Completed in 1899, Claude Debussy’s kaleidoscopic, freewheeling Nocturnes catapulted music into the 20th century. Based on three Whistler paintings, the orchestral composition finds Debussy conjuring vivid images of brooding Parisian skies, a dazzling portrait of a festival, and, in the composer’s own words, “the sea and its countless rhythms,” complete with ethereal, wordless female chorus. The Hallé and Mark Elder are in top form, bringing out both the sumptuous richness and the surgical precision in Debussy’s scores. The Nocturnes may be the main attraction here, but there are some delightful surprises, too, including the seductive—and fiendish—“Première Rapsodie” for clarinet and orchestra, plus Debussy’s Rossetti-inspired early cantata, La Damoiselle élue, charged with irresistible sensuality.
- Michael Tilson Thomas & San Francisco Symphony
- Les Siècles & François-Xavier Roth
- London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Simon Rattle
- London Symphony Orchestra & Gianandrea Noseda
- Xavier de Maistre, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust, Javier Perianes, Antoine Tamestit, Tanguy de Williencourt & Magali Mosnier
- Jan Söderblom, Roi Ruottinen, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra & Leif Segerstam
- Antonio Pappano & Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia