We've reached Volume 7 in Naxos's superb Lyonnaise exploration of Debussy's orchestral works with the thrilling Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra, superbly played here by Jean-Yves Thibaudet. It's a grand showpiece, reminiscent of César Franck's Symphonic Variations but painted in Debussy's inimitable palette. He found it harder to bring those colours to bear on a work for saxophone, confessing that it was "a reed animal of whose habits I know little", and soloist Alexandre Doisy has a tough job convincing us. Clarinettist Paul Meyer fares better in his rhapsody but Emmanuel Ceysson, principal harpist of the Paris Opera, outshines them both in the gloriously evocative Danse sacrée et danse profane for harp and strings.
Debussy: Orchestral Works Vol 7 – review
Stephen Pritchard
Thibaudet, Meyer, Doisy, Ceysson, Orchestre National de Lyon/ Märkl
(Naxos)
(Naxos)
Contributor
Stephen Pritchard
Stephen Pritchard has written on classical music for most of his 45 years in journalism. He was the Observer's first readers' editor, and prior to that was a managing editor and production editor
Stephen Pritchard
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