Album

Hungarian Debussy—oxymoron or something else?

Something else. Although it may seem unlikely at first, Hungarian pianist Zoltán Kocsis is one heck of a Debussy player. Of course, he's not a Walter Gieseking Debussy player—he nails the notes—nor a Pascal Rogé Debussy player—he lifts the pedals—nor a Jean-Yves Thibaudet Debussy player—he's more concerned with the meaning of the music than he is with showboating. So what kind of Debussy player is Kocsis? To start with, he's supremely skilled. He can play anything Debussy throws at him, from the nuanced sonorities of La Cathédrale engloutie to the extravagant virtuosities of L'Isle joyeuse. But that's the least of his talents. More importantly, Kocsis' is sublimely sensitive. He understands and expresses the flickering emotions of Jardins sous la pluie, the subtle colors of Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fût, and the intimations of mortality in Canope. But that, too, is a lesser talent. Most importantly, Kocsis' is absolutely lucid. Everything—everything, everything—in the music is at all times audible. Listen to his Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, listen to the shading of his harmonies articulated as gleaming arpeggios, to the clarity of his melodies articulated as shimmering lines, to the inevitability of his tempos articulated as a series of waves rising to a luminous climax. No matter what other player you've heard tackle Debussy, Kocsis will reveal aspects of the music you've never heard before—and reveal them as essential elements that even the greatest Debussy players have heretofore inexplicably missed. Filled out with equally superb recordings of Debussy's Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre plus Ravel's Piano Concerto accompanied by the equally Hungarian and nearly equally skilled Debussy-interpreter Ivan Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Kocsis' Debussy collection should be heard by everyone who loves the composer. Recorded over 15 years from 1983 through 1998, Philips' piano sound is a translucent window between the listener and the performers.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 4
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Préludes, Book 1, L.117 Work Recorded 1996 37:27 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
1	1.Danseuses de delphes	2:46			$0.99
2	2.Voiles	3:59			$0.99
3	3.Le vent dans la plaine	2:00			$0.99
4	4.Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir	3:28			$0.99
5	5.Les collines d'Anacapri	2:50			$0.99
6	6.Des pas sur la neige	3:52			$0.99
7	7.Ce qu'à vu le vent d'ouest	3:07			$0.99
8	8.La fille aux cheveux de lin	1:52			$0.49
9	9.La sérénade interrompue	2:33			$0.99
10	10.La cathédrale engloutie	6:21			$0.99
11	11.La danse de Puck	2:28			$0.99
12	12.Minstrels	2:11			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Préludes, Book 2, L.123 Work Recorded 1997 36:52 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
13	1.Brouillards	2:46			$0.99
14	2.Feuilles mortes	3:12			$0.99
15	3.La puerta del vino	3:32			$0.99
16	4.Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses	2:35			$0.99
17	5.Bruyères	2:24			$0.99
18	6.General Lavine	3:01			$0.99
19	7.La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune	4:24			$0.99
20	8.Ondine	2:39			$0.99
21	9.Hommage à S. Pickwick	2:47			$0.99
22	10.Canope	2:59			$0.99
23	11.Les tierces alternées	2:37			$0.99
24	12.Feux d'artifice	3:56			$0.99
CD 2 of 4
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Images, Book 1, L.110 Work Recorded 1988 17:04 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
1	1.Reflets dans l'eau	5:26			$0.99
2	2.Hommage à Rameau	8:21			$1.49
3	3.Mouvement	3:17			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Images, Book 2, L.111 Work Recorded 1988 14:23 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
4	1.Cloches à travers les feuilles	4:13			$0.99
5	2.Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fût	6:10			$0.99
6	3.Poissons d'or	4:00			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Images inédites, L.87 Work Recorded 1983 12:30 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
7	1.Lent: mélancolique et doux	3:30			$0.99
8	2.Très vite: Souvenir de Louvre	4:53			$0.99
9	3.Quelques aspects de 'Nous n'irons plus au bois parce qu'il fait un temps insupportable'	4:07			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer D'un cahier d'esquisses, L.99 Work Recorded 1988 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
10	D'un cahier d'esquisses, L.99	4:52			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer L'isle joyeuse, L.106 Work Recorded 1988 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
11	L'isle joyeuse, L.106	6:12			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer 2 Arabesques, L.66 Work Recorded 1988 6:51 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
12	No.1 in E: Andantino con moto	3:56			$0.99
13	No.2 in G: Allegretto scherzando	2:55			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Hommage à Joseph Haydn, L.115 Work Recorded 1988 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
14	Hommage à Joseph Haydn, L.115	2:28			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Rêverie, L.68 Work Recorded 1988 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
15	Rêverie, L.68	3:57			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Page d'album (Pièce pour l'oeuvre du 'Vêtement du blessé'), L.133 Work Recorded 1988 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
16	Page d'album (Pièce pour l'oeuvre du 'Vêtement du blessé'), L.133	1:02			$0.49
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Berceuse héroïque, L.132 Work Recorded 1988 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
17	Berceuse héroïque, L.132	5:12			$0.99
CD 3 of 4
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Children's Corner, L.113 Work Recorded 1996 15:37 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
1	1.Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum	2:00			$0.99
2	2.Jimbo's Lullaby ('Berceuse des elephants')	3:51			$0.99
3	3.Serenade for the Doll	2:32			$0.99
4	4.The Snow is Dancing	2:17			$0.99
5	5.The Little Shepherd	2:18			$0.99
6	6.Golliwog's Cakewalk	2:39			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Pour le piano, L.95 Work Recorded 1983 12:25 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
7	1.Prélude	4:09			$0.99
8	2.Sarabande	4:37			$0.99
9	3.Toccata	3:39			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Estampes, L.100 Work Recorded 1983 13:11 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
10	1.Pagodes	4:39			$0.99
11	2.La soirée dans Grenade	5:23			$0.99
12	3.Jardins sous la pluie	3:09			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer La plus que lente, L.121 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
13	La plus que lente, L.121	3:56			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Nocturne, L.82 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
14	Nocturne, L.82	7:24			$1.49
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Valse romantique, L.71 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
15	Valse romantique, L.71	3:00			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Ballade slave, L.70 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
16	Ballade slave, L.70	6:14			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Le petit nègre (cakewalk), L.114 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
17	Le petit nègre (cakewalk), L.114	1:35			$0.49
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Elégie, L.138 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
18	Elégie, L.138	2:18			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Morçeau de concours, L.108 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
19	Morçeau de concours, L.108	0:48			$0.49
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Mazurka, L.67 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
20	Mazurka, L.67	3:01			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Tarantelle styrienne, L.69 Work Recorded 1997 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
21	Tarantelle styrienne, L.69	4:36			$0.99
CD 4 of 4
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Suite Bergamasque, L.75 (includes 'Clair de lune') Work Recorded 1983 17:18 Zoltán Kocsis Piano
1	1.Prélude	4:07			$0.99
2	2.Menuet	3:53			$0.99
3	3.Clair de lune	5:50			$0.99
4	4.Passepied	3:28			$0.99
Achille-Claude Debussy Composer Fantaisie, for piano and orchestra, L.73 Work Recorded 1995 19:51 Ivan Fischer Conductor, Budapest Festival Orchestra Orchestra, Zoltán Kocsis Piano
5	1.Andante ma non troppo. Allegro giusto	6:30			$0.99
6	2.Lento e molto espressivo	7:05			$1.49
7	3.Allegro molto	6:16			$0.99
Maurice Ravel Composer Piano Concerto in G Work Recorded 1995 19:54 Ivan Fischer Conductor, Budapest Festival Orchestra Orchestra, Zoltán Kocsis Piano
8	1.Allegramente	7:49			$1.49
9	2.Adagio assai	8:14			$1.49
10	3.Presto	3:51			$0.99
Maurice Ravel Composer Piano Concerto for the Left Hand Work Recorded 1995 17:43 Ivan Fischer Conductor, Budapest Festival Orchestra Orchestra, Zoltán Kocsis Piano
11	1.Lento	7:46			$1.49
12	2.Allegro	4:56			$0.99
13	3.Tempo primo	5:01			$0.99