R E V I E W S:

This box came as a bit of a surprise. These are the well-known 1973–74 recordings first issued on six Angel LPs, and published by Brilliant under license from EMI. But the parent company still has these recordings in print—in two formats, no less—so EMI is in effect competing with itself. Ah, the mysteries of the classical recording industry!

The release on two Double-Forte sets (72667 and 72673) was reviewed in Fanfare 22:3 by James Miller; Christopher Abbot reviewed an eight-CD budget box also including the Ravel orchestral works (75526) in 26:3. If you want both composers, you’ll be pleased to know that the per-disc price of the latter and of the Brilliant set are the same.

So, since this is at least a third-generation reissue, I’ll try to keep my comments brief. First, this set is in a way more than complete, since what exactly constitutes Debussy’s “Orchestral Works” is a complex question, if a moot one for present purposes. I identify three categories of works: (1) compositions for which Debussy is wholly responsible; (2) compositions conceived for orchestra but whose orchestration was farmed out to a member of Debussy’s “circle” because of his chronic work overload and health problems; and (3) piano music orchestrated independently by someone other than Debussy. Category 1 encompasses just about all of the best-known and best-loved pieces; Category 2 includes Printemps, La boîte à joujoux, and Khamma; and, Category 3 includes Children’s Corner, the Petite Suite (originally for four hands), and the Danse. It is with this category that we enter the land of slippery slopes: if Ravel’s orchestration of the Danse is included, why not that of the Sarabande from Pour le piano, realized in the same year? And, if such posthumous transcriptions are allowed, why not, say, Stokowski’s versions of Clair de lune, La cathédrale engloutie, or La soirée dans Grenade? It’s endless.

In any event, I find myself in almost total agreement with Miller’s assessment of the performances. Martinon is strongest in the lesser-known pieces; the favorites, such as La mer, tend toward the prosaic—and, with more competition available, it’s more obvious that Martinon is not working with a world-class orchestra. Jeux, overall a fine performance, lacks Boulez’s unique lucidity; “Gigues” (Images I) lacks Monteux’s subtlety and playfulness; “Sirènes” (Nocturnes III) lacks Ormandy’s voluptuousness; and Faune, again overall an attractive reading, fails to capture Beecham’s magical atmosphere.

All of this is probably unimportant to two classes of listeners: first, the set does offer an excellent and inexpensive introduction for those new to Debussy collecting; and second, for experienced hands, who probably already have favorite versions of the “big” pieces, it provides entirely satisfying readings of all the obscure stuff. Or, in Miller’s words, “As for purchasing this [EMI] set as a way to put all one’s Debussy eggs in one basket, so to speak, you couldn’t ask for a more sophisticated guide to the unfamiliar music, and there is no shortage of good recordings of the composer’s ‘greatest hits’ if you should want a few supplementary performances with stronger personalities.” With this set, plus Boulez’s superb two-disc survey of the “greatest hits” on Sony, you can have the best of both worlds.

FANFARE: Richard A. Kaplan