Alexander Melnikov - Debussy: Préludes du 2e Livre, La Mer (2018) [CD-Rip]

Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov not only performs on historical instruments but collects them, getting deeply acquainted with the strengths and idiosyncracies of each one. He has already achieved impressive results with Classical-period repertory with his duet partner, violinist Isabelle Faust, and now he takes on a seemingly taller order: a period performance of Debussy, using his own 1885 Érard piano. You might not think this piano would sound so different from the smaller modern French pianos often used for Debussy, but sample almost anywhere -- the Hommage à S. Pickwick is a reasonable place to start -- and you will immediately encounter a range of colors rarely heard elsewhere in Debussy. The piano's left-hand lines, especially, have an entirely distinctive sound that makes them seem like new characters entering a stage. With the four-hand transcription of La Mer, performed with Olga Pashchenko, you suspect that Debussy would have gone for a bigger sound if it had been available, but in the more intimate Préludes there are revelations here at every turn. Harmonia Mundi delivers extraordinary sound from Berlin's Teldex Studio. ~ James Manheim