Catalogue # ECM224142

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Russian pianist Alexei Lubimov, recognised as an outstanding\nadvocate of post-Soviet composition – performing Schnittke, Pärt,\nand Silvestrov amongst his acclaimed ECM New Series recordings –\nnow turns his talents to Debussy in the year of the 150th\nanniversary of his birth. On this 2-CD set Lubimov plays both books\nof Préludes and, with his young student Alexei Zuev, the Trois\nNocturnes in Ravel’s two-piano transcription as well as a two-piano\narrangement of Debussy’s seminal orchestral masterpiece, Prélude à\nl’après-midi d’un faune.

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Debussy decried the concept of musical impressionism because he\nfeared, rightly, that superficial refinement would degenerate into\nmusical mist, concealing the subtleties of a new musical idiom and\nits structural logic. So, for example, instead of heading his 24\nPréludes with programmatic titles, he appended them at the bottom\nof the individual pieces. Even though their popularity makes it\nalmost impossible, perhaps listeners ought simply to forget about\nthe titles and recall something else that Debussy once said: “Music\nis a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the\nelements, the wind, the sky, the sea.” It is in this manner – sans\nrigeur, as Debussy repeatedly marked his music – that Lubimov\nperforms the Préludes.

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Searching for an inspiring special sound – he wanted to hear\nDebussy in a different timbral guise, cloaked in early 20th-century\ncolours – Lubimov “stumbled on two excellent pianos that truly\nseduced me and breathed fresh life into the music. The stunning\nbeauty and nobility of their sound and their highly distinctive\nvoices prompted me to find new solutions and gave me new levels of\npleasure. I decided to record the two volumes of Préludes on two\ndifferent pianos: a 1925 Bechstein (clear, sharply etched,\ntranslucent and light, even in complex textures) and a Steinway\nfrom 1913 (divinely soft in pianissimo, resonant and marvellously\nsuitable for unexpected colours). It is said that the great Polish\npianist Paderewski chose this Steinway and played it in his\nrecitals.”

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Debussy: Preludes

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Alexei Lubimov & Alexei Zuev (piano)

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CD - 2 discs

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