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Walter Gieseking Plays Debussy - the First Columbia Recordings

Walter Gieseking (piano)

Walter Gieseking Plays Debussy - the First Columbia Recordings

Awards:

Gieseking was indeed a ‘sorcerer’. Hear him in ‘Voiles’, ‘Les sons et les parfums’ or ‘Des pas sur la neige’ and you sense how everything is accomplished by tonal finesse rather than heavy underlining...

Walter Gieseking Plays Debussy - the First Columbia Recordings

Walter Gieseking (piano)

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2 CDs

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44.1 kHz, 16 bit, FLAC/ALAC/WAV

$25.75

320 kbps, MP3

$20.00

This release includes a digital booklet

Stream now lossless, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit

Awards:

Gieseking was indeed a ‘sorcerer’. Hear him in ‘Voiles’, ‘Les sons et les parfums’ or ‘Des pas sur la neige’ and you sense how everything is accomplished by tonal finesse rather than heavy underlining...

About

WALTER GIESEKING (1895–1956) has long been regarded as one of the supreme interpreters of Debussy, his recordings having achieved almost definitive status. But it’s generally his later recordings from the early 1950s which have been reissued time and time again. His first Columbia recordings, mostly made in the 1930s, are much less known, yet many critics have regarded them as even finer than the later remakes. Here then are these legendary discs in what we consider to be the finest transfers from the original 78s they have ever had.

Contents and tracklist

I. Danseuses de Delphes
Track length2:54
II. Voiles
Track length2:46
III. Le vent dans la plaine
Track length1:58
IV. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir
Track length3:11
V. Les collines d'Anacapri
Track length2:35
VI. Des pas sur la neige
Track length2:54
VII Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest
Track length2:35
VIII. La fille aux cheveux de lin
Track length2:07
IX. La sérénade interrompue
Track length2:07
X. La cathédrale engloutie
Track length5:55
XI. La danse de Puck
Track length2:08
XII. Minstrels
Track length2:03
I. Brouillards
Track length2:27
II. Feuilles mortes
Track length3:02
III. La Puerta del Vino
Track length2:58
IV. Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses
Track length2:32
V. Bruyères
Track length2:31
VI. Général Lavine. Eccentric
Track length2:26
VII. La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
Track length3:25
VIII. Ondine
Track length2:42
IX. Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C.
Track length2:03
X. Canope
Track length2:36
XI. Les tierces alternées
Track length2:16
XII. Feux d'artifice
Track length3:23
I. Andantino con moto
Track length3:04
II. Allegretto scherzando
Track length2:53
I. Prélude
Track length3:36
II. Menuet
Track length3:34
III. Clair de lune
Track length4:10
IV. Passepied
Track length3:35
I. Pagodes
Track length3:49
II. La soirée dans Grenade
Track length4:06
III. Jardins sous la pluie
Track length3:19
I. Reflets dans l'eau
Track length4:39
III. Mouvement
Track length2:49
I. Cloches à travers les feuilles
Track length3:15
III. Poissons d'or
Track length2:51
I. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
Track length2:08
II. Jimbo's Lullaby
Track length3:11
III. Serenade for the Doll
Track length2:56
IV. The Snow Is Dancing
Track length2:01
V. The Little Shepherd
Track length1:52
VI. Golliwog's Cake-Walk
Track length2:36

Awards and reviews

  • International Classical Music Awards
    2023
    Nominated - Historical

October 2022

Gieseking was indeed a ‘sorcerer’. Hear him in ‘Voiles’, ‘Les sons et les parfums’ or ‘Des pas sur la neige’ and you sense how everything is accomplished by tonal finesse rather than heavy underlining of self-conscious significance.

October 2022

This twofer is a wonderful and comprehensive collection of Gieseking's early Debussy recordings... The sound is clear and lively and I would have no hesitation in snapping up these recordings of such vivid and colourful interpretations.
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