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Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Early and Late Piano Pieces
Steven Osborne (piano)
rec. 2021, St. Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, UK
HYPERION CDA68390 [74]

This is one of those discs that I could easily listen to all the way through and then immediately repeat. Steven Osborne, who is a very versatile pianist, has a special affinity for Debussy’s music. Back in 2006 he recorded the Preludes in what is my favourite recording of those seminal works. Then in 2017 he released his second all-Debussy disc of some of the composer’s other major pieces, which was enthusiastically received by Michael Cookson (review). While the CD under review contains pieces from both ends of Debussy’s career, it also has three shorter works from the middle period that are not that all familiar. In all of the music presented Osborne displays a wonderfully light touch and pellucid tone. While he observes the dynamics of each piece well, he does not overdo them. Likewise, his judicious employment of rubato adheres to Debussy’s notation and he characterizes the music well without any excess. A good example of this is the popular Clair de lune from the Suite bergamasque that could easily become hackneyed, but by adhering to the score Osborne makes it sound fresh.

The rest of the Suite bergamasque is equally successful in Osborne’s hands, with the second movement Menuet recalling the style of the scherzo in Debussy’s early Piano Trio and the fourth movement Passepied played with utmost transparency—a real delight! Other notable pieces from the composer’s early period include the once popular Rêverie and Valse romantique, both of which I learned to play in my piano student days. After listening to Osborne, I realize my attempts were indeed feeble! Also from this time are the two Arabesques, which deservedly appear on many a Debussy programme, and the delightful Tarantelle styrienne that was later published as Danse and became well known in Ravel’s orchestration. The Nocturne from 1892 is reminiscent of such pieces by Chopin and Fauré, but in its ambience is pure Debussy. Two years later Debussy composed his first set of Images. This is quite different from the later well-known work that consists of three movements in each of its two sets. To avoid confusion in the publication of the Images, the earlier composition is titled ‘Images oublieés’, as published only in 1978 and played here. This Images contains three movements: Lent: Mélancolique et doux; Sarabande; and Quelques aspects de ‘Nous n’irons plus au bois’ parce qu’il fait un temps insupportable. To further add confusion, Debussy adapted the Sarabande for the second movement of his Pour le piano suite, thus its likely more familiar there for most listeners. Osborne’s exquisite pianism is sensitive to the varying moods of this Images with the last movement in which he well captures the spark and power of the fleet piece.

The remainder of the programme contains short works from the middle of Debussy’s career to his very last piano piece. Pièce pour piano ‘Morceau de concours’ requires less than a minute, while The little nigar ‘Cake-walk’ is like a simpler, briefer version of ‘Golliwog’s Cakewalk’ from the Children’s Corner. Debussy composed the last three items on the disc during World War I and in their relative brevity evoke the atmosphere of that time. The Élégie is particularly poignant in honouring the role of women during the war.

Francophone music specialist Roger Nichols provides the detailed and lucid notes in the CD booklet that is further enhanced on the cover by the Impressionist painting Coastal View with Cypress Trees by Henri-Edmond Cross. There are numerous options to hear this music, but none to my knowledge that contains the exact programme as this in such remarkable accounts. Hyperion’s product is at its usual classy best and the recorded sound ideally captures the piano with clarity and warmth. I cannot think of another disc that has given me more pleasure this year than Osborne’s Debussy here.

Leslie Wright
 
Contents
Danse bohémienne L4 (1880)
Mazurka L75 (c1890)
Deux Arabesques L74 (c1890)
Rêverie L76 (1890)
Valse romantique L79 (1890)
Ballade slave L78 (1890)
Suite bergamasque L82 (c1890)
Tarantelle styrienne L77 (c1890)
Nocturne L89 (1892)
Images L94 (1894)
Pièce pour piano ‘Morceau de concours’ L117 (1904)
Hommage à Haydn L123 (1909)
The little nigar ‘Cake-walk’ L122 (1909)
Pièce pour l’œuvre du Vêtement du blessé L141 (1915)
Élégie L146 (1915)
Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon L150 (1917)

Published: November 11, 2022