 90's, Vox/Essex DID have enough drive to churn out some really classic Vox Box two-fers, and included amongst these were Peter Frankl's stylish performances of Debussy's piano music. Of course I grabbed them up! And was thrilled. I had "lived" with Frankl's Debussy for 30 years; he had always served the music faithfully, with sensitivity and distinction. Volume 1 offers up fine staples: the Preludes (complete), the Arabesques, Reverie, Suite Bergamasque and the Images (complete).



From the opening Prelude, Book One, Frankl establishes an on-target impressionism that never fails; it is his hallmark, his purity. Both Books retain a sound-world that is magical, hypnotic, moody, nostalgic; and, yet, as in La Cathedrale Engloutie, thrilling, as well. These Preludes can stand easily beside the best on the market today.



As can the Images: fine, glorious readings filled with color, atmosphere and panache. Listen, for example, to Images, Book One, No. 1 ("Reflets Dans L'eau"). Shimmering, lilting, mesmerizing.



In Frankl's hands, the Suite Bergamasque, a perennial hackneyed favorite, seems refreshed, renewed. The grand opening "Prelude" is filled with promise; the "Menuet" and "Clair de Lune" are subtle and moving; the "Passepied," fleet and perfectly judged.



The two Arabesques are simply exquisite; and the Reverie, although less romantic than most I've heard, nods its daydreaming head more towards hidden ghosts than lost loves. A most interesting take on yet another ultra-popular piece.



All-in-all, this set is a phenomenal bargain. Frankl is never less than a fine mentor and, more often than not, touched by Debussy's muse. The sound is quite good, the piano image firm, detailed, full.



[Running time--- CD 1: 76:43 CD 2: 78:10]

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