L'Isle joyeuse
Deux Arabesques
Suite bergamasque
- Prélude
- Menuet
- Clair de lune
- Passepied
La plus que lente
Estampes
- Jardins sous la pluie
Images
- Cloches à travers les feuilles
- Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut
- Poissons d'or
Hommage à Haydn

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Claude Debussy (1862-1918), an important figure and a major influence and catalyst behind the divergent paths music took at the onset of the 20th century. And the people at harmonia mundi have been hard at work releasing a new series of recordings dedicated to his music including orchestral works, chamber music, and instrumental pieces. This particular release brings together works for solo piano with titles that conjure up ephemeral imagery and arouse the imagination. But Claude Debussy's music is not only about moonlight, raindrops on dead leaves, or girls with flaxen hair. It's also about blazing sunlight streaming through the trees, or sparkling atop the waves, and of the rhythmic impulse of life itself. And Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky's approach to his music clearly demonstrates these polarized characteristics. For example, his razor-sharp articulation and bright accents in the second Arabesque make this work sparkle, and as light-footed as the so-called ballet movement suggests. In comparison his subdued, highly sustained interpretation of Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut triggers vivid imagery of a dense fog from time immemorial rolling over the ruined temple, barely visible in the moonlight. In other words, Nikolai Lugansky captures a work's ethos concealed behind the notes and clearly transfers it to the keyboard. This finely curated collection aptly debunks the worn-out and stereotypical portrayal of Claude Debussy. Recommended!