The pianist's rubato dabs and subtle color shifts underscore Debussy's harmonic felicities in the Prélude, while his evocative separation of melody and accompaniment in the Menuet conjures up a three-dimensional piano sonority. I love Bavouzet's purity of line and absolute yet flexible control in Claire de lune, and how he makes room for spontaneous accents and contrapuntal interplay between the hands without creating bumps on the Passepied's suave surface.

The first Arabesque soars with personal poetry, while the second's flickering motive hardly could be more pointed and supple. The Children's Corner Suite proves equally terrific. Notice the variety of articulation throughout Bavouzet's brisk account of Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, or the uncommon lilt with which the registral extremes in Jimbo's Lullaby interact. In addition, Bavouzet addresses the Allegro giusto in Golliwogg's Cake Walk with ideal vigor and swing.

The pianist also lavishes great care and consideration on the collection's smaller pieces. From its sublimely spelled-out arpeggios to its limpid, forward-moving cantabiles, the 1892 Nocturne never has sounded more meaningful on disc. And few other pianists observe La plus que lente's numerous changes in tempo and expression to Bavouzet's degree, yet make it sound so effortless, even improvisatory. This disc whets my appetite for the two books of Images to come, plus a much anticipated remake of the Etudes (I've never managed to hear Bavouzet's long-out-of-print 1996 recording for Canyon Classics). A release to savor.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com